Principal Secretary (PS) for the State Department for Medical Services Ouma Oluga has defended Kenya’s Ebola preparedness measures, revealing that the government has already quarantined 37 Kenyans who recently returned from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as part of ongoing surveillance efforts.
Speaking in an interview on the Fixing the Nation NTV Interview on June 2, PS Oluga stressed that the 37 individuals quarantined were Kenyans, not foreign nationals, and included senior business executives and investors with operations in the DRC’s mining sector.
PS Oluga noted that Kenya has extensive economic and security interests in the DRC, with hundreds of Kenyans working in the country through institutions such as KCB and Equity Bank, as well as members of the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) deployed there.
This, he said, makes cross-border movement inevitable and necessitates strong quarantine and surveillance systems.
“Recently, can I disclose that we already quarantined 37 Kenyans. 37 Kenyans who are from Congo-Brazzaville. They weren’t American citizens. They were 37, and they were not the usual. They were the who’s who. Some of them are CEOs in this country whose businesses support mines in the DRC. We have several logistics companies there,” PS Olunga said.
PS Oluga Speaks on Why Kenya’s Ebola Vigilance Remains Essential
According to the PS, Kenya’s engagement with international partners, including the United States, is aimed at strengthening the country’s capacity for quarantine, isolation and disease management rather than facilitating the entry of Ebola patients into the country.
He argued that from a logistics and risk-management perspective, enhancing quarantine capacity within Kenya would be safer than transporting suspected Ebola patients across multiple countries.
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Oluga said a recent Ebola scare involving a Turkish tourist was ruled out after health authorities quickly tested the individual following a report from a private doctor.
He noted that the alertness of both clinicians and the public plays a key role in ensuring timely testing and response.
He added that members of the public are encouraged to report any suspected cases through the government’s Ebola hotline at 719 to support early detection and containment efforts.
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Kenya Trains 2,200 Health Workers to Handle Ebola Cases
According to the PS, Kenya has trained 2,200 health workers to strengthen the country’s capacity to respond in the event of an outbreak.
He noted that Kenya has been steadily strengthening its Ebola response systems over time, with medical personnel routinely receiving specialized training during outbreaks in neighbouring countries.
“Health workers need to be properly trained and properly prepared. In this particular response, we have trained about 800 so far. Overall, the number stands at around 2,200 health workers. Whenever there is an outbreak in the region, Kenyan health workers are trained,” he said.
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