Doctor Advices How Kenya Should Budget For Sh1 billion Emergency Fund Announced by The President

As the list of cases of confirmed Kenyans with the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to grow, Dr. Noah Akala, MD who is the Founder and CEO at MedLux International Hospital has advised how he thinks the Ministry of Health (MoH) should budget for the Sh1 billion emergency fund announced by President Uhuru Kenyatta earlier this month:

– Test kits – Jack Ma donated 20,000 plus KEMRI CDC has about 12,000 so that’s only 32,000. We need testing capacity in the public sector.

– Ventilators – At max, we have about 200 nationally, the majority in the private sector. These are almost always in use already anyway so in the event of a local epidemic, we would be hard-pressed to offer the care necessary for respiratory distressed patients. Basic vent costs about 1.7 million (However, the doctor expects challenges in procuring vents at this time due to a major shortage in the market.)

– Critical care nurses – this cadre will literally be the infantry in this war. These are the footsoldiers putting in the heavy lifting in caring for patients. We need them in plenty in public sector & we need them fast! Basic contract hires salo will range between 60K-100K p.m

-Physicians and Anesthesiologists – these workers will offer specialized care to critical patients. They don’t come cheap. And they are not readily available. Best you can hope for is to negotiate with private hospitals to release them temporarily to the public sector on a locum basis.

The doctor who is registered with the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board and is also a Member of the Kenya Medical Association says should the Sh1 billion be carefully used on this in terms of immediate preparation, Kenya can be somewhat prepared for when the inflection point on the curve hits.