How counties can join Covid-19 fight

The country is facing the harsh reality of being at war with the Covid-19 pandemic.

The relentless nature of this virus undoubtedly threatens the nation on many fronts, making it clear that we cannot just be on the defensive; we must build a strong offensive as well.

The national government is putting its best foot forward in tackling this deadly menace, but with the dramatic spread and effect of this virus in other countries, it is unclear how long the government will hold its ground.

If the modelled figures of 1,000 infections in the first week of April, 5,000 in mid-April and 10,000 by the end of April by the Ministry of Health is anything to go by, then it is evident that the health system is in a race against time.

The nation is obviously facing an unprecedented challenge, but even as we copy best practices, we must not forget that we have some working structures in place which must strategically step up.

In the fight against this global pandemic, everyone has a role to play.

RESPONSE CENTRES

Devolution has been our most celebrated achievement over the past decade, and it is time for the devolved governments to prove themselves.

All the 47 county governments must quickly realise that they are stand-alone entities and stop over-relying on the national government for technical assistance.

County governments must, as a matter of priority, build their own full capacity and cascade what the national government is doing at the national level in their respective counties.

Of great importance is equipping their own county facilities with testing and tracing capabilities with immediate effect.

This may mean slowing down the development agenda in the counties to provide sufficient resources to this life saving arrangement.

There is no law that prohibits any county government from disregarding the tokenism from the national government and acquiring its own equipment or cooperate with research institutions to set up its own response centres.

Equally, health and other social workers must be adequately equipped to handle cases as well as protect themselves.

CREATIVE STEPS

Furthermore, county governments must avoid the temptation of parading the usual simplistic responses they are accustomed to, which are often used as public relations tools, and concentrate on more creative ways of dealing with the problem.

Most counties, for example, might want to go for food donations instead of issuing directives to residents to go back to their farms and farm food that can mature within the next three to four months.

County governments must work together with national government agencies and administrators to ensure that all residents, especially in rural areas, go back to their farms and take advantage of the ongoing rains.

Lastly, prudent use of scarce resources must be exercised to ensure maximum benefits are reaped.

At the end of this, we must evaluate our strategies and assess our actions, and it is important that we get a pass at being shrewd.

Kaguchia is the second Speaker of the County Assembly of Nyeri.