Kenya has halted the construction of a US-funded Ebola treatment facility near the Somali border, citing concerns over local oversight and the project’s fit with community needs. The move leaves a critical gap in East Africa’s pandemic preparedness, but British aid agencies are already rolling out proven containment protocols to fill the void.
The decision, announced by Kenya’s Ministry of Health on Thursday, stops work on a 200-bed centre in Garissa County. The project was part of a $100 million US global health security package. Local officials said the centre was pushed through without meaningful consultation with county health teams or residents. “We were not asked about staffing, supply chains, or how this would integrate with our existing clinics,” said a Garissa health official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The halt comes as Ebola outbreaks in neighbouring Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo have raised alarms across the region. The World Health Organization has warned that cross-border transmission remains a high risk, particularly in areas with weak health infrastructure.
British agencies have moved quickly to step in. The UK’s Public Health Rapid Support Team (UK-PHRST) is deploying a mobile containment unit to the region within days. The unit, developed during the 2014 West Africa outbreak, combines lab diagnostics, isolation tents, and community engagement teams. They are working with the British Red Cross and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine to train local health workers in infection control.
“We’ve learned that bricks and mortar are not enough,” said Dr. Emma Reed, a UK-PHRST field coordinator. “The real battle is gaining trust, tracking contacts, and ensuring that local nurses have the protective gear and training to use it. That’s how you stop Ebola in its tracks.”
The British approach emphasises community-based surveillance. In past outbreaks, UK teams have helped set up village alert systems where headmen report unusual deaths or illness directly to district health officers. This grassroots network has been credited with shortening the time between onset and isolation.
But tensions remain. The US embassy in Nairobi expressed disappointment over the construction halt, calling it a “setback for regional health security.” Meanwhile, some Kenyan politicians accuse the US of using aid to secure strategic influence. “We are not a laboratory for foreign powers,” said a spokesman for the Garissa county governor. “We want development that listens to our people.”
The British agencies say they are not seeking to replace the US project but to complement it. They are focusing on rapid response capacity that can be mobilised when an outbreak is detected, rather than a permanent facility. The unit will also support cross-border co-ordination with Somali health authorities, where the last Ebola case was reported in 2014.
For Garissa residents, the question is whether the new approach will mean better care. Fatima Aden, a mother of four who lives near the abandoned construction site, said she worries about the next outbreak. “They started building and then stopped. We don’t know why. But if help comes now, we will take it. We need our children to be safe.”
The British teams plan to begin training local health workers next week, with the mobile unit operational by mid-March. The cost of the operation is estimated at £4 million, funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
The situation underscores a broader debate about how global health aid is delivered. Critics argue that big infrastructure projects often fail because they ignore local realities. British officials say their model is more sustainable. “It’s not about the building. It’s about the people inside it,” Dr. Reed said.
As the US project stalls, Kenya’s health ministry says it will review its own preparedness plans. But for now, the most immediate protection comes from a small British team with no bricks and mortar at all.
