- Program targets 50,000 Public Healthcare Workers Dealing with COVID-19
Public healthcare staff dealing with Covid-19 patients will receive training on case management and psychosocial support to help them cope with the fight against the spread of the pandemic.
Kenya Covid-19 Fund and Equity Group Foundation (EGF) have financed the initiative at a cost of KSh85 million.
Equity Group Holdings CEO James Mwangi who also chairs the Health Committee of the Kenya Covid-19 Fund Board said the partnership would champion the mental wellness of healthcare workers as well as support them physically with the much-needed personal protective equipment and how to apply and use the same.
“Health is not just a physical embodiment but one you carry in your mind all the time. It may be hard to express what you are going through and feeling in such stressful circumstances as dealing with COVID-19, or any other medical conditions. We want to champion the mental wellness of our healthcare workers as well as supporting them physically with the much-needed personal protective equipment and how to apply and use the same,” Dr. James Mwangi said during the launch of the programme.
Kenya Medical Association (KMA) will implement the program together with the National Nurses Association of Kenya (NNAK), Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists’ Union (KMPDU), Kenya Psychiatric Association & Clinical Psychologists’ Association of Kenya. Other Associations that are part of this initiative include the Pharmaceutical Society of Kenya, Kenya Clinical Officers’ Association (KCOA), Kenya Pharmaceutical Association, and other healthcare professional associations.
The association’s CEO Elizabeth Gitau welcomed the initiative. She said it would assist to scale and reach more members.
She said many frontline workers “are ill-prepared to face a global health emergency.
Case Management training and the psychosocial wellness program targets to reach 50,000 health workers of all cadres to boost confidence and enhance professional acumen in dealing with the COVID-19 health crisis.
