President William Ruto has today formed a committee to prepare for the possible repatriation of American Ebola patients to Kenya. In a statement issued on Friday, the president said the committee will be led by Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi. Its job will be to oversee the country’s response strategy against any Ebola-related emergencies that might come up.
Ruto explained that the government will establish a National Response Committee under Mudavadi, who is also the Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs. This team will coordinate a whole-of-government and whole-of-society response. It will also work to strengthen public awareness and preparedness and mobilise the technical and financial resources needed to handle any eventualities from the Ebola outbreak.
The United States has already committed Ksh1.74 billion to support Kenya’s Ebola preparedness. This followed a phone call on Thursday between Ruto and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Reports say Ruto has agreed to set up an Ebola quarantine unit at Laikipia Airbase. The unit would be used to treat Americans who have contracted Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
However, a high court sitting in Nairobi has now stopped the Kenyan government from accepting any foreign Ebola patients. The halt will remain in place until a case filed by the Katiba Institute is heard and decided.
