Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale receives recognition from the World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus during the 79th World Health Assembly in Geneva on Tuesday, May 18. [Courtesy]
Kenya has received recognition from the World Health Organization (WHO) for eliminating sleeping sickness, ending a disease that threatened communities in western Kenya for more than a century.
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale received the award on Tuesday, May 18, during the 79th World Health Assembly in Geneva after the WHO confirmed the country had recorded zero indigenous cases of Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT) since 2009.
WHO validated Kenya’s elimination of the disease in June 2025 before the government announced the milestone in August 2025.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus commended Kenya’s health leadership for sustaining surveillance and prevention measures that stopped local transmission.
