US pledges money to Kenyan health
24/06/2010
Kenya is to receive money from the US to help strengthen its health system, it has been revealed.
The country is one of eight recipients to be given cash as part of the US's Global Health Initiative, Plus News reports.
It is a six-year programme that will see $63 billion (£42 billion) of US government funds handed out to improve supply chain management, health worker retention and information management, Nicole Schiegg of the US Agency for Development explained.
Kenya is expected to use its share to plug holes left by the previous funding received through the US president's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief project.
Dr Shahnaaz Sharif, Kenya's director of public health and sanitation, said the country's health systems need improvement.
"If you have weak systems, you can't handle [HIV and Tuberculosis] - you can't handle anything," the politician added.
Officials are currently looking into possible flood risks in the country and have installed water level monitors on the banks of the Nzoia River.
Written by Dan Parr
