Africa Today

  Indian Diaspora in Kenya Historian Sana Aiyar in her work on the Indian diaspora in Kenya notes that by the time Kenya became an independent nation, 2 per cent of the country’s population was composed of Indians who were part of the retail, wholesale and manufacturing sectors and provided skilled labour. Further, she notes that 30 per cent of Nairobi’s population was Indian. However, the strongly visible presence of Indians in Kenya is complicated by the racial and economic position of the community in the country. Immigrants to the East African republic from India, particularly from Gujarat, had started coming in since the 17th century. The advent of colonial rule expanded business opportunities for Indians from other parts of the subcontinent as well. For instance, a large number of Punjabis provided labour for constructing the railways. Further, Indians were also required for serve in the British Army in East Africa. While several Indians came back after the termination of the...

  Kenyans bleed with mismanaged healthcare. Kenya’s healthcare system is made up of several systems: public, private and faith-based or NGO. About 48% are public and operate under the Ministry of Health, 41% are in the private sector, 8% are faith-based health services, and 3% are run by NGOs. Healthcare in public hospitals is free for some services, such as maternity care, and for those with national health insurance, in-patient treatment is free. Healthcare provided by private hospitals, faith-based institutions or NGOs usually comes at a cost and charges will vary. About 20% of Kenyans have some form of health insurance coverage, including national health insurance, but this varies by region. For instance, 41% of residents in Nairobi have cover, while under 3% will have cover in marginalized rural areas such as Wajir and West Pokot.   In the public sector, the 47 county governments deal with service provision at the local level, while the national level is concern...

  IMF (International Monetary Fund) : Financing to address the pandemic crisis.   The IMF has recognized the heavy burden this crisis has been to low income countries in particular and has offered financial assistance in order to protect the most vulnerable and set the stage for inclusive and sustainable recovery. As IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva noted ahead of the April 2021 IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings: “The global economy is on firmer footing as millions of people benefit from vaccines. But while the recovery is underway, too many countries are falling behind and economic inequality is worsening. Strong policy action is needed to give everyone a fair shot—a shot in the arm to end the pandemic everywhere, and a shot at a better future for vulnerable people and countries.” The Fund’s actions are focused on the following tracks: 1. Emergency financing – The IMF is responding to an unprecedented number of requests for emergency financing. The Fund has tem...

        Why not SPUTNIK in Kenya- who is stopping it? It has been clearer than ever before that we Kenyans are no more going to be benefitted by India with free jabs for COVID-19 when they face scarcity of vaccines themselves. India has become the 60th country to approve use of Russia’s SPUTNIK vaccine despite being a mass producer of vaccines themselves. Why is Kenya’s stance so glaringly different on SPUTNIK vaccine? Here is why. Before we dig any deeper, let us recollect the whole SPUTNIK matter. Kenya received limited quantity of free vaccines (PRIMARY) from Indian (AstraZeneca) as part of WHO’s effort to make vaccines available to third world countries as well. The Kenyan government also approved a private firm to import SPUTNIK V as EMERGENCY vaccine. Currently, the primary vaccine has run out and now the government who once approved SPUTNIK as emergency vaccine has placed a ban on usage in the country and hence the firm is preparing to reexport the same. DO...

      As Covid cases spike, Kenya struggles with its falling economy. With WHO having declared COVID a pandemic a year ago, most of the countries still struggle to combat the virus and are yet to find a solution to spring back to the state it was pre- covid. This looks farfetched especially to the third world countries with no hope of receiving vaccines to reduce people getting infected. Referring to Kenya in specific who had received over a million vaccines in two batches from India, now faces a bigger challenge of getting the second dozes delivered as India’s covid cases have multiplied pushing itself into a massive 3rd wave outburst. Kenya needs to strategize now to safeguard its people; instead of politicizing all matters at hand and focus energies to building the economy. As a matter of urgency, covid jabs are what the people need to get out of their homes and start working; and ultimately open the borders for travel. #sputnik v #covid vaccine #covid19 #kenya #nairob...

  Sputnik to be re-exported from Kenya? The question is not about who wins, it is about who looses. The COVID-19 pandemic has been raging like never before with countries struggling to make vaccines available for its people. India being the hub of manufacturing COVID-19 vaccines have seen massive shortages recently and are importing vaccines in huge numbers. India which was a major exporter of vaccines have now turned to be mass importer, which is very worrying. India has approved many vaccines for use, including Russia’s Sputnik for emergency. Meanwhile in Kenya, which does not manufacture any vaccines, is now re-exporting Sputnik V that has been imported by a private firm, due to suspected irregularities in granting the award to the firm. Considering, the lack of vaccines and the extend of coverage Kenyans have had, this move is not just foolish but also to surely cause damage to the already fallen economy. Kenyans need to know - pick one’s fight when it’s time, and when it’s ri...

  Privatization of Sputnik V vaccine is just a farce and could be a real blessing. India has been Kenya’s life saver in supplying AstraZeneca manufactured from Serum Institute of India for the first doze. Now the heavily populated country is itself facing a crisis of having severely been affected with the third wave of Coronavirus, thereby restricting exports to other nations. Kenya now faces a halt in the administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine due to delays in the supply chain system. The initial plan was to reach 500,000 people with two doses of the 1.02 million doses received from the Covax facility on March 3, but plans were changed to reach at least one million people in the hope that the second consignment of the vaccine would be received in April to facilitate the second dosage. This crisis will force Kenya to relook at the strategy they adopted with immediate effect in terms of banning import and distribution of vaccines by private companies. There has been a publi...