Kenyan health workers set for Ebola mission to west Africa
People walk past a billboard with a message about Ebola in Freetown, Sierra Leone. A highly anticipated report on how millions of US dollars meant for fighting the Ebola epidemic in Sierra Leone were managed has indicted the government. FILE PHOTO | AFP
What you need to know:
Comprising medical doctors, nurses and other public health officials, they are expected to offer various medical services on the ground.
Before their departure in two chartered Kenya Airways flights at midday, the workers will meet with President Uhuru Kenyatta at State House for their official flag off.
About 170 Kenyan health workers are set to leave for Sierra Leone and Liberia on Friday as part of the African Union (AU) mission to contain the Ebola virus disease in West Africa.
The volunteer health workers, drawn across the 47 counties, will be in west Africa for six months. They have been trained on the prevention and management of the haemorrhagic fever by the Ministry of Health, World Health Organisation and other partners.
Comprising medical doctors, nurses and other public health officials, they are expected to offer various medical services such as care givers and laboratory workers depending on their skills and the needs on the ground.
Their deployment comes as over 5,000 health workers are required to effectively fight the disease, according to the World Bank.
Flag-off
Before their departure in two chartered Kenya Airways flights at midday, the workers will meet with President Uhuru Kenyatta at State House for their official flag off.
Health Cabinet Secretary James Macharia said on Thursday that the demographics of the workers such as their skills, gender among others will be shared at the send-off event. He was presiding over the pre-deployment ceremony in Nairobi attended by Foreign Affairs CS Amina Mohammed and representatives of the AU.
“With over 700 applicants, we are proud to send this first batch of about 170, my troops of health workers, who will be on their way to assist in tackling this international crisis. They have made a sacrifice for humanity, we cannot thank them enough. Kenya is proud of you,” he said.
He added: “I am grateful to the Council of Governors for facilitating the recruitment of these heath personnel from the various counties. It is highly appreciated.”
According to WHO, there have been over 20,000 Ebola infections and about 8,220 deaths since the outbreak in Guinea in December 2013. As of January 4, a total of 838 health-care workers are known to have been infected with Ebola, 495 of who have died.
The organisation notes that the fatality rate of Ebola-infected health care workers is about 57 per cent.
The director of social affairs at AU, Dr Olwale Maiyegun, said the deployment was part of a larger AU banner, the African Union Support of the Ebola Outbreak in West Africa.
He said: “The Kenyan team will join other health workers from Nigeria and Ethiopia for about 18 weeks in Ebola Treatment Units. They will all have a comprehensive medical cover in case of Ebola infection, disability, evacuation or any other diseases. Plus, a timeline of their work is in place.”
As this was happening, representatives from research institutions, government officials from the Ebola-affected and partners were meeting in Geneva, Switzerland to review the current status of clinical trials of Ebola vaccines.
The two CSs are expected to visit the Kenyan workers in Sierra Leone and Liberia, weeks after the teams settle in the respective countries.
