Ebola: Doctors’ Union Rejects US Deal To Set Up Quarantine Facility In Kenya

The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists’ Union (KMPDU),
has strongly opposed alleged “backdoor negotiations” between the Kenyan government and the United States over plans to establish an Ebola quarantine and treatment facility at Laikipia Air Base.

In a statement issued on Thursday, May 28, 2026, and signed by its Secretary-General and Chief Executive Officer, Davji Bhimji Atellah, the union accused the government of compromising national biosecurity and “trading the lives of citizens for foreign aid.”

“KMPDU is calling out the hypocrisy of the ongoing backdoor negotiations between the Government of Kenya and the United States administration regarding the establishment of an Ebola quarantine and treatment facility at Laikipia Air Base,” the statement read.

“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.”

The union questioned the rationale behind Kenya being selected to host exposed American citizens linked to the ongoing Ebola Bundibugyo outbreak reported in parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.

“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,” it said.

It further queried the safety logic of transferring potentially exposed individuals into Kenyan territory.

“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?” the union asked.

The KMPDU also alleged a double standard in U.S. Ebola containment policy, quoting Washington’s position that it cannot allow Ebola cases into its territory.

“The U.S. government openly states: ‘We cannot and will not allow any cases of Ebola to enter the United States.’ If it is too dangerous for America, it is too dangerous for Kenya,” the union said.

The doctors’ union also criticised the Kenyan government, saying the country’s struggling health system was being neglected while attention was shifting to a foreign-backed biohazard facility.

“It is the height of irony and betrayal that, while the Ministry of Health claims our local public facilities are too broke to function, it is actively facilitating the importation of a deadly hemorrhagic fever,” it said.

It added that Kenya’s hospitals were already under severe strain, citing shortages of essential medicines, diagnostic tools and critical care infrastructure.

“Our public hospitals are currently structurally crippled. We lack basic diagnostic reagents, essential medicines, and functional intensive care infrastructure,” the statement said.

The union also highlighted a shortage of medical personnel, saying thousands of qualified Kenyan doctors remain unemployed despite gaps in public hospitals.

It warned against what it described as the creation of a “two-tier healthcare system,” where foreign personnel may be deployed in sensitive operations while local professionals are sidelined.

“KMPDU issues a stark warning: We will not tolerate an apartheid healthcare model on Kenyan soil,” it declared.

The union gave the government a 48-hour ultimatum to disclose details of the alleged negotiations, warning of possible nationwide industrial action if its demands are ignored.

“Should the Ministry of Health proceed to sign away Kenya’s health security… KMPDU will mobilise nationwide industrial action,” it warned.