How Devki chair Narendra Raval is stepping up to fight Covid-19

As the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Kenya continues to rise at an alarming rate, ordinary citizens are reaching out to play their part in offering support to fight the virus.

From providing hand sanitizers for the needy to giving out face masks to health workers, Kenyans are increasingly donating their money to support the containment of the pandemic.

One such Kenyan is Narendra Raval. The billionaire founder and chairman of Devki Group on Thursday pledged to donate Sh100 million worth of oxygen to all public hospitals across the country to help Covid-19 patients who may require supplemental oxygen.

In a letter addressed to Health Secretary Mutahi Kagwe, Mr Raval said the oxygen will be available for collection at Devki factories in exchange for empty canisters.  

“I hereby confirm the pledge to donate oxygen worth Sh100 million to all government hospitals throughout the country. Oxygen will be collected from our Mombasa, Ruiru, and Athi River Devki Steel Mills Ltd Factories in exchange for empty cylinders,” he said.

Taking to social media to make the announcement, Mr Raval, popularly known as Guru, further pledged to mobilise all his assets – including his personal vehicles and helicopter – to help with the fight against Covid-19 if required to do so.

“If the need arises, I am ready to pledge all my assets to save my country and the people of Kenya from the Covid-19 devil,” Mr Naval, the CK Person of the Year 2019, said on Twitter.

His donation has been hailed as a strategic contribution to the Covid-19 battle considering that oxygen supplies are emerging as the latest choke point in the fight against the virus.

Although local hospitals are yet to experience oxygen outages, medical facilities in some of the most developed cities have reported spikes in the daily consumption of oxygen, even as industrial gas producers scramble to keep pace with the demand.

READ: Builders bracing for worst as Covid-19 shutdown beckons

Many patients hospitalised with Covid-19 complications, even those not critical enough to be placed on a ventilator, have weakened lung function and require supplementary oxygen – quickly depleting the installed storage reservoirs in most sanatoriums.    

In the UK, for example, the National Health Service has instructed doctors to calculate the number of patients they can support on oxygen at a time, and to limit the use of oxygen machines, which they have been using to assist patients who are yet to require a ventilator.

The global number of confirmed coronavirus cases crossed the one million mark on Thursday night, as death toll surpassed 51,000 while recoveries stood at 208,000 patients.

In Kenya, 110 people had been diagnosed with Covid-19 as of Thursday, with the death toll remaining at three. Four patients have recovered from the coronavirus.

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