Kenya records 14 COVID Deaths and 376 infections » Capital News

NAIROBI, Kenya, May 19- Kenya has recorded 14 new COVID-19 deaths and 376 infections.

Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said fatalities in the country had risen to 3,035 while infections are now 166,383.

318 patients were also discharged after recovering from the virus among them 248 from  Home Based care program and 70 from various hospitals across the country, raising total  recoveries to 117, 235.

Kenya had vaccinated more than 900,000 for the first dose by May 18, from the 1.02 million Astrazeneca vaccine doses acquired through the covax facility.

Kagwe said the government was facing challenges sourcing more vaccine doses from India which is experiencing the worst strain that has killed thousands and infected many more.

Kagwe said the government was working to acquire alternatives from Pfizer and Johnson with reports showing Kenya also hopes to get vaccines from China.

 On Tuesday, President Uhuru Kenyatta proposed several new approaches to financing of Africa’s Covid-19 recovery efforts saying the private sector should be supported to play a more central role.

Alongside private sector participation, the President advocated for enhanced recovery packages from Africa’s development partners, debt swaps and restructuring, and accelerated access to alternative sources of financing such as the Green Climate Fund.

“Innovative financing solutions that crowd in the private sector, these would include the issuance of private sector-backed financial instruments such as green bonds, supporting the issuance of local currency instruments, structuring guarantees to lower financing costs; and, developing and deepening public-private partnership opportunities,” the President proposed.

“We need to move beyond traditional measures and implement truly transformational financing options that are commensurate with the enormity of the crisis,” he added.

President Kenyatta spoke Tuesday at State House, Nairobi in his virtual address to the summit on financing of African economies hosted by President Emmanuel Macron of France, and attended by several leaders among them President Felix Tshisekedi of DR Congo who is also the current Chairperson of the African Union.

At the same time, the Head of State emphasized the need to upscale African countries access to Covid-19 vaccines.

“With regard to access to vaccines, we talk about economic recovery but there can’t be any recovery without access to vaccine and Africa is desperately lacking in vaccines,” President Kenyatta said.

He said Kenya will continue opening up its vibrant economy for private sector participation saying the country had strengthened its Public Private Partnership (PPP) regime.

“We commit to augment our limited fiscal space by revitalizing Public Private Partnership (PPP). In Kenya, we have put measures in place to leverage on PPPs to provide greater operational efficiency and reduce pressure on fiscal space,” he said.