MTaPS Program Supports Kenya to Combat COVID-19

The USAID MTaPS Program is supporting Kenya in its efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 pandemic by implementing a national strategy in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and county governments (see US Embassy in Kenya announcement). The program already operates in the country with a mandate to strengthen Kenya’s pharmaceutical system, which includes the objective of combating infectious diseases. 

The MTaPS COVID-19 assistance is helping the country strengthen its infection prevention and control (IPC) capacity through the following measures:

• Supporting national and county-level COVID-19 task forces and IPC committees to develop rapid response action plans to manage the outbreak
• Developing and disseminating IPC guidelines and outreach materials like posters for staff, patients, family members, caregivers, and visitors to health facilities in priority areas
• Training trainers and identifying “COVID-19 Champions” to increase awareness of infection prevention best practices, including waste management, occupational health safety, injection safety, donning and removal (doffing) of personal protection equipment, handwashing, social distancing, and cough etiquette, in health facilities and their priority areas 

The program is drawing on the immediate threat prevention and preparedness strategies recommended by global bodies, such as the World Health Organization and contextualizing them to the Kenyan context.

The MTaPS Program has been working in Kenya since 2018 to advance the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) by helping the country optimize the use of antimicrobial medicines and strengthen multisectoral coordination for containing antimicrobial resistance. The program also works across the region – with the East African Community and The Intergovernmental Authority on Development – to strengthen medicines regulatory harmonization systems.