“If it’s too dangerous for America, it’s too dangerous for Kenya” — Doctors’ union rejects U.S. Ebola deal

Kenya’s largest doctors’ union has strongly opposed reported plans to establish a U.S.-linked Ebola quarantine and treatment facility in the East African country, warning that the move could turn Kenya into a “containment colony” for foreign health crises.

• Kenya's largest doctors' union, KMPDU, has strongly opposed plans for a U.S.-linked Ebola quarantine and treatment facility in Kenya.
• The union criticized the government for secret negotiations with the U.S., warning that this could compromise Kenya's biosecurity.
• KMPDU argued the facility would highlight the neglect and worsening state of Kenya's healthcare system.
• The union objected to the possibility of U.S. personnel staffing the facility instead of Kenyan healthcare professionals.

In a sharply worded statement released on Thursday and signed by Secretary-General and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Davji Bhimji Atellah, the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) accused the Kenyan government of engaging in “backdoor negotiations” with the United States over the proposed facility at Laikipia Air Base.

The union said it was “utterly disgusted” by what it described as the government’s willingness to compromise Kenya’s national biosecurity in exchange for foreign aid.

The controversy comes amid a Bundibugyo strain Ebola outbreak centered in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), raising fresh concerns over cross-border health security in East Africa.

KMPDU questioned why Kenya was allegedly selected to host a quarantine facility for exposed U.S. citizens, despite not being at the epicentre of the outbreak.

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“If it is too dangerous for America, it is too dangerous for Kenya,” the union stated, referencing what it claimed was Washington’s refusal to allow Ebola cases onto U.S. soil.

Healthcare crisis concerns

Beyond biosecurity fears, the union argued that the proposed facility highlights the worsening condition of Kenya’s healthcare system.

KMPDU said public hospitals across the country remain severely underfunded and lack essential medicines, diagnostic reagents, intensive care infrastructure, and adequate staffing.

The union noted that Kenya faces a shortage of more than 100,000 healthcare workers, even as thousands of trained doctors and nurses remain unemployed or trapped in low-paying temporary contracts.

According to the statement, the government must explain why “resources and executive attention” are being directed toward a foreign-funded quarantine project while ordinary Kenyans continue to die in under-equipped hospitals from preventable illnesses.

The union also objected to reports suggesting that the facility could be staffed by the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps instead of Kenyan healthcare professionals.

“We will not tolerate an apartheid healthcare model on Kenyan soil,” KMPDU warned.

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The doctors’ body insisted that any international health arrangement involving Kenya must include permanent employment opportunities, hazard allowances, and comprehensive medical cover for local healthcare workers.

In one of its strongest warnings yet, KMPDU gave the Kenyan government a 48-hour ultimatum to disclose details of the negotiations or risk nationwide industrial action.

“Kenya is a sovereign republic, not a geopolitical isolation ward,” the union declared.

At the time of reporting, neither the Kenyan government nor U.S. authorities had publicly responded to the allegations surrounding the proposed Ebola quarantine facility.