{"id":285,"date":"2026-10-12T14:17:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-12T14:17:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.inkit.co.ke\/?p=285"},"modified":"2026-10-12T14:17:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T14:17:10","slug":"public-health-unions-link-ebola-preparedness-concerns-to-ongoing-strike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.inkit.co.ke\/?p=285","title":{"rendered":"Public Health Unions Link Ebola Preparedness Concerns to Ongoing Strike"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Public Health Unions Link Ebola Preparedness Concerns to Ongoing Strike<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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PHOTO CAPTION
KEHPHPU National General Secretary and CEO Brown Ashira Olaly (centre), alongside other health sector leaders, addresses concerns over Kenya\u2019s preparedness to contain Ebola during a press briefing in Nairobi, warning that the ongoing public health officers\u2019 strike could undermine disease surveillance, contact tracing and outbreak response efforts.
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By Mary Ndanu<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NAIROBI, WEDNESDAY<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kenya\u2019s efforts to contain Ebola could face significant challenges due to an ongoing strike by public health officers, with health professionals warning that disruptions to disease surveillance, screening and contact tracing could weaken the country\u2019s response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Kenya Environmental Health and Public Health Practitioners\u2019 Union (KEHPHPU) said the confirmation of Kenya\u2019s first Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) case had highlighted concerns about the country\u2019s preparedness, particularly at border entry points and within communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The union\u2019s National General Secretary and Chief Executive Officer, Brown Ashira Olaly, said public health officers were essential in identifying suspected infections, monitoring disease transmission and mobilising communities to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, he noted that the ongoing industrial action had left many of the officers away from duty, raising concerns about the country\u2019s ability to respond effectively to the outbreak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Olaly said the strike had reached its 75th day when the Ebola case was confirmed, describing the timing as unfortunate given the critical role played by public health personnel during disease emergencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The union acknowledged the Ministry of Health\u2019s announcement of the confirmed case, noting that timely and transparent communication was necessary to keep the public informed and maintain confidence in the country\u2019s outbreak response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nevertheless, KEHPHPU questioned whether existing surveillance measures and border screening arrangements had been adequate to identify the infection before the patient entered the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The union pointed to the patient\u2019s reported journey from the Democratic Republic of Congo through Uganda into Kenya as an indication of the importance of strengthening disease monitoring at points of entry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Olaly said public health officers should be actively involved in screening travellers, detecting possible infections and initiating measures to prevent further transmission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also called for broader participation by health professionals in the national response, arguing that managing Ebola required cooperation among public health officers, laboratory personnel, clinicians, nutritionists and other specialists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Olaly said the government needed to recognise the contributions of all relevant professional groups rather than limiting participation in outbreak management to selected cadres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He further questioned the adequacy of preparedness training conducted ahead of the outbreak, claiming that frontline public health officers had not been sufficiently involved in the exercise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Olaly, the training had largely targeted county management teams and senior officials, despite the frontline officers being responsible for implementing surveillance and other response measures within communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The union called for practical Ebola preparedness training to be extended to public health officers and laboratory personnel to ensure they could identify suspected cases, observe appropriate infection prevention procedures and respond effectively to possible infections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

KEHPHPU also expressed concern over the availability of personal protective equipment (PPE), warning that inadequate protection could expose health workers to infection while performing their duties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It demanded that frontline personnel be supplied with appropriate protective gear, including heavy-duty gloves, and called for isolation and quarantine facilities to be adequately equipped across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On staffing, the union urged the government to recruit and deploy more than 2,000 public health officers to counties and points of entry, saying shortages had compromised the capacity to conduct effective surveillance and screening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also called for improved compensation for officers exposed to occupational risks, particularly those involved in managing infectious disease threats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Olaly maintained that the union would continue its industrial action until the government addressed its demands, including a review of risk allowances to at least Sh100,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, the Kenya National Union of Medical Laboratory Officers (NAMLO) warned that laboratory personnel could join the industrial action if the government failed to resolve their outstanding grievances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The union\u2019s National Secretary-General, Chris Nyakundi, said laboratory officers were central to disease detection because they conduct tests used to confirm suspected infections and provide the evidence required to establish the presence of an outbreak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nyakundi said the union had pursued negotiations with the Ministry of Health and the Council of Governors over several concerns, including risk allowances, collective bargaining agreements and career progression, but had yet to secure a satisfactory resolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He indicated that laboratory officers could issue a seven-day strike notice after consultations with their council if the outstanding issues remained unresolved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mohammed Uba, chairperson of the Kenya Health Professional Society and Secretary-General of the Association of Public Health Officers of Kenya, said the confirmed Ebola case should prompt a review of weaknesses in the country\u2019s disease surveillance infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Uba raised concerns about the shortage of public health officers, particularly at points of entry, and called for the recruitment of personnel to fill vacancies left by those who had exited the service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also cited concerns over inadequate holding facilities, screening equipment that was not functioning properly and interruptions to digital surveillance systems during the transition of public health institutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The health professionals called for improved staffing, adequate protective equipment and stronger coordination among the different agencies responsible for preventing and managing disease outbreaks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They maintained that Ebola containment depended on more than clinical treatment, noting that early detection, laboratory testing, community surveillance and contact tracing were equally important in preventing further transmission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The unions urged the government to address the grievances behind the ongoing strike, warning that continued disruptions to essential public health services could undermine efforts to contain Ebola and respond to other infectious disease threats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They also called for public health professionals to have a greater role in decision-making and the management of national public health institutions, including the proposed Centres for Disease Control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Public Health Unions Link Ebola Preparedness Concerns to Ongoing Strike PHOTO CAPTION KEHPHPU National General Secretary and CEO Brown Ashira Olaly (centre), alongside other health sector leaders, addresses concerns over Kenya\u2019s preparedness to contain Ebola during a press briefing in Nairobi, warning that the ongoing public health officers\u2019 strike could undermine disease surveillance, contact tracing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inkit.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inkit.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inkit.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inkit.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inkit.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=285"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.inkit.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":288,"href":"https:\/\/www.inkit.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285\/revisions\/288"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inkit.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inkit.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inkit.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}