The Irish Government announces support to the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office in Kenya towards COVID19 response in the Country

The Irish Government has stepped in to boost the coordination capacity of the Resident Coordinator’s Office at the United Nations in Kenya in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ireland’s support is intended to enhance joint planning, coordination, communication and monitoring of results and, in particular, support county governments in tackling Covid19. The funds will ensure that the UN agencies and Humanitarian Partners deliver as one in support of the Government of Kenya by rapidly mobilizing necessary resources and responding to the immediate needs. 

The Ambassador of Ireland to Kenya H.E Fionnuala Quinlan, said “This support is a reflection of Ireland’s commitment to the UN and an expression of our solidarity with the people of Kenya. Together with Kenya, Ireland played a significant role in the development and adoption of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development and we stand shoulder to shoulder with Kenya in its fight against COVID19. Coronavirus poses a great challenge, but if we work together and deliver as one, we can beat it.

“To date, Ireland has allocated almost €120 million to the global fight against COVID-19 to enable our partners – the UN, WHO, NGOs and partner countries - to respond directly to COVID-19. We are also proud to contribute to the EU response, which has mobilized €35 billion.”

  The WHO declared Corona Virus (COVID-19) outbreak as a pandemic on 11 March 2020 Currently the pandemic has spread to almost all countries with approximately 18,445,787 cases worldwide and 691,740 lost their lives. 

As of 5th August, 23,202 cases and 388 deaths have been confirmed in Kenya. These numbers could have been much higher if the Government of Kenya had not taken timely preventative action from early on.

The UN County Team in Kenya has proactively engaged the government since early March to make sure its support is fully aligned to the Government of Kenya’s priorities.

Siddharth Chatterjee, UN Resident Coordinator to Kenya, said: “We greatly appreciate the support of the Government of Ireland. Through the Kenya Humanitarian Partners Team we are maintaining consistent communication and coordination with both the Government of Kenya, as well as Development Partners, and other humanitarian partners to optimize the efficiency and effectiveness of our COVID19 support.”

Under the leadership of the UN Resident Coordinator, the UN and humanitarian partners launched a Flash Appeal on 09 April 2020 to mobilize $267.5 million to accelerate support for the government-led COVID19 response. From the current UN Development Assistance Framework to Kenya 2018-2022, the UN family has redeployed US$ 45 million to support Kenya in its response to the COVID 19 pandemic and deployed over 150 UN staff and volunteers to the response. 

The UN Kenya is supporting a whole of society approach with public health at the heart and making sure other areas also receive required support in the short and medium term (e.g. social protection, education, economic sustainability, safety and security & human rights).