Kenya’s health sector is at the centre of fresh public debate after the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) raised alarm over reported plans involving an Ebola quarantine and treatment facility linked to a foreign arrangement at Laikipia Air Base, calling for full disclosure on how the country was chosen for the role.
In a statement issued on Thursday, May 28, 2026, the union, through its Secretary General Dr Davji Bhimji Atellah, questioned the government’s decision-making process and demanded clarity on why Kenya appears to have been selected ahead of other countries in the region.
“As the vanguard of Kenya’s healthcare system, we are utterly disgusted by the government’s apparent willingness to trade national biosecurity and the lives of its citizens for foreign aid. We will not sit back and watch Kenya be treated as a containment colony for a lethal pathogen that we did not generate,” KMPDU stated.
The union further raised concern over what it termed as the logic behind transporting individuals who may have been exposed to Ebola into Kenya, especially at a time when the United States has reportedly restricted such cases from being managed within its own territory.
KMPDU has now called on Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to explain the criteria used in selecting Kenya for the arrangement, while questioning whether the country is being exposed to unnecessary biosecurity risks.
“We demand absolute transparency from Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on why Kenya has been selected as the designated dumping ground for exposed U.S. citizens while nations directly bordering the epicentre are bypassed,” KMPDU stated.
The union also challenged the rationale behind the reported evacuation plan, asking why it would be considered unsafe to fly exposed individuals back to the United States, yet acceptable to transport them to Kenya for monitoring.
In another part of its statement, KMPDU said, “If the United States believes the 12-hour medevac flight back to Washington is too dangerous for its citizens, by what logic is it safe to fly infected or exposed individuals into Kenyan airspace and drop them in Laikipia?”
It has also pushed for the immediate release of any agreement governing the reported arrangement, insisting that the public deserves to know the terms under which Kenya is involved.
The Ministry of Health, however, has moved to reassure the public, with Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale stating that any international health cooperation will strictly follow Kenyan law and established public health rules.
“Any arrangements regarding international health cooperation will be guided by Kenya’s national laws, public health regulations, biosafety and biosecurity standards, and the overriding responsibility of the Government to safeguard the health and welfare of the people of Kenya,” Duale stated.
He added that protecting Kenyans, frontline health workers, and surrounding communities remains the government’s top priority amid growing public concern.
Reports cited from The New York Times on Wednesday, May 27, 2026, indicated that the United States government is considering a plan to send citizens exposed to the Ebola virus to Kenya for quarantine and monitoring instead of returning them home.
The publication reported that the move would mark a shift from previous outbreaks, where exposed Americans were repatriated to specialised facilities in the United States for treatment or observation.
It also noted that earlier in the month, an American doctor who developed symptoms was flown to Germany, while six other American citizens were transported to Germany and the Czech Republic for monitoring.