The first batch of 100 medical specialists from Cuba will arrive in Kenya in July before being deployed to county hospitals across the country.
Head of the National Malaria Control Programme at the Ministry of Health Waqo Erjesa stated that the first group of vector control experts and doctors are expected to boost efforts to fight Malaria in counties where prevalence is high.
Ejersa revealed that the Cuban specialists would oversee the spraying of stagnant water bodies around Lake Victoria.
The preventive method is known in scientific jargon as larviciding and involves killing of mosquitoe larvae.
He stated that they expect 10 vector control experts and 100 doctors from Cuba.
[caption caption="Cuban doctors at a past event (Courtesy)"]
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The announcement comes amid growing opposition from Kenyan doctors who demanded that the government first employ 1,200 Kenyan doctors who have not been deployed before enlisting the Cuban specialists.
Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPPDU) secretary-general Ouma Oluga described the move as a waste of public funds.
“The Cubans are not coming to do anything we cannot do. They are bringing nothing special to the table,” he stated.
The decision to bring in vector control experts comes as the World Health Organization (WHO) backs an infant anti-malaria vaccine set to be rolled out in October.
At a meeting on the sidelines of the ongoing Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in London, it emerged that President Uhuru Kenyatta secured Sh14.8 Billion from the United Kingdom for malaria prevention, with the money to be chanelled through the global fund.
[caption caption="President Uhuru Kenyatta in London on April 17th 2018"]
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