NAIROBI, Kenya- A proposed United States quarantine facility for Americans exposed to Ebola is set to be established at Laikipia Air Base in central Kenya, according to multiple international reports citing U.S. officials familiar with the Ebola response plan.
Reuters reported that Kenya has now provided written approval for the U.S. to open the facility as part of efforts to contain the worsening Ebola outbreak affecting parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda.
The facility, which will reportedly have an initial 50-bed capacity, is expected to quarantine and monitor American citizens exposed to the virus in East and Central Africa. U.S. Public Health Service personnel are expected to staff the centre, with specialised biocontainment and isolation units also being deployed.
Earlier discussions between Nairobi and Washington had indicated that Kenya wanted the facility to serve all nationalities and sought increased U.S. assistance as part of the arrangement.
The proposed site at Laikipia Air Base near Nanyuki has now become the centre of intense public debate, political criticism and legal challenges in Kenya.
The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) has opposed the plan, citing biosecurity and healthcare capacity concerns, while Katiba Institute has moved to court seeking to stop the establishment of the facility pending full public disclosure and judicial review.
The development comes as the United States dramatically scales up funding for Ebola response efforts across the region.
The U.S. State Department announced this week that Washington had mobilised more than $112 million (over Sh14.5 billion) in emergency bilateral assistance within less than two weeks to combat the outbreak.
The funding is being directed towards procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE), border screening, surveillance, contact tracing, diagnostic testing and treatment support in affected regions of DRC and Uganda.
An additional $50 million has also been committed through the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to support up to 50 Ebola response clinics, while another $300 million is being channeled towards broader humanitarian interventions in the affected region.
The World Health Organization has declared the current Bundibugyo strain outbreak a public health emergency of international concern as cases continue rising in eastern DRC and Uganda.
