Frontier Counties Development Council (FCDC) chair Ali Roba press statement on Coronavirus

Since we are collectively responsible to deal with this new unprecedented health challenge of COVID-19 virus outbreak, I would like to share the following as the Governor of Mandera County and the Chairman of Frontier Counties Development Council.
1. While our counties are doing their best in putting in place what they believe to be adequate to deal with this challenges of COVID-19, their real state of preparedness has not been effectively evaluated, as such, it is not possible to tell in candid terms what our state of preparedness is as counties. Our fragile health systems are severely being tested during this trying period. Therefore, there is need for the National Ministry of Health and the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 to come up with or provide an elaborate checklist against which the counties can check their state of preparedness in dealing with this COVID19 outbreak.
2. In order for our counties to succeed in effectively slowing down transmissions and prevent infections, we must get proper support from the National Government. We must make sure that no county is left behind in this war against COVID-19. For us to effectively win the war on this virus as a country, both levels of government have a responsibility to scale up effective containment strategies by putting in place deliberate and adequate preparation and response mechanisms.
3. Counties in the ASALs need targeted support from the National Ministry of Health, Ministry of Water and other non-state actors. We are ill-prepared to deal with new health challenges. Water access is key to improving hygiene and particularly availing hand washing points for members of the public free of charge.
4. Many boardroom meetings and press statements in Nairobi may not be effective in dealing with a problem of such magnitude. An urgent assessment of the state of preparedness by counties is required nationally before we clap for ourselves and falsely report that “as a country, we are prepared and have put the right measures in place.”
5. The Government must urgently provide sufficient and effective testing kits to all level 4 and level 5 hospitals, since we only have three facilities in the country with testing capacity. This will reduce turnaround times for specimen results.
6. We must carry out countrywide assessment to make sure that the process of readying hospitals and ensuring that they have space, supplies and the needed personnel in place is complete at all sub-counties in the country. This is the time to engage unemployed health workforce to support healthcare of citizens. Our health workers must be provided with adequate personal protective equipment so that we do not lose health workers while in the line of duty.
7. Medical personnel training across all the sub-counties must be taken care of so that the collective effort can be considered adequate across the country. If any part of this country mishandles this delicate emergency, we will be doing retrogressive efforts that will not lead to effective control of the virus and impact our progress on Universal Healthcare.
8. Our security forces need to be adequately trained and provided with personal protective equipment for them to effectively enforce law and order and discharge duties during the entire period.
9. Lastly, we must all remember that preventing the spread of COVID-19 is a shared responsibility for all of us hence each one us must make deliberate effort to take up their roles. This is the time to use our collective responsibilities as a community to act together to slow the spread of the virus and protect our communities. The public must take all the precautionary advice given by health workers.
Thank you.