The plan for an Ebola quarantine facility at the Laikipia Air Base to manage Americans exposed to the disease has reignited debate about Kenya's capacity to handle such outbreaks.
Health experts says there is need for the country to demonstrate readiness in handling the disease, in critical areas, including isolation infrastructure, laboratory diagnostic capacity, a well-trained health workforce, surveillance systems, and emergency response logistics.
Prof Matilu Mwau, a senior researcher at the Kenya Medical Research Institute, says the country has considerable human resources expertise, but requires better financing, bespoke research and development, collaborations and partnerships, and technological integration.
Even if all these requirements were in place, he observes they would be insufficient unless there was responsive, capable leadership and governance.
"Ebola is a complex problem requiring a complex response. Some of the challenges it poses can be dealt with at the technical level, requiring a little more money, more skills, bespoke infrastructure,” says Prof Matilu.
