Polish aid

Such projects are run, for instance, by the Polish Center for International Aid (PCPM) that uses Polish Aid funds to organise training sessions and ease equipment shortages for fire brigades and rescue services in Kenya.

Thanks to this initiative which was launched in 2014, Kenya’s first Fire and Rescue Training Centre was founded. Its mission is to provide high quality professional education and certification services for firefighters from across the country. As part of conducted activities, Polish instructors have already trained over 500 Kenyan firefighters, and firefighting services in over 20 counties have received professional personal protection equipment and gear for their units. Currently the Centre supports local medical services in their fight against the coronavirus. Part of the Centre’s equipment that was purchased with Polish Aid funds is used to disinfect ambulances and fire engines.

To support the treatment of Covid-19 patients, a video conference was organised with Kenyan emergency medical responders, including members of the Kenya Council of Emergency Medical Technicians (KCEMT). Members of the PCPM Emergency Medical Team, who gained experience during missions in Italy and Kyrgyzstan, shared their knowledge and expertise. The main topic of the conference was emergency medical services and ambulance operations, as well as hospital treatment during the Covid-19 epidemic.

The training courses organised in the Centre this year will focus on medical issues and flood rescue operations. This is the Centre’s response to current needs of Kenyan emergency services as well as to natural hazards caused by an exceptionally long and abundant rainy season that has so far claimed the lives of nearly 200 Kenyan citizens and forced 100,000 people to flee their homes.