The German Development Bank (KfW) has committed Ksh150 million (β¬1 million) to strengthen East Africa’s response to the ongoing Ebola outbreak.
The East African Community (EAC) confirmed the allocation on June 4, revealing that the funds will support the deployment of mobile laboratories, procurement of diagnostic supplies, and training of laboratory personnel across the region.
“The meeting further considered resource mobilization efforts to support the Ebola response. Ministers welcomed a commitment by Germanyβs Development Bank (KfW) to reallocate β¬1 million to support the deployment of mobile laboratories, procurement of diagnostic supplies, and training of laboratory personnel,β EAC stated.
The announcement was made during the 8th Extraordinary Meeting of EAC Ministers of Health, which was held virtually from June 1 to 2.
The meeting was convened to map out a coordinated regional response to a fast-evolving Ebola outbreak that has already claimed hundreds of lives in the region.
As of June 4, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) had recorded 121 confirmed cases and 1,077 suspected cases, with 246 deaths among suspected patients.
Uganda had also confirmed 11 cases, with one death recorded, raising alarm over the risk of wider cross-border transmission.
According to reports, Kenya is among the EAC Partner States that have already received a German-funded mobile laboratory to facilitate rapid testing and detection of suspected Ebola cases.
The mobile laboratories were provided under the EAC Regional Network of Reference Laboratories Project through the same funding mechanism, with technical support from the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine.
Ten mobile laboratories are currently operational across the region, covering the DRC, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, and Tanzania.
