Attachments
Glide Number: EP-2022-000367-KEN
Description of the Event
What happened, where and when?
Since the start of the outbreak in October 2022, the MoH and its partners, including the Kenya Red Cross contributed to respond and prevent the spread of the cholera disease across the country. A rapid spread of cases was reported following the December festive and travel season across 25 counties which were reporting cases by 2023. Data reported from June to July 2023 has shown that many counties achieved to control the raising of cases (19 counties on 25 initially affected) with an average of 7 to 10 counties with active cases in the most recent weeks. The active hotspots being either counties with an upsurge in the active counties (Mandera, Siaya, Homa-Bay, Mombasa, Wajir and Nairobi) or experiencing a relapse of the outbreak (Nairobi, Mandera and Siaya). Currently 7 counties are active whereas the rest have controlled the outbreak. These active counties include Garissa, Mandera, Siaya, Homa-Bay, Mombasa, Wajir and Nairobi. Some of the active counties are counties that are experiencing a relapse of the outbreak and include counties driven the outbreak across the country, due to several combining factors.
The current outbreak of cholera started on 19th October with its origin being traced to a wedding festival in Kiambu County which later spread across Kiambu, Nairobi, Murang’a, Kajiado Nakuru and Uasin Gishu counties. By Early 2023, the initial increased cases were mainly within Nairobi and in counties that share factors as persistent drought, communities utilizing unsafe water sources and limited access to sanitation and hygiene services and corresponding poor WASH practices. In particular, Nairobi, Tana River, Garissa and Wajir counties have recently reported increased caseloads with reported highest mortalities in Nairobi, Garissa, Tana River and Wajir counties.
Kenya Red Cross has been supporting the different stage of response to this outbreak as main partners of MoH at county and National level. On 22 December 2022, departments of health from the county governments of Kiambu, Nairobi, Meru and Tana River requested support from Red Cross. Based on that, a risk factor assessment for the cholera outbreak and the need for the emergency intervention, thus the trigger was met for the original DREF allocation.
With the spread to new counties of Mandera, West Pokot, Homabay, Samburu and Marsabit; Kenya Red Cross requested an extension of 3 months which has been reported in Operations Update #2.
The current trend of cholera obliges to scale-up again the support to counties with active cases, especially considering the mortality rate in some of the affected areas. This adds to the fact that there has been both an increase of cases over the recent weeks in the same counties and a sustained relapse of the outbreak in some of the affected counties. With the Kenya MOH planning to roll out the second phase of the oral cholera vaccination campaign in July 2023 in Homabay, Kajiado, Marsabit, Nairobi, Wajir, Machakos and Garissa, KRCS contribution is required. This campaign will be a new campaign in the targeted sub counties. The aim is to enhance uptake of the vaccine as witnessed in the previous campaign where 98% was realized in Garissa and Nairobi where it is completed in some areas as per MoH plan. This aims to scale-up the overall cholera assistance in the active hotspots.