The world is in a race against time to save itself from the coronavirus pandemic. Kenya is also in this fight and as we dedicate most resources towards this threat, we must not forget the plight of Kenyans suffering from other diseases. It may look politically correct for those in power to eat, live and drink corona, but millions of others are living a different reality. Thousands continue to suffer from the cancer scourge that has ravaged the nation in recent days. HIV/Aids and related complications too continue to bog down our people. Diabetes, hypertension, malaria, pneumonia and tuberculosis also fall high on that list.
The government must not slow down the fight against these diseases even as it trains its eyes on Covid-19. We urge the government to borrow from the Covid-19 response in fighting the long standing ailments. This global pandemic may have exposed the rot within our healthcare facilities but it has also shown us that with dedication and ambition, Kenya can marshal enough resources to take care of its people. Doctors and nurses have been hired to plug existing gaps in staffing while isolation units at Mbagathi and at selected points of entry - were completed in record time.
Critical medical aid equipment such as Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) and ventilators, items that have been imported for years at the expense of building the Kenyan economy while providing jobs for millions of young youth. Now, government backed factories, in a matter of days are producing the needed PPE.
Institutions of higher learning such as Kenyatta University have produced proven ventilator prototypes. The outbreak has opened us up to the real possibility of fixing our healthcare system. We hope the government is taking note of the enduring spirit of Kenyans. We, as a media house have taken note.
And we shall be here to remind the state not to drop the ball. The fixing of our health should not stop with the end of the pandemic. This should instead be the beginning of us fixing our rotten, unreliable and expensive healthcare.
