Kenya is on high alert after six governments warned of the Ebola South Sudan risk. The embassies of Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States said on Thursday, November 12, that they are “concerned over an outbreak in South Sudan”.
Why the Ebola South Sudan risk is so high
South Sudan has no confirmed Bundibugyo Ebola case yet. However, the World Health Organisation (WHO) says the country faces a 99 per cent risk of importing the virus. The reason is ongoing transmission in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The two countries share a border of about 813 kilometres. That border lies directly next to areas with an active outbreak. As of November 9, confirmed cases in the DRC had passed 10,900.
What the embassies said
In a joint statement, the six embassies urged South Sudan’s leaders to fund the health sector from public revenue. They also called for health workers’ salaries to be paid.
“These risks give even greater urgency to the need for South Sudan’s leaders to start using South Sudan’s public revenue to fund the health sector, including the salaries of public health workers,” the embassies said.
They also asked leaders to support full access across the country for organisations helping people in need.
Suspected cases in South Sudan
Authorities in South Sudan have been investigating several suspected cases. A fatal haemorrhagic fever case in Morobo County tested negative for Ebola on two blood samples. It was later confirmed as yellow fever on November 10, 2026. Meanwhile, a separate alert in Yei was still awaiting laboratory confirmation in early November.
What it means for Kenya
South Sudan is a key regional export market for Kenya. Available data puts daily crossings at roughly 800 to 1,500 people. As a result, the risk of importing the disease rises, even as Kenya counts down its own monitoring period.
Kenya reported its first imported case in October. Eight more followed, and two people died. The rest recovered and left quarantine.
Health CS Aden Duale said on Wednesday that the country is now in a 42-day monitoring period.
“Forty-two days is twice the longest incubation period of the virus. If no new case is recorded in that period, Kenya will be declared free of Ebola on 23 December 2026,” he said.
The WHO has urged Kenya to keep up disease surveillance, screen patients in health facilities, and strengthen laboratory capacity and health worker preparedness.
Travel restrictions already in place
South Sudan is among the countries facing travel restrictions because of the Ebola outbreak. The United States, Canada, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are among the states that have imposed them.
