Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi (AKUH, N) and the Aga Khan Health Services, East Africa have received Kshs. 950M grant from the German Government to boost the COVID-19 vaccination campaign in East Africa and support the public health system.
The grant offered by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through the German Development Bank (KfW), will enable AKUH, N, and the Aga Khan Hospitals in Kisumu, Mombasa, and Dar es Salaam to increase access to COVID-19 vaccination through mobile vaccination drives and donations of relevant vaccine infrastructure to the public health system.
“The German Government has committed additional funds to its Partners to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. KfW has a longstanding partnership with Aga Khan University in East Africa. We are therefore delighted that, thanks to this cooperation, we will jointly facilitate this project to expand access to the vaccines in the region,” said Jens Bessai, Head of Division, KfW Development Bank.
In addition, the grant will support training for health, media, and communication professionals in the region. The training will be conducted by Aga Khan University’s School of Nursing and Midwifery and the Graduate School of Media and Communications.
“Throughout the pandemic, we have partnered with the Governments of Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania in various ways and this grant will ensure that we can increase our support to the people of East Africa,” said Dr. Sulaiman Shahabuddin, President, and Vice Chancellor Aga Khan University.
“This partnership speaks to our values of Impact and Access and we are therefore extremely grateful to the German government for working with us to live these values as we serve humanity.”
This is the second grant that the German government has offered to AKUH, N, and the Aga Khan Hospitals in East Africa to support the COVID-19 response.
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nterIn 2020, the Hospitals received Ksh. 720M for the purchase and distribution to the public health system of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and testing kits. The grant also catered for the cost of care to COVID-19 patients who could not afford to pay for the care as well as enhanced critical care infrastructure in the Aga Khan Hospitals.