CDC Supports Kenya’s COVID-19 Surveillance and Response

CDC Supports Kenya’s COVID-19 Surveillance and Response (3-minute video)

Title: CDC Supports Kenya’s COVID-19 Surveillance and Response

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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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Dr. Amy Herman-Roloff, Country Director, CDC Kenya: Since 2004, CDC Kenya has supported the National Public Health Emergency Operations Center, or EOC. When the first case of COVID-19 was detected in Kenya in March of 2020, CDC Kenya launched a 60-person COVID-19 response team that mirrored the structure that the Government of Kenya was also organizing. CDC Kenya specifically focused on providing support to the Ministry of Health in the areas of laboratory, surveillance, port health, vaccines, and research.

Daniel Wako, Emergency Coordinator, CDC Kenya: CDC has collaborated with the Ministry of Health of Kenya for more than 40 years, and in that 40 years, there’s a lot of work that has been done in emergency preparedness and response, including the development of emergency operations centers that have been instrumental, especially in response. And we saw this during the COVID response

where we were able to set up 19 EOCs that have been able to be set up in the counties.

Dr. Charles Mulwa, Medical Epidemiologist, Kenya National Public Health Emergency Operations Center: The EOC staff usually undertake surveillance and coordinate response to public health emergencies, both in the country and in the counties. They do this through monitoring of surveillance data that come in routinely every week and daily. They do all these through also media scanning and notifications from the counties that now help us to make decisions.

Daniel Wako, Emergency Coordinator, CDC Kenya: And during the setup of the EOCs we were also able to quickly train a number of teams on community engagement. And this has enabled us to not only respond faster but better, make sure that in their response it is effective and making sure that we get better in providing public health response.

Dr. Amy Herman-Roloff, Country Director, CDC Kenya: CDC Kenya through multiple programs, provided support to over 60% of all COVID-19 testing that took place in Kenya.

Daniel Wako, Emergency Coordinator, CDC Kenya: Communication during an emergency response is necessary to have effective coordination such that you’re able to have the right things happening with the right people in the right ways.

Dr. Amy Herman-Roloff, Country Director, CDC Kenya: CDC Kenya stands ready to partner with the Ministry of Health in Kenya on whatever disease threats it faces next. Whether that’s Ebola, measles, or cholera, CDC Kenya has subject matter experts that we are ready to deploy to assist in any efforts to prevent, detect, and respond to any infectious disease.

Text on slate: To learn more about CDC’s global health work visit www.cdc.gov/globalheatlh/.

Follow @CDCGlobal on social media.

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