KMPDU gives Gov’t 48 hours to make U.S-Kenya Ebola quarantine facility talks public

The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) has issued the government with a 48-hour ultimatum to make public ongoing negotiations between Kenya and the United States regarding the proposed establishment of an Ebola quarantine and treatment facility at Laikipia Air Base.

In a strongly worded statement released on Thursday, KMPDU Secretary General Dr. Davji Atellah accused the government of engaging in “backdoor negotiations” and warned that the union would mobilise nationwide industrial action if the deal proceeds without public disclosure and reforms in the country’s healthcare system.

“KMPDU is calling out the hypocrisy of the ongoing backdoor negotiations between the Government of Kenya and the United States administration regarding the establishment of an Ebola quarantine and treatment facility at Laikipia Air Base,” stated Dr. Atellah.

“As the vanguard of Kenya’s healthcare system, we are utterly disgusted by the government's apparent willingness to trade national biosecurity and the lives of its citizens for foreign aid.”

Dr Atellah sharply criticised the proposed arrangement, questioning why Kenya had allegedly been selected to host exposed Americans while the current Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola outbreak remains concentrated in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda.

He also questioned the logic behind transporting potentially infected persons into Kenya if the U.S. itself considers Ebola too dangerous to allow within its borders.

“We demand absolute transparency from Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on why Kenya has been selected as the designated dumping ground for exposed U.S. citizens while nations directly bordering the epicentre are bypassed,” the KMPDU boss said.

“The U.S. government openly states: ‘We cannot and will not allow any cases of Ebola to enter the United States.’ If it is too dangerous for America, it is too dangerous for Kenya."

He maintained that Kenya “is a sovereign republic, not a geopolitical isolation ward,” and warned that the government's failure to make the negotiations public within 48 hours would trigger industrial action.

“Should the Ministry of Health proceed to sign away Kenya's health security to appease foreign masters without addressing our structural healthcare shortages and staffing crises, KMPDU will mobilise nationwide industrial action,” said Dr. Atellah.

“We will protect our healthcare workers, and we will protect our country.”

The KMPDU SG further accused the government of neglecting Kenya’s struggling public healthcare system while allegedly prioritising a foreign-funded quarantine facility.

“Our public hospitals are currently structurally crippled. We lack basic diagnostic reagents, essential medicines, and functional intensive care infrastructure,” the union head said. “You cannot manage a local health crisis by importing an international one.”

The doctors’ union leader also objected to reports that the proposed facility could be staffed by the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps rather than Kenyan healthcare workers.

According to the union, the government must use the arrangement to permanently employ thousands of unemployed Kenyan doctors and nurses.

“We will not tolerate an apartheid healthcare model on Kenyan soil. If this facility is built, the Kenyan government must leverage this as a non-negotiable mandate to permanently employ the thousands of jobless Kenyan doctors and nurses into the public mainstream,” Dr. Atellah warned.

“Our public hospitals are currently structurally crippled. We lack basic diagnostic reagents, essential medicines, and functional intensive care infrastructure."

The latest development comes amid growing criticism and petitions challenging the government’s reported plan to host Americans exposed to Ebola in Kenya.

Reports by The New York Times indicated that the Donald Trump administration plans to send U.S. citizens exposed to the Ebola virus to Kenya for monitoring and treatment instead of repatriating them to specialised medical units in the United States, as had happened during previous outbreaks.

According to the report, the U.S. government is setting up a facility in Kenya through a coordinated effort involving the State and Defence departments and the Department of Health and Human Services.

A few dozen Public Health Service officers are reportedly being trained to deploy to Kenya to provide medical care to Americans deemed at high risk of developing Ebola.

The report further stated that while the initial plan was to monitor exposed Americans in Kenya and transfer those who develop symptoms to Europe, the administration now intends to provide treatment in Kenya as well.

On Wednesday, Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale confirmed that Kenya was engaged in ongoing discussions with the U.S. government and other global partners regarding Ebola preparedness and response mechanisms.

“The Government of Kenya notes ongoing discussions with U.S government and other global partners regarding international collaboration on strengthening preparedness and response mechanisms for Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) and other emerging public health threats,” said Duale.

“Any arrangements regarding international health cooperation will be guided by Kenya's national laws, public health regulations, biosafety and biosecurity standards, and the overriding responsibility of Government to safeguard the health and welfare of the people of Kenya.”

Katiba Institute has since however filed an urgent petition at the Milimani High Court seeking to block the government from establishing orpermitting any Ebola quarantine, isolation or treatment facility linked to the United States of America or any foreign government on Kenyan soil.