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NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 5 – Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi (AKUH, N), and the Aga Khan Health Services, East Africa have received a Sh720 million grant from the German Government to boost their COVID-19 response 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 the Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi and the Aga Khan Hospitals in Kisumu, Mombasa and Dar es Salaam to increase their COVID-19 preparedness and response and support the public health system with testing kits and personal protective equipment (PPEs) in order to improve diagnostic and safety capacities.

Christoph Tiskens, Director Eastern Africa & Africa Union of KfW Development Bank said the German Government has committed additional funds to its Partners in order to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“KfW has a longstanding partnership with the Aga Khan University in East Africa. We are delighted that, thanks to this cooperation, we have been able to jointly facilitate this project in order to provide quick and effective support to health facilities in the region”, he said

Dr. Shawn Bolouki, Vice President of Health Services at Aga Khan University and the Chief Executive Officer at Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi said the grant will ensure that they can increase their support to the government and improve their response to this pandemic by easing the burden on the public health system.

“Since the beginning of the pandemic, our Hospitals in Kenya and Tanzania have put in place a robust response strategy that enables us to respond to the pandemic, provide quality care to COVID-19 patients while ensuring that our regular patients continue to receive their normal care safely. This support will enable us expand our response,” added Dr. Bolouki. A part of the grant will go to the COVID-19 Patient Welfare Fund that supports needy patients to receive quality care.

“The Aga Khan University, as part of the Aga Khan Development Network, has a long standing and valued co-operation with the German Government. The Network appreciates the support, encouragement, confidence and trust provided by the German Government. With this support from BMZ/KfW, the Aga Khan Hospitals in the region will expand their COVID-19 preparedness and response and will also support the running of the field hospital at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi, said Al-Karim Haji, Vice President, Finance & Chief Financial Officer of the Aga Khan University.