President Uhuru Kenyatta flies a specialised drone in Kilifi, unveils first locally manufactured malaria rapid diagnostic kit

President Uhuru Kenyatta on Thursday morning in Kilifi County flagged-off the Kenya Malaria Army and unveiled the Kenya-Cuba Malaria Vector Control Programme.

President Kenyatta, who is the current Chairperson of the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA), also witnessed a demonstration on the use of drones for mapping and outdoor spraying of malaria breeding sites.

The head of state was also given the chance to fly the specialised drone which is capable of spraying anti-malarial larvicides on 150 acres daily.

Ordinarily the same task would take upto 10 days when done manually.

The Kenya Malaria Army is an initiative by ALMA (African Leaders Malaria Alliance) to end the vector-borne disease on the continent by the year 2030.

Uhuru also unveiled the first locally manufactured malaria rapid diagnostic kit at the KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme in Kilifi County.

President Uhuru Kenyatta flies a drone in Kilifi County Pulse Live Kenya

The Head of State, who was taken on guided tour of the world renowned health research facility, announced the attainment of World Health Organization (WHO) pre-qualification for the first locally manufactured malaria medicine.

On July 14, President Kenyatta endorsed the appointment of two special envoys to help accelerate the fight against malaria on the continent.

President Kenyatta applauded ALMA for the progress made towards the establishment of a digital malaria repository for the continent saying the database will assist African nations to share best practices.

“I congratulate the ALMA secretariat for keeping the fire burning in the fight against malaria despite the challenges brought about by Covid-19 pandemic,” President Kenyatta said.

Uhuru coast tour

President Kenyatta is on a development tour of the coast where he presided over a KDF military drill at Boni forest.

He visited a multi-agency team of Kenyan security officers undertaking joint operational training in Boni Forest, Lamu County.

The FTX, which is coordinated by the KDF brought together troops from the different security formations in the country among them Kenya Police Service National Youth Service Kenya Wildlife Service, Kenya Forest Service and Kenya Coast Guard with a view of attaining high levels of operational efficiency.

Field training exercises are usually practice "mini-battles" which provide fairly realistic scenarios and situations based on actual situations a unit might face if deployed.

Soldiers prepare the exercise meticulously, usually without divulging plans or other information to their opponents.