Before the rains, can Kenya keep care within reach?

Kenya has identified 5,660 health facilities in areas assessed as at risk ahead of the October–December rains. A national assessment rates overall flood preparedness at 54 per cent, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The figures identify exposure and readiness; they do not predict which facilities will flood or close.

From 8 to 11 September, the Kenya Defence Forces’ health team and WHO rehearsed a scenario involving flooding, displacement and cholera. The exercise covered activation, clinical care, sanitation, coordination with county and national authorities, and handover. WHO says it exposed procedures requiring amendment.

The team is working towards accreditation as a fixed emergency medical team. WHO’s account describes a roadmap towards that status, rather than completed accreditation.

County health departments can now identify the facilities that need an alternative access route, protected water, a reserve of essential supplies and a referral arrangement. The Ministry of Health, disaster authorities and the military team could run a second exercise that times each handover after a road or clinic becomes unusable.

WHO reports planning and rehearsal. It gives no facility-by-facility continuity plan or evidence that every exposed community can still obtain care during a flood.

Nigeria launched its AgriConnect Compact in Ibadan on 25 September. The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) says the government, development partners and private investors aim to mobilise an estimated US$5 billion over five years for agricultural value chains, finance and market access.

The compact sets indicative targets of improving food and nutrition security for nearly three million people and creating 2.56 million jobs by 2031. Those are ambitions for the years ahead. IFAD does not give a total already transferred or spent under the new compact.

Farmer organisations, affordable credit, insurance, post-harvest management and buyers are part of the intended route. A World Bank agricultural value-chain project approved in March forms one component of the wider AgriConnect effort; its earlier approval should not be counted as a new compact disbursement.

Nigeria’s agriculture ministry and its partners could publish a schedule by state and value chain: the committed and approved finance, the provider, when a farmer can apply, and the date a service or market link becomes usable. Reports can then follow access to credit, buyers and earnings, including for women farmers.

The launch establishes a framework and targets. Agreements, releases and results will show how much of the proposed investment reaches producers.

Uganda confirmed 66 separate measles outbreaks in 2025. Only 21 of its 146 districts reached the target for the second measles-rubella dose. Among confirmed cases during those outbreaks, 64 per cent had received no measles vaccine dose, WHO reports.

The Ministry of Health and partners are preparing a nationwide follow-up campaign for October. They reviewed outbreaks and prior campaign performance, surveyed caregivers in varied communities, and began district planning months in advance. The surveyed communities showed strong demand for vaccination, while the coverage record points to children whom services have yet to reach.

District readiness assessments began eight weeks before implementation. Planners are using census and household counts to refine target populations, with dashboards to track preparations. These steps create time to address gaps in staff, supplies and routes before teams go out.

District teams can use the routine-dose records and local household counts to plan outreach to children who have missed both doses. After the campaign, the Ministry of Health can publish district results for children reached, previously unvaccinated children and follow-up for the second dose.

The October campaign has yet to take place. The new account describes preparation and earlier coverage, not the campaign’s eventual reach.