The German government had deployed nine mobile, modified vehicle laboratories to support East African states in their campaign to control the spread of Covid-19 pandemic in the region.
The nine mobile laboratories are equipped with and Coronavirus test kits to all EAC Partner States in a bid to detect and respond to highly infectious diseases such as COVID-19 and Ebola.
Germany had donated this week, the vehicles through its Frankfurt-based development bank KfW. The mobile laboratories are equipped with 5,400 Covid-19 test kits for the six East African Community (EAC) member countries which are Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and South Sudan.
The EAC Secretary General Liberat Mfumukeko received the vehicles and said that each Partner State would receive a vehicle fitted with laboratory and ICT equipment, as well as all the necessary consumables for a fully functional laboratory with the capacity to conduct tests for Ebola and the Coronavirus in addition to other pathogens.
He said that in addition to the Mobile Laboratories, the EAC Secretariat has also provided COVID-19 tests kits, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) including gloves, gown, mask goggles, and shoe protectors, and other consumables to the Partner States.
Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda have been supplied with two vehicles each while the rest countries received one vehicle each.
The Mobile Laboratories had been equipped with modern equipment and could diagnose most pathogens in addition to providing safe, accurate and timely patient results for COVID-19, Ebola and other disease-causing pathogens.
The EAC Secretariat has trained a total of 18 Laboratory Ndị ọkachamara na- from the Partner States who are skilled trainers and certified proficient operators and users on the operation of the Mobile Laboratories in a plan to limit human-to-human transmission of the Covid-19 virus.
Apart from financing the diagnostic kits to the EAC, Germany, through KfW had financed an intensive training program for laboratory experts to build capacity in the region to detect Covid-19.
Germany is the leading partner in supporting East African states through economic, social and humanitarian projects.
