Kenya Anticipatory Actions – EVD Outbreak (MDRKE052) – Operational Update (8 July 2023) – Kenya | CPT PPP Coverage

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Description of the Event

Provide any updates in the situation since the field report and explain what is expected to happen

Kenya MoH issued an alert on 21st September 2023, requesting the mobilization of all relevant stakeholders to initiate prevention, preparedness, and response measures following the notification of Ebola outbreak in Uganda on 20th September 2022. The risk of EVD spreading to Kenya being high with refugees who keep arriving from neighboring counties including DRC, Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, and South Sudan who often go through Uganda before arriving in Kenya.

Kenya Red Cross launched a DREF operation to conduct relevant anticipatory action to mitigate the risk of this new strain of Ebola. An allocation of CHF 186,942 was made on 8th October 2022 for 3 months with a preparedness activities aligned with Kenya’s Ministry of Health National Ebola Preparedness and Response plan which sets up response coordination structures at both national and county government levels. The MoH profiled 20 counties out of 47, considered to be at risk of being impacted in the event of EVD entry into Kenya. KRCS as a member of the national and county-level coordination mechanisms with participation in Risk Communication and Community Engagement, Disease Surveillance, WASH, and the coordination sub-committees. The activities covered Mombasa,
Kwale, Taita-Taveta, Machakos, Makueni, Kiambu, Turkana, West Pokot, Trans Nzoia, Nakuru, Kericho, Kakamega,
Bungoma, Busia, Siaya, Kisumu, Homa Bay, Migori, Nairobi counties.

On 16th March 2023, the ministry of health (MOH) of the Republic of Tanzania announced seven cases and five deaths of an unknown disease had been reported in Kagera region (that borders Rwanda, Uganda, and Burundi) in Bukoba rural, Maruku and Kanyengereko ward in Bulinda and Butayaibega villages. The cases were confirmed for Marburg Virus Disease (MVD) on 21 March 2023. The index case was reported to have a travel history from Goziba in Lake Victoria – which also borders Kenya. Also see Tanzania Marburg outbreak (MDRTZ033) (https://adore.ifrc.org/Download.aspx?FileId=659332). Being an hemorrhagic fever disease, the continuity of KRCS preparedness actions under this intervention remain relevant and necessary to ensure a continuity in the prevention for additional weeks.

On June, while no cases were reported from Tanzania side, the SDB kits procurement was still undergoing through the IFRC international procurement chain. An extension of this intervention is thus needed for up to 4 months, covering the surveillance period in Tanzania but also allowing the kits to arrive in country. Thankfully, the emergency preparedness with SDB kits was managed with existing stock complemented with local procurement facilitated by health technical guidance. When the kits arrive, it will ensure that the SDB teams are effective to cover any hemorrhagic fever disease risk in border counties at risk.

Why your National Society is acting now and what criteria is used to launch this operation

Kenya MoH issued an alert on 21st September 2023, requesting the mobilization of all relevant stakeholders to initiate prevention, preparedness, and response measures while working on developing at-risk county EVD contingency plans. Even though the outbreak was declared over in Uganda on 11th January 2023, there is still need to enhance preparedness actions towards Ebola in the country. The need is further strengthened with the recent outbreak of Marburg Virus disease in Tanzania which calls for sustained awareness creation on preventing and control of viral hemorrhagic fevers in the country.