Kenyan minister orders halt to construction of US Ebola facility
Summary
Kenya’s health minister has stopped work on a US-run Ebola quarantine facility after a court order. The facility, near Nairobi, faced protests and legal challenges because many Kenyans oppose it due to fears of Ebola, a contagious disease.Key Facts
- The Ebola facility is being built at Laikipia air base, about 125 miles from Nairobi.
- It is meant for US citizens evacuated from the nearby Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
- The facility includes about 50 isolation beds and was to be managed by US medical staff.
- Kenya’s government ignored an earlier court order to stop the work, leading to the health minister being held in contempt.
- Health minister Aden Duale has now ordered all work on the facility to stop immediately.
- Protests against the facility have turned deadly, with three people killed near the site.
- Kenya has never had a case of Ebola, and many citizens fear bringing infected people into the country.
- The US has pledged $13.5 million to help Kenya prepare for Ebola but some critics view the plan as having colonial implications.
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