WHO responds to The Lancet COVID-19 Commission

News Release by the World Health Organisation WHO welcomes the overarching recommendations of The Lancet COVID-19 Commission’s report on “Lessons for the future from the COVID-19 pandemic,” which align with our commitment to stronger global, regional and national pandemic preparedness, prevention, readiness and response. At

COVID-19 pandemic fuels largest continued backslide in vaccinations in three decades

Source: WHO WHO and UNICEF sound the alarm as new data shows global vaccination coverage continued to decline in 2021, with 25 million infants missing out on lifesaving vaccines The largest sustained decline in childhood vaccinations in approximately 30 years has been recorded in official

Why global hunger is not going away soon

Press Relesase by UN The number of people affected by hunger globally rose to as many as 828 million in 2021, an increase of about 46 million since 2020 and 150 million since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a United Nations report. 

Healing the health system in Kenya: Health Service Commission headache

Deputy President William Ruto has promised health workers that he will set up a Health Service Commission if he succeeds in his ambitions for the presidency. A Health Service Commission would be a boon for health workers since unlike teachers and the police, they were

World Bank Board Approves New Fund for Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response (PPR)

News release by World Health Organization The devastating human, economic, and social cost of COVID-19 has highlighted the urgent need for coordinated action to build stronger health systems and mobilize additional resources for pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response (PPR). The World Bank’s Board of Executive

Fuel subsidy: Why scrapping it is not as easy as it sounds

The Covid-19 pandemic led to the sabotage of the global supply chain hence hiking of  fuel prices. This in return led to the spiral effect spilling to other sectors of the economy thus pushing up the cost of living. In a statement, National Treasury CS

The dilemma in the wake of Covid-19 upsurge and increasing political gatherings

Indoor political meetings are super spreader events for the coronavirus, Health CS Mutahi Kagwe said during a press conference on June 20. What does this mean especially at this time when the political heat has intensified, with the majority of contenders hunting for votes from

Joint investments in research and development key to getting ahead of antimicrobial resistance

By WHO Antibacterial Pipeline Team Development of new antibacterial treatments is inadequate to address the mounting threat of antibiotic resistance, according to the annual pipeline report by the World Health Organization (WHO). The 2021 report describes the antibacterial clinical and preclinical pipeline as stagnant and

Redefining manufacturing for a sustainable economy

Manufacturing is a critical sector in Kenya’s economic development in its contribution to both the national output and exports, as well as job creation.  Over the past decades, the sector has contributed heavily to diversifying Kenya’s economy. However, the pandemic in 2020 had a significant

Economic Survey 2022: A look at ICT sector performance during and after the pandemic

The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) recently released the Economic Survey 2022, detailing how various sectors and job markets performed and offered insight into the post Covid-19 recovery. Kenya’s economy rebounded in 2021 compared to 2020, with most sectors recording significant improvement. According to

EdTech: Deploying contemporary Information Technology solutions for Academic Delivery

By Paul Okanda The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted many economic sectors and allowed a number of them to accelerate their hitherto slow adoption of information technology systems for efficient service delivery. One of the showcase emerging sectors remains education. This sector is now thriving with

E-waste: The raring dragon that should be slain for a sustainable environment

The world is coming to a more crushing realization of the disastrous strain we’re putting on the place we call home, Earth! What we believe to be ground breaking transitions into new, adaptive and better ways of living through electronics, is actually having an adverse

Effects of Kenya’s ‘mandatory’ vaccination directive

On Sunday, November 21, 2021,  Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe announced several strategies that are being proposed to contain the Covid-19 pandemic. These strategies are: Making proof of full vaccination a prerequisite to receiving government services from December 21, 2021. Counties to ramp up on

Ending Aids while learning from Covid

This year’s World Aids Day celebrations, coming as the world works to push back the Covid-19 pandemic, have given the scientific and public policy community an opportunity to consider lessons learnt during the latest medical and scientific struggle faced globally.  As of the end of

No Vaccinations, No Services: Mandatory Vaccination Directive in Kenya

On Sunday, November 21, 2021, Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe announced several strategies that are being proposed to contain the Covid-19 pandemic. These strategies are: Making proof of full vaccination a prerequisite to receiving government services from December 21, 2021. Counties to ramp up on

Compulsory COVID-19 vaccination: Public Interest vs Personal Autonomy

The Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua has warned that action will be taken against civil servants who are not vaccinated by August 23rd, 2021. He said in a memo that it had been discovered that there was low uptake of the vaccines among public

The Four R’s of COVID-19: ‘Relief; Repair; Reboot and Revolutionism’

By Jason Braganza The global Covid-19 pandemic is an unprecedented shock hopefully many of us will not be alive to see another as disruptive and pervasive as this one. A health crisis that shut down the entire global economic and trading ecosystem for close to

Let’s Talk Conversational Commerce

Digital technology and ease of access to information has culminated in changing communications skills and consumer spending behavior. A 2020 Mastercard Study on Consumer Spending revealed that at least four out of five (79%) of surveyed consumers in Kenya shop more online since the Covid-19

Clean energy for Healthcare

Energy efficient health care facilities hold great potential for creating stronger and more resilient healthcare systems. Such energy is vital to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals especially SDG 3 on good health and wellbeing as well as SDG 7 on affordable and clean energy

Automation of customer support key in enhancing operational efficacy

I recently stumbled upon an old photo showing a long and meandering queue of taxpayers outside Times Tower, Nairobi, waiting to submit their annual tax returns. Although the photo is not dated, it could have been taken years back before the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA)

After Parliament, the BBI debate goes to Wanjiku

The Building Bridges Initiative gained more momentum this week with the approval from the Senate of its Bill to amend the Constitution. Proponents of the initiative have been counting their achievements: easily getting four million signatures to support the initiative, getting an overwhelming majority of

Of COVID-19 Vaccines and Intellectual Property

World Intellectual Property Day was on Monday 26th and the theme of this year’s celebration was “IP & SMEs: Taking Your Ideas to Market.” Events all over the world are planned for this week to highlight the crucial role that small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)

On vaccination, the Sputnik V saga demonstrates much

On vaccination, the Sputnik V saga demonstrates much On Friday, the Daily Nation reported that Dinlas Pharma EPZ Ltd, the importers of the Sputnik V vaccine, is seeking authorization to export it from Kenya after the Government threw roadblocks in its way. The exportation of

In focus: COVID-19 Vaccines

25 Million Doses of AstraZeneca Vaccine The Ministry of Health is expected to start rolling out the administration of 25 million doses of Astrazeneca Vaccine soon. Kenya began its mass vaccination on March 5 after receiving 1.2 Million doses of the Astrazeneca Vaccine. By Thursday

A summary of the public health (COVID-19 restriction of movement) rules

New rules were gazetted this week. The Rules provide for: Movement Into And Out Of The Restricted Area/Public Gatherings One needs authorization from the Assistant County Commissioner where they need to enter or exit an infected area for purposes of attending a funeral or seeking

Data Protection and COVID-19 Health data at the workplace

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the lives and livelihoods of many individuals. Many businesses are still trying to catch up with the new normal which has greatly affected how transactions take place. Sectors that were used to cash payments are now accepting cashless payments. This

Government guidelines on COVID-19 vaccines

This week the Pharmacy and Poisons Board published guidance on the role of Private Sector in the deployment of COVID-19 Vaccines (March 2021). The guideline describes the Pharmacy and Poisons Board procedure applicable for private sector engagement in supply of the COVID-19 vaccines. The guideline

Unlock our Country

Today on the 1st of April 2021, President Uhuru Kenyatta addressed the nation at State House, Nairobi. In his address the President gave assurance to those who had taken their first dose (COVID-19 vaccine) and that they will not miss out on their second dose.

Countering the third wave: New COVID-19 measures

Introduction On 26th March, 2021, the President of Kenya addressed the Nation on the Covid-19 Pandemic. The last time he addressed the Nation pertaining to the same was on Friday, 12 March 2021. Albeit the norm where the President addresses the Nation after 30 days

Vaccination Exercise

A total of 355,500 doses of the COVID vaccine have been distributed in 10 regional stores country wide from a total allocation of 530,000 doses. Currently Vaccination is for Health workers and other frontline personnel including security forces and teachers in Phase I. Vaccination to

The COVID vaccine debate- Why is Africa not able to manufacture its own vaccine?

The ongoing COVID-19 (C-19) pandemic has and continues to expose the Africa’s weakness in its manufacture and supply of essential medicines and health equipment. This has also brought to the fore a recognition of Africa’s unwavering dependence on the importation of both pharmaceuticals and essential

A year of resetting what is normal: 12 months post COVID

Today we mark exactly one year since Kenya recorded its first case of COVID-19 on 12th March, 2020.In its wake, the coronavirus disease has left our national consciousness wounded and scarred, every aspect of our life tested to the limit. The COVID enemy has remained

With a third wave on, politicians will need to restrain themselves

It has been an interesting week one year since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, with Tanzanian President John Pombe Maghufuli rumoured to have been hospitalized in Nairobi and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga confirmed positive. At the end of the week, President Uhuru Kenyatta

Tricky times ahead of the Covid vaccine

A story earlier in the week stating that private companies will be allowed to import and administer Covid-19 vaccines caused concerns online about the Government’s plans. Coming as revelations rolled out of Parliament about the apparently shady procurement at the Kenya Medical Supplies Agency as

The Davos Agenda

The Davos Agenda 2021, saw about 1500 global leaders come together under the theme of “A crucial year to rebuild trust” to discuss issues such as COVID-19 vaccination, job creation, climate change and technology among others. The annual event that is normally held at Swiss

The guidance note on Personal Data Protection on COVID-19

In March 2020, the World
Bank declared COVID-19
as a global Pandemic
prompting governments
and health officials to take
precautionary measures to
curb the spread of the virus. Some
of the measures put in place require
an aspect of mass surveillance in
order to map out close contacts
who may have interacted with an
infected or a potentially exposed
person.

2021 ushering in tax changes

Kenya has greatly been affected by the outbreak of Covid-19 that was subsequently declared a global Pandemic. Businesses had to minimize their activities due to the Pandemic. This led to job cuts, unpaid leave and redundancies as profitable entities moved into losses. Millions of Kenyans

BACK TO SCHOOL

Learners in Kenya are back to school for in person learning  after nearly 10 months of virtual learning in the wake of the COVID-19. The government  ordered a phased reopening of schools in 2020 where about 3 million students, who were exam candidates reported to

Business Laws(Amendment) (No. 2), Bill, 2020

The Business Laws (Amendment) Bill (No.2), 2020 seeks to make various amendments to various statutes highlighted as follows:  Clause 2 of the Bill seeks to amend the Law of Contract Act, Cap 23 to eliminate the requirement of a company seal in execution of documents

State of Healthcare in Kenya: Of COVID, Striking medics and BBI

On Wednesday, the Employment and Labour Court ordered striking health workers to temporarily resume work. The Kenya Union of Clinical Officers (KUCO) officials however claim that the court order does not apply to the ongoing strike, stating that it is in regards to a strike

2021-The year of the COVID-19 vaccine: Or is it?

The novel Covid 19 has had unparalleled devastating impact on the overall global economy. The pandemic has been far more than a health crisis: it has adversely affected societies and economies at their core.  While the impact of the pandemic will vary from country to

Colour me orange: 16 days of activism against gender-based violence

Accompanying the COVID-19 crises was the spike in reported instances of domestic violence mostly targeted at women and girls. This was one of the observations made by UN Secretary- General, António Guterres in a report dubbed Shared Responsibility, Global Solidarity: Responding to the socio-economic impacts

Government set to roll back COVID tax relief measures in January 2021

Per statistics by the World Bank, Kenya is set for a relatively short setback from COVID-19 with a s 4 percentage-point dip in growth this year, and 5.2 percent growth returning in 2021. This is still a permanent loss of 5 percent of GDP over

After the latest death, reflection

The death of Dr Stephen Mogusu from Covid-19 complications once more exposed massive gaps in the way the Government treats its essential workers.  Red tape could have been blamed for the fact that he had remained unpaid for five months – some civil servants wait

World AIDS Day- Impact of COVID-19 on ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic

It is nearly 40 years since the first reported case of HIV/AIDS. The 32nd edition of the World AIDS Day was commemorated under an unprecedented norm occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic. Over and above the adverse socio-economic impact that has been brought about as a

Getting back to Business: Guidelines for business operations during COVID for alcoholic beverage sector

The Ministry of Industrialization, Trade and Enterprise Development (MoITED) Situation Room has produced these guidelines to offer direction to players in the sector trading with alcoholic beverages on how to minimize the risk of infection with Corona Virus leading to COVID- 19 disease. These guidelines

Treasury’s post COVID-19 economic recovery strategy

The National Treasury and Planning State Department for Planning this week presented highlights of a Post-Covid 19 economic recovery strategy (ERS) including: Macroeconomic Objectives of ERS Increasing diaspora remittances and investments from Kshs.280 billion 2020 to Kshs.500 billion per year; • Increasing private sector financing

Interfaith Council for Corona response

The Interfaith Council for Corona Response sympathizes, prays and condoles with those that have lost loved ones due to the pandemic and continually pray for those infected and affected and their families. The Council notes that Covid19 pandemic infections and deaths continue to rise in

Appointment of Chief Executive Officer at the Capital Markets Authority

On 19 th November, 2020 it was confirmed that the Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury & Planning, Hon. (Amb.)Ukur Yatani, EGH, had approved the appointment of Mr. Wyckliffe Shamiah as the Chief Executive Officer of theCapital Markets Authority, a role that he has been acting

Highlights of the first quarterly economic and budgetary review report in the 2020/21 FY

10.7%
Growth in broad money supply, M3, improved to 10.7
percent in the year to September 2020 compared to a
growth of 6.5 percent in the year to September 2019.

COVID-19: Global trade value chains, taxation, and recovery

Ideally, removing the non-tariff barriers that remain the biggest hindrance to continental trade can foster regional integration, which must play a key role in the crisis recovery strategies in Africa.

Excellent service delivery is key to KRA’s successful delivery of mandate

CRM is a state-of-the-art system which has revolutionised how KRA engages with taxpayers virtually. Diversification of the virtual customer assistance platforms is informed by the need to take care of the equally diversified base of taxpayer

Back to school : Big issues and challenges

CS Magoha announced the reopening of schools, coupled with recommendations and protocols based of the work of the COVID 19 Education Committee appointed earlier to examine the issue of when learning should resume at school and under what conditions and with what protocols.

Items and events to watch out for

COVID 19 Advisory Committee Webinar:- Building Forward Stronger “Beyond response & recovery towards resilient collaboration.” The Government of Kenya, in recognition of this potential, gazetted an ICT Committee on COVID19, that has in the last several months, received presentations on technologies, their potential use, challenges

FTA Series – Part 3: What you need to know about the COMESA Digital Free Trade Area

COMESA is the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa. In 2018, they agreed to establish a Digital Free Trade Area (DFTA). The initiative that upon inception was expected to create a $17.2 billion-worth market for member states is an online platform for trade facilitation

As the Jubilee party splits, there cannot be good tidings

A decision to resign from the party would likely mean that he
also loses the Deputy President’s seat and loses the perks, if
not the convening power, that comes with the position.

Treasury’s take: Impact of Covid-19 on Kenya’s Economy

The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2019 has caused the most severe global economic setback. Its impact to our economy includes:
-Loss of lives
-Decline in demand of Kenya’s goods and services,
-Job losses,
-Decline in household earnings,
-Heavy public expenditures towards health sector and social
protection,
-Decline in revenue due to subdued economic activities.
Kenya’s GDP is projected to decline to 2.5 % in 2020 compared to a growth of 5.8 % in 2019.

In need of revival: The evening economy

As we walk the path to economic recovery, we need to work towards resuscitating the evening
economy while keeping safe.

Big wins for SMEs

Banking on technological advances in standards
application, KEBS has also committed to supporting
MSMEs to adopt ICT and adapt to the digital
revolution by exploiting tech opportunities such as
cloud computing and data analytics, among others.

A season of madness and great risk

The events of the past week might as well have taken place in 2005, the year there was a referendum that broke the country and the administration of the day in half and the pressure that would explode in December 2007 started building.

National Assembly Health Committee seeks answers on the Utilization of Covid-19 Funds

The Departmental Committee on Health of the National Assembly this week met with officials from various government departments. The officials who went to parliament are: from the Ministry of Health are Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe, PS Susan Mochache, Kemri CEO Prof Yeri Kombe, Director Liaison, Rose Mudibo, Head of National Laboratory Services Dr John Kiiru, Dr Nduku Kilonzo and Anne Ng’anga’ of Covid-19 response project . From the Transport ministry, CAS Christopher Obura, PS Solomon Kitungu, Director Government Clearing Agency Felix Aten and Special Advisor to CS Macharia Mr Joe Mutugu appeared before the Committee.

KQ forecast: Cloudy with a chance of administration

Kenya Airways(KQ) has suffered a turbulent ride in the recent past with the COVID-19 pandemic only sinking the airline further into distress. As a result of the global pandemic the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has forecasted a 29-billion dollar loss from passenger revenues and somewhere in this statistical figure must lie the approximation of 400 -500 million dollars that KQ likely to lose according to the CEO Allan Kilavuka.

Part 2: The Reproductive Healthcare Bill, 2019

The question of right to terminate a pregnancy: Is it time to recognize a woman’s freedom to choose? As highlighted in last week’s feature, a pertinent issue that has come up in the debate of the proposed Reproductive Health Bill, 2019 is whether or not

The Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2020

Introduction With the COVID-19 pandemic here to stay, corporations are now forced to operate digitally. Early in the year the Capital Markets Authority released a note stating that publicly listed companies are allowed to hold virtual meetings since they cannot host their statutory meetings in

The coming COVID-19 funds problem

Police on Friday morning pounced on protesters who had gathered at Uhuru Park in Nairobi to demand the arrest of individuals reported to have been behind the reported theft of funds meant for Covid-19 efforts. Their basis was that the gathering was against the regulations

The COVID-19 research findings in Africa

Studies show that Africa has weathered the pandemic relatively well so far, with fewer than one confirmed case for every thousand people and just 23,000 deaths so far. That is 1:1000 persons.
Antibody surveys show that far more Africans have been infected with the coronavirus and are now resistant to it as per immunologist Sophie Uyoga at the Kenya Medical Research Institute–Wellcome Trust Research Programme

A.U COVID-19 Vaccine Strategy

The African Union (AU) recently published a COVID-19 vaccine strategy. The strategy was announced in a communique issued by the AU ministers of health and heads of delegation following a virtual conference on 24 and 25 June 2020.

CORONA VIRUS: WHAT THE WORLD AND KENYA ARE DOING ABOUT IT

The first case of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) that was first reported from Wuhan, China, on 31 December 2019 has since spread to 54 more countries. According to the WHO there have been increased cases in Italy, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of

VELLUM WEEKLY: KENYA GAZETTE SUMMARY 7 February 2020

PUBLIC SECTOR Appointments I.E.B.C has appointed Mele Joseph Eroo as the County Returning Officer for Nairobi County for purposes of clearing the Deputy County Governor, Nairobi City County. A special sitting of the Assembly shall be held in the National Assembly Chamber in the Main

VELLUM WEEKLY: KENYA GAZETTE SUMMARY 31 January 2020

THE KENYA GAZETTE SUMMARY Legislative Supplements The Traffic Act—Exemption The Public Service Commission Regulations, 2020 PUBLIC SECTOR Appointments The Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Interior and Co-ordination of National Government, notifies the public that the Private Security (General) Regulations (Legal Notice No. 108 of 2019) was

VELLUM WEEKLY: KENYA GAZETTE SUMMARY 24 January 2020

Legislative Supplements Declaration of Special Economic Zone The Kenya Trade Network Agency Order, 2011 The Competition Act—Exclusions The  Nutritionists  and  Dieticians  (Entry Requirements)  (Training  Institutions) Regulations, 2019 The Nutritionists and Dieticians (Training Institutions) (Fees) Regulations, 2019 The Crops (Food Crops) Regulations, 2019 The  Land  Adjudication 

VELLUM WEEKLY: KENYA GAZETTE SUMMARY 17 January 2020

PUBLIC SECTOR Appointments President Uhuru Kenyatta has appointed Joshua Toro (Eng.) to be the Chairperson of the National Irrigation Authority Board. The Cabinet Secretary for Lands and Physical Planning has appointed members of the various Land Control Boards. The Cabinet Secretary for Education has appointed

VELLUM WEEKLY: KENYA GAZETTE SUMMARY 7 January 2020

Legislative Supplement The University Act – Charter for Umma University Acts The Nuclear Regulatory Act, 2019 TRADE AND MANUFACTURING SECTOR Electricity Tariffs, Prices, Charges and Rates A Water Resource Management Authority (WRMA) levy of +2.22 Kenya cents per kWh for all meter readings to be

VELLUM WEEKLY: KENYA GAZETTE SUMMARY 3 January 2020

PUBLIC SECTOR Appointments The National Government Constituencies Development Fund Board has appointed the member of the National Government Constituencies Development Fund committees of Imenti  and Baringo South constituencies. FINANCIAL SERVICES Notices Old Investment (K) Limited Mutual Services has notified the Capital Markets Authority of its