The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has mobilised approximately US$1.5 million in financial, technical and operational assistance for Kenya’s Ebola response, according to a report published on 28 October.
Africa CDC Director-General Dr Jean Kaseya met Kenya’s Health Cabinet Secretary, Aden Duale, in Kenya to discuss response measures, resource mobilisation and coordination with continental health authorities. Africa CDC praised Kenya’s leadership in strengthening surveillance and speeding up detection.
What the support includes
- Deployment of 10 African public health experts.
- Laboratory reagents and diagnostic test kits.
- Support for surveillance, contact tracing, case management and community engagement.
- Equipment worth about US$350,000 for Kenya’s Public Health Emergency Operations Centre.
Kenya’s situation
Kenya has confirmed nine cases of Bundibugyo virus disease, all linked to one cluster that began with a traveller from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Four of the patients are health workers who cared for the first patient. The Ministry of Health said on 22 October that patients in isolation were stable, that all 135 contacts had been traced, and that the first contacts would begin leaving quarantine from 25 October.
Ministers meet today
Africa CDC is today convening an Extraordinary Meeting of African Ministers of Health to assess the Ebola situation, review coordination and agree urgent actions, as the outbreak in DR Congo passes 10,000 cases. The meeting is expected to prepare for a summit of African heads of state led by the African Union Chairperson. Africa CDC has called on member states to protect frontline health workers.
Where the money should go: the health worker view
Funding for laboratories, experts and coordination is vital. But nurses’ organisations across the region, including Ghana’s GRNMA this week, have stressed that responses also need:
- PPE in every facility, not just treatment centres, because the first patient often arrives unannounced at a general clinic or hospital.
- Training in screening, isolation and PPE use for frontline nurses.
- Insurance, hazard allowances and compensation agreed in advance, and paid.
- Psychological support for health workers and their families, including those who are infected or quarantined.
Kenya’s experience, where health workers make up nearly half of the cases, shows why protecting the workforce must be central to every Ebola plan.
Across the region
- Nigeria: its single imported case was evacuated to Switzerland; the NCDC is running a facility readiness drive through its infection prevention and control network.
- Ghana: no confirmed cases; the Ministry of Health has stepped up surveillance and screening at points of entry, with WHO support.
- Uganda: has banned non-essential travel to and from DR Congo.
Related: Kenya: health workers stable as contacts leave quarantine · Ebola tops 10,000 cases · Ghana nurses: don’t repeat COVID broken promises
Sources: Healthcare Middle East & Africa (28 October 2026), Capital FM Kenya, Africa CDC press release (21 October 2026), Kenya Ministry of Health statement (22 October 2026).