Public health officers have called on the Ministry of Health to take urgent steps to strengthen Kenya’s response to Ebola, raising concerns over preparedness at the county and border levels.
The officers made four demands on Wednesday, October 7, as the government stepped up contact tracing following the confirmation of Kenya’s first reported Ebola case.
Speaking during a briefing, the officers said the response to Ebola should not be left to doctors and clinicians alone, arguing that public health officers and other health workers have important roles to play in containing infectious diseases.
They called for the Ministry of Health to involve public health officers across the country in the national Ebola response while also addressing ongoing strikes within the sector.
Officers raise border concerns
The public health officers also questioned how the suspected patient was able to travel from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), through Uganda and into Kenya.
They raised concerns over the implementation of international health regulations at border points, particularly screening and certification procedures for people travelling between the three countries.
The officers said public health personnel should be actively involved in screening travellers and ensuring that the necessary health requirements are met at border crossings.
They warned that weaknesses in the public health system could make it harder for the country to contain infectious disease outbreaks.
The officers also drew comparisons with the COVID-19 pandemic, which began in Kenya with an imported case before spreading locally.
Four demands
The first demand is for the Ministry of Health to engage public health officers across the country and work towards resolving ongoing strikes so that they can fully participate in the Ebola response.
They also want the government to adopt a whole-health-system approach when responding to Ebola and other epidemics and pandemics.
Under the proposed approach, public health officers, laboratory professionals, clinicians, nutritionists and other healthcare workers would have clearly defined responsibilities during an outbreak.
The officers further called for more training on Ebola preparedness.
However, despite the 4,791 health workers who have undergone training so far, most of the training sessions have emphasized the senior leadership within the public health sector and not the first responders in case of a suspected outbreak.
Public health officers and laboratory staff need to get specialized training on Ebola preparedness, detection, surveillance, and response.
Protection of health workers
In addition, the health workers expressed concerns over the lack of personal protection equipment for the public health workers who could be exposed to hazardous infections while doing their work.
Accordingly, it was called for frontline health workers to get adequate equipment and training that would make them ready to respond to any suspected case immediately.
The above-listed demands have emerged in the wake of the efforts of the Ministry of Health in intensifying contact tracing after the discovery of an Ebola case in Kenya.
As of Wednesday morning, a total of 57 contacts had been found, and 10 people were in quarantine facilities while being monitored by health officials.