President William Ruto has defended Kenya’s reported partnership with the United States on Ebola preparedness, insisting that the government’s priority is to protect Kenyans from potential outbreaks and other public health emergencies.
Speaking during the Northern Kenya Media Roundtable in Wajir, Ruto said Kenya had already put in place extensive measures to respond to any Ebola case that may be reported in the country.
The President revealed that isolation units, surveillance systems and treatment facilities have been prepared in 23 counties as part of the country’s response plan.
“We have made preparations for isolation units, surveillance, and treatment in 23 counties. Different hospitals have already been set up to make sure that if there were a case of Ebola in Kenya, we would know what to do,” Ruto said.
He noted that Kenya’s preparedness efforts are partly informed by the large number of Kenyans living and working in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country that has experienced several Ebola outbreaks over the years.
“We have thousands upon thousands of Kenyans in DRC. If, for whatever reason, they were to become victims of Ebola, we would have a responsibility as a country to treat them. We would have a responsibility to our citizens to make sure that we take care of them,” he added.
Ruto also defended cooperation with the United States, saying the partnership is aimed at strengthening Kenya’s capacity to respond to health emergencies and should not be viewed with suspicion.
“What the American government is doing is to work with us in partnership to build the capacity to make sure that if ever we needed a facility, that facility will be there to serve the people of Kenya and to serve our friends, including the Americans,” he said.
The President further disclosed that the US government has committed significant resources towards Kenya’s health sector, including support for health infrastructure development.
“They have deployed huge resources, they’ve given us a grant of close to 200 billion Kenyan shillings to support the building of our health infrastructure. They’ve done it before. It’s not the first time they are doing it again, because that is the nature of international solidarity,” Ruto said.
His remarks come amid heightened public discussion over Kenya’s preparedness for Ebola and reports of a proposed regional quarantine and disease response facility.
Health authorities have maintained that Kenya remains on high alert due to recurring outbreaks in parts of East and Central Africa and the country’s position as a regional transport and trade hub.
