COVID-19 Kenya Project #48153

Funding Frontline COVID-19 Response in Kibera

by CFK Africa

Project Report | Mar 18, 2021
One-year of COVID-19 Response in Kibera

By Hannah Bain | Communications Manager

CFK's Ambulance

The first case of COVID-19 in Kenya was reported just over one year ago. Since then, CFK has been conducting a coordinated, multi-level response. To date, our Tabitha Medical Clinic has collected more than 4,700 coronavirus samples for testing, and our team of trained Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) continues to support contact tracing and sensitization efforts throughout the community. The team at Tabitha Maternity Home was recognized by the Gates Foundation as Frontline Heroes for ensuring continuity of care for expectant mothers throughout the pandemic. In late 2020, CFK purchased and began operating an ambulance to provide affordable emergency transportation to Kibera residents.

Since handwashing is a critical and cost-effective part of reducing the spread of infectious diseases like COVID-19, CFK dramatically expanded its water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) project over the last year. Our team has installed more than 1,500 household and community handwashing stations, distributed more than 15,000 liters of locally made soap, and led soap-making demonstrations throughout the community.

Most recently, in collaboration with CFK’s Education and Livelihoods team, the WASH project partnered with local schools to ensure that teachers and students had the knowledge and resources they needed to safely return to in-person learning. After a 10-month hiatus, schools across Kenya reopened in January, but many public and private schools in Kibera lacked critical resources such as masks, soap, and operable handwashing stations. In response, CFK has worked with 88 schools to:

Install handwashing tanks,
Renovate handwashing blocks,
Make soap and lead soap-making demonstrations to help schools save money,
Distribute informative material to combat misinformation,
Provide hygiene kits, masks, sanitizer, and thermal guns.

Newly recognized as the CDC’s lead implementing partner for WASH in informal settlements, CFK will be expanding its WASH activities to additional informal settlements this year, drawing on the lessons it has learned to impact thousands more.

CFK Community Handwashing Station

Community Members Using CFK WASH Station

CFK Water Tanks

CFK Staff Providing WASH Resources to Schools

CFK Staff Making Soap

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Nov 19, 2020
COVID-19 Response Update

By Hannah Bain | CFK Communications Manager

Though the COVID-19 pandemic has affected nearly every person in the world in some way, those living in informal settlements like Kibera continue to experience challenges disproportionately. Characterized by overcrowding, high unemployment rates, food insecurity, and a lack of access to basic services such as healthcare and clean water, Kibera is a vulnerable environment where residents are at a high-risk of infection. In these conditions, social distancing and self-isolation are virtually impossible.

Rooted in the Kibera community for nearly 20 years, CFK's participatory development approach has earned the organization and its staff the trust of residents and community leaders. During the COVID-19 pandemic, CFK has addressed the needs of Kibera residents in a timely and efficient manner, engaging directly with the community to understand the unique challenges facing informal settlements during this public health emergency. The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the effectiveness of CFK's participatory development model and emphasized its strengths in facilitating multi-sectoral partnerships and providing comprehensive health services.

Through collaborations with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), we coordinated coronavirus sample collection and contact tracing efforts, trained community health volunteers (CHVs) on WASH activities and contact tracing protocols, and implemented health and safety measures for frontline healthcare staff. Tabitha Medical Clinic remains one of the few clinics in Kibera able to collect COVID-19 samples, and Tabitha Maternity Home has remained open 24/7. To date, CFK has collected more than 2,900 coronavirus samples.

Our multi-sectoral response also included establishing a home-learning initiative, bringing more than 10,000 revision materials to more than 600 out-of-school students lacking access to online education resources. Alumni from CFK's Angaza scholarship project aided in this effort. CFK's CHVs have also been instrumental in installing 980 hand washing stations and distributing 3,500 liters of soap. CFK's Girls Empowerment Program (GEP) continued mentoring girls through phone calls and socially distanced home visits, and staff distributed feminine hygiene products to girls. This distribution saved girls an average of 389 KSH ($3.57 USD) each month, a significant amount for residents who frequently live on less than $2 USD per day.

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