Kenya has designated 30 acres of land and allocated Ksh741 million to support the establishment of the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa (WHO-AFRO) Regional Emergency Operations and Logistics Hub.

This project, falling under the Operations Support and Logistics pillar, aims to address a critical gap in public health emergency response within the region.

During a meeting with Norwegian officials led by Health Ambassador John Aren Rottingen, Principal Secretary Mary Muthoni highlighted that the hub would significantly enhance emergency responses across the African continent.

At present, WHO-AFRICA is actively managing more than 142 ongoing emergencies, including disease outbreaks and humanitarian crises.

The Ministry of Health emphasized the need for African countries to prioritize healthcare emergencies, particularly since most operations, supply chain management, and logistics remain underfunded, despite constituting over 70% of emergency response efforts.

The establishment of this hub in Kenya not only promises to strengthen regional coordination but also positions itself as a center of excellence for emergency operations.

It's worth noting that this land allocation to WHO has stirred controversy in the past. During the final days of Uhuru Kenyatta's administration, the decision to transfer 200 acres of Kenyatta University (KU) land to WHO for the construction of a state-of-the-art emergency hub faced opposition from the university's management, leading to the suspension of Vice Chancellor Paul Wainaina.

Uhuru Kenyatta had defended the government's decision to provide both land and Ksh500 million to the global health organization for this purpose. However, following a court order in November 2022, Wainaina was reinstated, marking a chapter of contention surrounding the allocation of this land to WHO.