Kenya has received a $2 million grant from China to strengthen drought response and Ebola preparedness following the country’s first reported imported Ebola case.
The grant was formally handed over to Kenya’s National Treasury on October 8 by China’s Ambassador to Kenya, Guo Haiyan.
Treasury Principal Secretary Chris Kiptoo said the funding will support drought mitigation and strengthen Kenya’s preparedness and response to potential Ebola outbreaks.
Of the total grant, $1 million will go toward drought mitigation, while the remaining $1 million will support Ebola preparedness and response.
The funding comes two days after Kenya confirmed its first reported imported Ebola case involving a Kenyan man who had been living in the Democratic Republic of Congo and travelled to Nairobi through Uganda.
The patient was isolated at Nairobi Hospital after becoming ill and later died, according to Kenyan health authorities.
Kenya has since intensified disease-control measures, including identifying and isolating people who had contact with the deceased, among them family members, healthcare workers and people who travelled with him.
The government is also seeking additional resources to strengthen its response, including $400 million in emergency financing from the World Bank under its Rapid Response Option.
Kenya has said it is mobilising $70 billion for the broader response, with the National Treasury having initially allocated $2.6 billion for emergency measures.
The latest Chinese funding adds to those efforts as Kenya faces both an emerging public-health challenge and ongoing drought-related pressures.
