There have been reported incidents of cholera and food poisoning in Nairobi.
A meeting was convened on July 20, at the Tourism Regulatory Authority offices, attended by a wide cross-section of industry stakeholders, to take up the matter.
The Director General, Lagat Kipkorir, hosted and chaired the session. The Director of Public Health, Ministry of Health, Dr. Kepha Ombacho, the Deputy Director of Medical Services, who is also Head of the Department of Preventative and Promotive Heath, Dr. David Soti, and Mr. Musumba, from the Nairobi Country Department of Health were in attendance.
Membership was represented by the General Manager of Hilton, Fairmont, Crown Plaza, Savora Panafric, InterContinental, the CEO of Jacaranda Hotels, Group Sales and Marketing Manager of Jacaranda Hotels, as well as CEO of the Kenya Association of Tour Operators, and the Chair and a board member of the Event Management Association of Kenya.
Mike Macharia, CEO of the Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers, said the meeting had gone well, and the Ministry of Health officials had explained that there was no intention to target the tourism industry, but that the country was faced with a situation that needed to be brought under control.
The government has put the following interventions in place, with the opening of treatment centres in the following locations:
-Mukuru Brothers – to cover Mukuru kwa Njenga.
-Huruma Lions – to cover Huruma, Kariobangi and the surrounding areas
-Mathare North Health Centre – for the expansive Mathare area.
-Eastleigh Health Centre – for Eastleigh which is equally large.
-Mbagathi Hospital – for the Southern part of Nairobi.
-Mama Lucy Hospital – to cover Dandora, Kayole areas.
-Riruta Satellite – to cover Kawangware, Satellite and the surrounding areas.
The centres are designed to provide treatment and relieve pressure from Kenyatta National Hospital.
The government had also established 97 Community Engagement Centres within Nairobi to monitor, report and control reported cases of infection, while also putting mechanisms in place to isolate the outbreak, said Macharia.
Regarding food handlers’ certificates, Macharia said the certificates were withdrawn in good faith, so that all handlers could undergo fresh testing to help isolate the cases. The County Government has established external and internal testing centres.
The County has introduced an Outside Catering Licence in an effort to curb outside catering by unlicensed and unregulated persons.
