Overview

• On August 8, the World Health Organization officially certified Kenya as having eliminated human African trypanosomiasis as a public health problem.
• Kenya becomes the 10th country to meet WHO’s target for reducing sleeping sickness to elimination levels, building on its 2018 certification as Guinea worm-free.
• No indigenous cases have been reported since 2009 and the last exported infections occurred in 2012 at the Masai Mara National Reserve.
• Twelve health facilities in six former endemic counties now serve as sentinel sites equipped with advanced diagnostics and staffed by trained personnel.
• Under a WHO-supported post-validation strategy, Kenya will maintain active monitoring in former hotspots and keep a ready stockpile of medicines for rapid treatment of any new cases.