By Kepher Otieno - Reporter
Kenya, 12 August 2026 - The County Government of Siaya has stepped up its Ebola preparedness campaign, warning that the county’s strategic location and busy movement corridors could expose it to a potential outbreak despite Kenya having recorded no Ebola outbreak.
The county is now seeking development and implementing partners to help train and equip front-line health workers and rapid response teams to detect, contain and respond to any suspected cases.
Siaya County Executive Committee Member for Health, Prof Jacqueline Oduol, said the lack of specialised Ebola preparedness training among some front-line workers remains a critical gap in the county’s defence against the virus.
“We look forward to collaborating with stakeholders to build their capacity as an integral part of our county preparedness and response strategy,” Prof Oduol said.
She spoke in Siaya town during a meeting with health stakeholders convened to review and strengthen the county’s draft Ebola preparedness and response plan.
Oduol said Ebola preparedness cannot be left to the county government alone.
She called for a broader coalition involving development partners, implementing agencies, security services, border authorities, community leaders and other sectors.
“Preparedness is a shared responsibility,” she said, adding that technical expertise, resources and coordinated action would be critical to keeping the county resilient against public health emergencies.
The county has identified its geographical position as one of the major reasons for heightened vigilance.
Its proximity to neighbouring countries, busy transport corridors, fishing communities and water-crossing points along Lake Victoria creates multiple channels through which infectious diseases could potentially enter and spread.
“Although Kenya has not reported an Ebola outbreak, our proximity to the neighbouring countries, the busy transport corridors, fishing community and water crossing points along Lake Victoria places Siaya County at elevated risk of the disease,” Oduol said.
The warning places Siaya among counties where preparedness is as important as the response itself.
The county has already begun laying the groundwork.
Oduol said Siaya had mapped high-risk health facilities to guide preparedness interventions and allocation of response resources.
Health workers and stakeholders have also undergone online sensitisation on Ebola preparedness, with emphasis on early detection, prevention, infection control and timely reporting.
But the county says awareness alone is not enough.
The next phase requires physical, hands-on training for health workers and rapid response teams, strengthened disease surveillance at water-crossing points and other entry points, and improved preparedness at high-risk health facilities.
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The county also wants holding units equipped and eventually plans to establish a fully functional Ebola isolation unit in Siaya.
Amref-Kenya has already supported the county in developing the draft contingency plan, which Oduol described as an important step towards building a coordinated response.
The plan covers coordination, epidemiological surveillance, case management, laboratory services, risk communication, social mobilisation and community engagement.
But the blueprint still needs funding before it can move from paper to implementation.
“The contingency plan that is in a draft stage outlines mitigation and Ebola preparedness actions,” Oduol said.
“The plan needs financial support, and that is why we seek partners to join us so as to actualise it once approved.”
For Siaya, the message is clear: waiting for the first case would be too late.
The county wants its health workers trained before an emergency arrives, its surveillance systems strengthened before transmission begins and its isolation capacity ready before a suspected patient walks through a hospital gate.
Oduol said the stakeholders’ meeting offered an opportunity to review, enrich and validate the preparedness plan so that it reflects the priorities and contributions of all actors before implementation.
The county is therefore turning Ebola preparedness into a test of the strength of its wider public health system.
The immediate challenge is funding.
The larger challenge is coordination.
And for a county connected by land, water, trade and fishing to a wider regional population, Siaya health officials say preparedness can no longer be treated as a contingency for tomorrow.
It has to begin now.