Ebola: Africa CDC calls for the lifting of Saudi restrictions imposed on Kenya

The Africa CDC, the African Union's health agency, requested on November 3, 2026, the "urgent review and lifting" of Ebola-related travel and visa restrictions imposed on Kenya by Saudi Arabia. The Addis Ababa-based agency describes these measures as broad and unjustified, and is calling on other countries not to follow this example.

"Africa needs partnership, not punishment; solidarity, not stigmatization," declared the Director General of the Africa CDC, Dr. Jean Kaseya, in the statement. The agency is asking Riyadh to quickly engage in discussions with Kenya, the Africa CDC, and the World Health Organization.

Nine cases, two deaths, a single chain of transmission

Kenya has recorded nine confirmed cases, including two deaths, all linked to a single imported case, according to the Africa CDC. No new confirmed cases have been reported since October 19, 2026, the agency specifies—with Capital FM placing the last confirmed infection on October 20.

The first patient, a Kenyan who returned from the Democratic Republic of Congo via Uganda, had his infection confirmed on October 6, reports Capital FM. Eight infections followed, affecting four members of his family and four healthcare workers.

The Director General of Health, Patrick Amoth, indicated to Capital FM that all 135 contacts linked to the initial case had been traced. Forty-six people placed in quarantine were scheduled to return home on November 3, following an initial group of twenty released on October 26; fifty-two remain under surveillance. "The confirmed cases have responded very well to treatment," stated the official, who reminded that vigilance must be maintained until the end of the 42-day count set by the WHO.

Nine of these contacts were outside of Kenya; the relevant authorities were informed under the International Health Regulations of 2005. In other words, Nairobi reported, traced, and declared.

What a border closure really punishes

This is where the Africa CDC's criticism lies: sanctioning a country that has made its outbreak public with restrictions amounts to teaching states that discretion is less costly than declaration. Nigeria has also practiced transparency: its national disease control center announced on November 2 that two suspected cases isolated in the northeast were negative after two rounds of testing, reports RFI.

The epidemic remains very severe in its Congolese epicenter, with more than 5,000 deaths since it was declared in May 2026, according to RFI. Uganda was declared Ebola-free in August by the WHO, following twenty cases and two deaths, and the Central African Republic, with no reported cases, has strengthened its border controls.