The World Health Organization (WHO) has validated Kenya as having eliminated human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), also known as sleeping sickness, as a public health problem, making it the tenth country to achieve this milestone. This is the second neglected tropical disease (NTD) Kenya has eliminated, following the certification of Guinea worm disease eradication in 2018. WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus commended Kenya’s achievement as an important step toward a continent free of NTDs.
HAT is a vector-borne disease caused by the Trypanosoma brucei parasite, transmitted through bites from infected tsetse flies. Rural communities engaged in farming, fishing, animal husbandry, or hunting are most at risk. The disease is found only in Africa and occurs in two forms: gambiense and rhodesiense. Kenya has only the rhodesiense form (r-HAT), caused by Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense, which is highly aggressive and can be fatal within weeks without treatment.
Kenya’s success follows decades of surveillance and control efforts, with no locally transmitted cases reported in over a decade. The last indigenous case was recorded in 2009, and the last two imported cases linked to the Masai Mara National Reserve occurred in 2012. The country has enhanced HAT surveillance in 12 health facilities across six historically endemic counties, equipped them with diagnostic tools, and trained clinical personnel in sensitive testing procedures. Monitoring of tsetse flies and animal trypanosomiasis continues, supported by the Kenya Tsetse and Trypanosomiasis Eradication Council (KENTTEC) and national veterinary authorities.
Health officials in Kenya highlighted that this success was the result of collaboration among national and county governments, research institutions, partners, and affected communities. The country plans to maintain WHO-recommended surveillance and quality care through a post-validation monitoring plan to detect any resurgence or reintroduction. WHO will continue supporting Kenya’s monitoring efforts and ensure rapid access to treatment if needed, with medicine donations from Bayer AG and Sanofi.
Globally, 57 countries have eliminated at least one NTD, with 10—including Kenya—having eliminated HAT as a public health problem. Other countries that have reached this goal are Benin, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Guinea, Rwanda, Togo, and Uganda.
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