KENYA – Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi (AKUH, N) and the Aga Khan Health Services, East Africa have secured a US$7.93M (KES950 million) grant from the German Government to support COVID-19 vaccination campaigns in East Africa.
The Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi announced that the grant was offered by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through the German Development Bank (KfW).
The network of international hospitals said the latest backing 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.
In 2020, the Aga Khan Hospitals received a US$6.01M (KES 720 million) grant from Germany for the purchase and distribution to the public health system of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and testing kits.
The Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi further said that the grant catered for the cost of care to COVID-19 patients who could not afford to pay for the care along with enhanced critical care infrastructure in the Aga Khan Hospitals.
The German Government has committed additional funds to its Partners to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
AKUH, N and the Aga Khan Hospitals in Kisumu, Mombasa and Dar es Salaam will use the latest funding to improve access to COVID-19 vaccination through mobile vaccination drives and donations of relevant vaccine infrastructure to the public health system.
Part of the Germany’s investment will be used to support training for health, media and communication professionals in the region in an effort to strengthen the public health system.
AKUH, N disclosed that the training will be conducted by the Aga Khan University’s School of Nursing and Midwifery and the Graduate School of Media and Communications.
In addition, the financing will be used to address community health needs particularly caring for people in Est Africa while supporting Aga Khan University’s partnership with the Governments of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
“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.
Dr Sulaiman Shahabuddin further said that the partnership with Germany speaks to institutions values of Impact and Access while lauding the German government for working with Aga Khan Hospitals to serve humanity.
“KfW has a longstanding partnership with the Aga Khan University in East Africa. We are delighted that, thanks to this cooperation, we will jointly facilitate this project to expand access to the vaccines in the region,” reaffirmed Jens Bessai, Head of Division, KfW Development Bank.
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