World Bank Questions Kenya's Pandemic Preparedness

A World Bank recent report has questioned Kenya's preparedness to handle a pandemic, citing failure by the government to take necessary steps to withstand an attack as the key reason.

The report indicated that Kenya had not carried out two external evaluations in its readiness to face pandemics.

The diseases in question would be those that face human being only such as cholera or those from animals to human beings, zoonoses, such as Ebola and avian flu.

The report warns that, should bird flu or viral pneumonia that affected china hit Kenya, the country would lose USD 1.3 billion a year and about Sh3,000 per person.

The report titled, From Panic and Neglect to Investing in Health Security was prepared by the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the African and Asian development banks, as well as finance experts from all over the world.

The report reveals that only Finland, Saudi Arabia and the US as well as Eritrea and Pakistan have undergone the required evaluations.

Kenya’s neighbour, Tanzania, has conducted the necessary steps and made provisions on how they would find funds to rectify their weaknesses.

The report urges for setting aside of emergency funds to fight disease outbreaks. Kenya has a national plan only, but is not budgeted for.

The report comes at a time when Kenya has experienced a series of cholera outbreaks that have been reported from December 2014 and has killed a few in Kenya's capital, Nairobi.

The dean of the Moi University School of Medicine, Professor Lukoye Atwoli agreed with the report.

“We are not really ready to handle most epidemics because of a fragmented health system without clear lines of responsibility.” he said.