NAIROBI, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Sub-Saharan African countries are set to benefit from deployment of low-cost innovations that will enhance response to the COVID-19 pandemic amid a gradual spike in infections and mortalities, non-profit funders said late Monday.
The innovations, funded by the Canadian Government through the non-profit organization, Grand Challenges Canada, aims to help local communities access anti-COVID-19 supplies like ventilators, masks, sanitizers and oxygen.
"To overcome the unprecedented health challenges presented by COVID-19, the world needs innovation and ingenuity," Karina Gould, Canada's Minister of International Development said in a statement issued in Nairobi on Monday evening.
Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and South Africa are among African countries that will benefit from the innovations.
A Kenyan social enterprise Hewa Tele (plenty of air) that has benefited from the Canadian government funding will be providing medical-grade oxygen to an isolation facility in Nairobi that has been set aside to treat COVID-19 patients.
In neighboring Uganda, a network of micro-entrepreneurs has been supported to deliver critical anti-COVID-19 supplies like soap, sanitizers and tablets that fight fever to the country's remote outposts. Enditem
