By David Makan Masai
Expert and instructor David Makan Masai details recent CBRN trainings, exercises, and initiatives in Kenya, and outlines some challenges facing the country in developing its CBRN capabilities.
In the past few years, Kenya has registered significant industrial growth, including in the chemical industry which serves all east and central African countries. Kenya has also become a significant regional import and export hub through its port at Mombasa and the newly operationalized Lamu port. However, the movement of goods and people poses challenges that require effective solutions.
These challenges include accidents involving dangerous goods such as toxic chemicals during transportation or in the process industry, organized crimes, money laundering, and the possibility of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and related technology that threaten not only health and safety but also national, regional, and global peace and security. The recent accident in Kiambu county on the outskirts of Nairobi involving a truck carrying sodium cyanide is a testament to this reality informing the need to have mechanisms to address the threat posed by CBRN incidents.
In realizing these challenges, Kenya has always endeavored to put mechanisms in place to ensure that safety, and national, regional, and global peace and security remain a key priority. Efforts to this end include full adherence to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1540, and working towards full implementation of the Chemical and Biological Weapons Convention and the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty. The need to enhance security and safety has seen the initialization of key programs geared towards ensuring that Kenya effectively addresses the challenges posed by CBRN commodities and related technology, while at the same time promoting the peaceful application of these commodities. However, while all these gestures are laudable, challenges have seen most of the implementation programs stall or even fail to kick off.
The Government Chemist Department is the designated National Authority for the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention and is also the focal point for CBRN threat mitigation together with the National Disaster Management Unit (NDMU). This unit is charged with responding to emergencies and disasters, and has previously organized capacity building in chemical safety and security, chemical emergency response, and CBRN emergency response in general.
The aim of the capacity building programs has been firstly to raise awareness of threats emanating from accidents or the malicious release of CBRN-related materials, and to therefore encourage concerned organizations to enhance the safety and security of using such materials at all levels. Secondly, the programs have developed a minimum capacity to respond to CBRN-related incidences at their organizational level, ensuring that lives are saved, resultant threats are mitigated, and permitting a faster incident recovery.
The general objectives addressed by these capacity building programs also affirm Kenya’s commitment to the implementation of the various global resolutions and treaties mentioned above to ensure global peace, safety, and security. Some of the key training programs that have been successfully conducted in collaboration with the CBRN focal point are discussed below.
Kenya Ports Authority and Law Enforcement Officers
The Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) program was initiated by the KPA after having realized the need for its emergency team to be equipped with CBRN-related emergency response skills. The Mombasa-based port receives and stores various categories of hazardous materials, key among them toxic chemicals and many other forms of dangerous goods.
The training covered the introduction of CBRN, various aspects of the safety and security of hazmat, CBRN-related protection of emergency response personnel, response to CBRN-related incidents, CBRN detection and decontamination mechanisms with tabletop exercises, and related practical activities. Approximately fifty individuals from the KPA were trained, including from the safety, security, and transport sections.
Through the support of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) protection branch and instructors from the Czech Republic, I have personally gained knowledge and skills that I have given back to my country through capacity building among firefighters, the police, hospitals, port authorities, ambulance operators, and emergency medical technicians. In particular, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Babatunde Olowookere of the OPCW, as well as Ms. Ladislava Navratilova and Mr. Tomas Kroupa from the Czech Republic, for their valuable efforts.
Malteser International CBRN Emergency Response for Healthcare Facilities in Nairobi County
Previous capacity building in Kenya was centered around the customs department, border control officers, and law enforcement agencies at border points to ensure that they were familiar with CBRN commodities and could identify and intercept them in case of unauthorized shipments or transport. The Malteser-sponsored training was the beginning of a series of capacity building intended for medical personnel, the rationale here being that in case of a CBRN-related incident, casualties at one point will be referred to healthcare facilities for treatment. However, it had previously been observed that no healthcare facilities had a basic understanding of how to respond to a CBRN-related emergency. Therefore, several personnel from the major healthcare facilities in Nairobi county – including Mbagathi Hospital and Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital – were taken through critical areas for effective CBRN emergency response.
Areas covered included an introduction to CBRN, personal protective equipment and how to don and doff such materials, the treatment and handling of cross-contamination victims, detection and sampling, and how to carry out decontamination of casualties, ambulances, and responders.
CBRN Emergency Response for Kenyatta National Referral Hospital
This training targeted medical and non-medical personnel. The training program, which included both theoretical aspects and simulation exercises, sought to introduce Kenyatta National Referral Hospital staff to CBRN-related emergency response with medical personnel being taken through the signs and symptoms of the various CBRN-related agents and the aspects of effectively managing CBRN-related casualties, including first aid and treatment.
Non-medical personnel were taken through the normal aspects of CBRN emergency response, including protection against related agents and how to carry out lifesaving procedures while upholding safety. These programs trained close to 250 individuals.
EU CBRN Centre of Excellence Training
In February 2022, first responders from Kiambu, Nairobi, and Murang’a counties were trained on response to a chemical indigent through the European Union CBRN Mitigation Centres of Excellence initiative. The three-day training involved participants drawn from the police, disaster response departments, emergency medical technicians, and media. This capacity building exercise aimed to assist counties in mitigating CBRN threats and enhance their emergency preparedness for effective response in the unlikely event of an emergency event involving CBRN materials. I would like to thank Ms. Patricia Gitau for her onsite assistance in this training.
Hazmat/CBRN Training Sponsored by the Polish Center for International Aid
This training program was managed by Kiambu Fire Training Centre and was sponsored by the Polish Center for International Aid (PCPM). The first program was held in 2023 where fire emergency response managers from several counties were taken through hazmat/CBRN training. This training covered an introduction to CBRN, various CBRN materials and their hazardous effects, and CBRN emergency management including rescue and decontamination. The training was finalized with a simulated chemical incident to which participants had to respond. Approximately 45 individuals took part in this training.
The training resumed in 2024 with two cohorts of fire emergency responders from Kiambu and Nairobi being taken through CBRN emergency response. The PCPM-sponsored capacity building program has been one of the most successful CBRN emergency response programs as it has always encompassed simulated emergency incidents where participants are required to apply the knowledge learned to address the emergency at hand. Another important part of this training is the adequate supply of CBRN emergency equipment and accessories.
Finally, Kenya’s emergency medical services usually conduct a yearly symposium whereby all emergency service providers such as fire, emergency medical technicians, and police raise awareness through competition and training on different emergencies.
Challenges and Opportunities
CBRN threats are a new phenomenon in Africa and Kenya in particular. While there has been sensitization among stakeholders, there is still a lack of understanding on the part of response agencies which has derailed progress in preparedness against accidents and incidents, and thus exposing the population to serious threats.
The need to have a well-trained, well-coordinated, and equipped specialized CBRN emergency team in Kenya to address the threats posed by related accidents and incidents at the civilian level cannot be over-emphasized.
Funding, Equipment, National Action Plan, and Specialized Training
There is no budget set aside for the CBRN focal point, the Chemical Weapons Convention implementation authority, and the National Disaster Management Unit for CBRN-related activities. Most of the programs are funded by external organizations where constrained budgets have negatively impacted capacity building programs. As a result, some programs have stopped, including courses on CBRN first responders, the medical treatment of CBRN victims, chemical safety and security programs for customs officers and law enforcement, CBRN emergency responses for border control personnel, and CBRN commodity identification for customs and law enforcement officers.
The equipment used both for capacity building and emergency response was donated by the European Union more than five years ago, and most of them have come of age. This has been a drawback not only in responding to incidents but also in trainings. The recent sodium cyanide accident in Kiambu in July 2024 reveals this fact, as most of the individuals from the Ministry of Health and partner agencies who went to the scene did not have PPE.
There has not been a fully domesticated CBRN national action plan that guides, among other things, CBRN emergency response coordination. Stakeholders are currently deliberating the current draft before making necessary changes to address and fast-track emerging issues.
Most training usually covers basic and intermediate courses, however the trainers have not been fully equipped with specialized training skills on IT applications in CBRN emergencies, the strategic management of emergencies, and use of specialized CBRN emergency equipment including their calibration, to name but a few.
There is, therefore, a need for a clear model of funding for CBRN capacity building programs to ensure their effective implementation. The focal point and partner agencies need to find a constant source of funding to ensure that programs do not fail to start or cannot be sustained. As mentioned earlier there is a serious challenge in terms of equipment available for both training and response, and the training agencies need to be equipped with modern equipment to ensure that both training and response to incidents are effectively carried out.
The national action plan should be worked on at the earliest opportunity to guide how emergencies can be effectively coordinated. It is also important that trainers be equipped with specialized training to ensure that they can provide expert training in addition to basic and intermediate training.
David Makan Masai’s background is in medical (nursing), health system management, and disaster risk reduction. He has been a CBRN trainer with the OPCW for the last six years and is also experienced in developing field CBRN drills and exercises in eastern and central Africa. He has previously worked at the General Service Unit under the National Police Service as a tactical medicine officer. Currently, he works at the National Disaster Management Unit of Kenya as a training and planning officer and CBRN expert.
