By Ongaga Ongaga
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has intensified Ebola preparedness activities in Kenya following confirmation of the country’s first case and the subsequent death of the patient in Nairobi.
MSF said it was working closely with the Ministry of Health and other partners as authorities strengthened measures to prevent further transmission of the virus.
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The organisation said it had been supporting Ebola preparedness in Kenya since the beginning of the regional outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda.
In June 2026, MSF opened an Ebola simulation and training centre in Kajiado County, near Nairobi, to prepare healthcare workers and emergency teams for a possible outbreak.
The facility is designed to replicate an Ebola treatment centre, allowing health workers to undergo practical training on the safe use of personal protective equipment (PPE), infection prevention and control, isolation procedures and emergency response.
MSF said 355 professionals, including 84 Kenyan healthcare workers, had so far been trained at the centre.
The organisation said the simulation exercises were intended to demonstrate its readiness to respond to Ebola cases and strengthen the capacity of health workers who could be deployed during an outbreak.
In July, the Mombasa County Department of Health, with MSF support, established another Ebola training centre at Port Reitz Sub-County Hospital to strengthen preparedness on the Coast.
MSF teams have also been supporting preparedness activities in Busia County, along the Kenya-Uganda border, including training Ministry of Health personnel on the isolation and management of suspected Ebola cases and infection prevention and control measures.
The organisation said its experience in previous Ebola responses showed that preparedness extends beyond treatment facilities and protective equipment.
“A key lesson from this experience is that strong community engagement and trusted sources of information are essential,” MSF said.
The organisation said reliable information was critical in addressing fear and misinformation, building public trust and enabling an effective response to the disease.
MSF has been involved in Ebola responses in several countries and is currently supporting the response in the DRC, where the organisation said more than 8,200 people have been infected and about 4,000 have died.
MSF said its teams also support infection prevention and control measures while working with communities to improve awareness and counter misinformation.
Already, Kenya’s Ministry of Health has stepped up surveillance, contact tracing and isolation measures following confirmation of the first case as health authorities work to establish and monitor people who may have been exposed to the virus.
MSF said it was continuing to closely monitor the situation in Kenya and coordinate its preparedness and response activities with the Ministry of Health and other actors.
