Kanjama urges ‘robust measures’ to keep Ebola out of Kenya as US plan sparks debate

In a post on X, Kanjama said Kenya should take “robust measures” to prevent Ebola cases from entering the country, including declining what he described as a request by the United States government to establish an Ebola Treatment Centre in Kenya.

“That includes declining the request by the US Government to set up an Ebola Treatment Centre in Kenya where Ebola patients from other countries will be flown in,” he said.

Kanjama argued that while Ebola patients deserve access to high-quality care, public health considerations require treatment facilities and isolation protocols to be set up near the common epicentre of infection.

“Public health dictates [that] the medical treatment facility and treatment isolation protocols be set up near the common epicentre of the infection. That is either in Eastern Congo or Western Uganda,” he said.

The comments come amid reports that the United States is weighing plans to handle some Ebola exposure cases outside its borders.

According to The New York Times, the Trump administration is planning to send U.S. citizens who may have been exposed to Ebola to Kenya for observation and treatment rather than repatriate them to the United States, a shift from previous outbreak responses.

The report said the U.S. government was preparing a facility in Kenya where Americans could quarantine or receive care, with Public Health Service officers reportedly being trained for deployment. The White House declined to comment, the newspaper reported.