China has handed Kenya a $2 million (about Sh259 million) cash grant to support the country’s Ebola preparedness and ongoing drought mitigation efforts, arriving just two days after Kenya confirmed its first imported case of the disease.
The grant was officially handed over on Thursday, October 8, at the National Treasury, where Chinese Ambassador to Kenya Guo Haiyan presented it to Treasury Principal Secretary Dr Chris Kiptoo, with Public Health Principal Secretary Mary Muthoni also present.
The funding is split evenly: $1 million (roughly Sh129.5 million) will go toward strengthening Ebola preparedness infrastructure in counties identified as being at very high or high risk, while the remaining $1 million will support Kenya’s response to drought.
“At the request of the Kenyan government, the Chinese government is providing a cash grant of $1 million to support the Kenyan government in strengthening infrastructure for preparing for Ebola virus disease in the counties identified as being at very high and high risk,” Guo said, adding that “China is willing to continue strengthening development cooperation with Kenya under the frameworks of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and the Global Development Initiative.”
The portion earmarked for the health response is expected to go toward procuring personal protective equipment, boosting laboratory testing capacity at the National Public Health Laboratory, and funding rapid response teams deployed to affected counties.
Kiptoo thanked China for what he described as a prompt and timely response to Kenya’s request, calling the funding a boost to both the country’s Ebola mitigation efforts and its drought relief programme.
The grant adds to a wider pool of international support Kenya has mobilised for its Ebola response, which includes an expected Sh21 billion in assistance from the United States and Sh51.8 billion in emergency financing from the World Bank through its Rapid Response Option, alongside an initial Sh2.6 billion the National Treasury had already set aside domestically for emergency interventions.
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has said the government is working to mobilise more than Sh70 billion in total for Ebola preparedness and response.
The grant lands as Kenya’s Ebola response continues to widen. Health Cabinet Secretary Duale has confirmed the country is not experiencing an outbreak but is managing a single imported case, and said 4,971 healthcare workers have now been trained in Ebola prevention and management, with response teams deployed across 24 counties and screening under way at 15 points of entry nationally.
The number of people placed in quarantine as contacts of the confirmed case had climbed to 66 as of this week, with a suspected case in Wajir prompting fresh concern before later testing negative. Duale has urged that international support be channelled through Kenya’s national response structures to ensure resources reach identified needs promptly and effectively.
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