The United States has pledged KSH 1.75 billion to bolster Kenya’s Ebola preparedness. This comes as Washington and Nairobi ramp up joint efforts to manage a regional outbreak, which includes potential plans for monitoring and treating exposed American citizens in Kenya.
According to US State Department Spokesperson Tommy Pigott, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently discussed the ongoing public health response with President William Ruto.
“The United States Government intends to commit $13.5 million toward Kenya’s Ebola preparedness efforts and has already committed to providing $112 million in bilateral assistance to the regional response,” read the statement in part.
Pigott added that the two leaders will maintain close coordination throughout the evolving situation and continue to draw upon the deep-rooted US-Kenya health partnership.
“The two leaders agreed to maintain close coordination as the situation evolves and to continue leveraging the strong US-Kenya health partnership that has proven essential in addressing public health challenges in Kenya and across East Africa,” he added.
The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) has given the government 48 hours to disclose details of alleged talks with the US to set up an Ebola treatment facility at Laikipia Airbase. The union claims the government is putting foreign interests ahead of the safety of Kenya’s citizens.
“As the vanguard of Kenya’s healthcare system, we are utterly disgusted by the government’s apparent willingness to trade national biosecurity and the lives of its citizens for foreign aid. We will not sit back and watch Kenya be treated as a containment colony for a lethal pathogen that we did not generate,” the statement read.
POLITICAL HEADACHE: EBOLA FIASCO: TRUMP MAKES DEMANDS
The Ministry of Health has maintained that Kenya is well-equipped to handle any potential Ebola risk, adding that the national incident management system has been activated and that screening has been intensified at all points of entry.
