US to send Americans to Kenya for Ebola care amid surging cases in Congo

The Trump administration is reportedly planning to establish a quarantine and treatment facility in Kenya for American citizens exposed to the Ebola virus, rather than repatriating them to the United States for care. This new approach comes amidst a severe Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda, which the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on May 15, 2026. This strategy marks a notable shift from previous outbreaks, where exposed Americans were typically brought back to specialized medical units within the U.S.

The proposed facility, a coordinated effort by the U.S. Departments of Defense, State, and Health and Human Services, aims to provide rapid care for Ebola patients needing to leave the DRC, thereby avoiding lengthy medical evacuations to the U.S. The WHO has issued dire warnings about the situation in eastern DRC, describing a "catastrophic collision of disease and conflict" and noting that the outbreak is currently outpacing response efforts due to insecurity, population mobility, and poor infrastructure.

While U.S. public health officers are being prepared for deployment to staff the facility, which could house up to 250 beds, the plan is still awaiting official approval from the Kenyan government. Critics, including some medical experts, have raised concerns about whether the Kenyan facility can provide care equivalent to U.S. standards and have questioned the moral implications of not bringing American citizens home for treatment.