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Information for Visitors to USAMRU
We ask that those planning
to visit or work at USAMRU notify Kirumba Mukuria )
as early as possible. This will allow us to facilitate Embassy clearances
for US Government and military visitors as well as to arrange for transport,
appointments, and reservations. Official visitors should fax a copy of
their orders. Generally, we prefer to book visitors into the Serena or
Fairview hotels in Nairobi, at which we receive discounted rates, because of
ease of access and security. At Kisumu we maintain a guest house with a
limited number of rooms.
Arriving visitors needing
help clearing customs at Kenyatta International Airport can be met at the
gangway by an Embassy expeditor, if advance notice is given. Visas for
Americans can either be obtained at the Kenyan Embassy in Washington or at the
airport, where a charge of US $40 will be levied. Immigration and customs
formalities are relatively painless. After exiting customs, turn
right. Either someone who recognizes you or someone holding a placard with
your name will usually be waiting. Should that not happen, continue
walking to the right until you see the Europecar kiosk just before the building
exit on the left hand side. Make arrangements for them to take you to the
hotel you have been told is booked for you. The charge will be Ksh 900
(about $12); get a receipt. You will be contacted at your hotel.
Exchange rates at the airport banks are better than at the hotels.
Their first morning at
KEMRI visitors will be asked to update their home contact information, provide a
xerox of their passport, and read a security packet provided by the American
Embassy.
KEMRI, which was established in its present form in 1979, is an organ of the
Ministry of Health and Kenya's principal medical research institution.
Consisting of 12 research centers, KEMRI also sponsors research units of the
Japanese International Cooperation Agency, the CDC, Oxford University / Wellcome
Foundation, and Case Western University, as well as USAMRU, which has been a
tenant since its founding.
About
Nairobi
Weather
(http://www.meteo.go.ke)
Although one and a half degrees south of the equator Nairobi's altitude of 1,800
m provides moderate daytime temperatures (24-290 C) and temperatures
at nigh
It frequently less than 180 C.
It is advisable to bring a light coat. Rainfall is theoretically divided between
the 'short rains' in November and early December, and the 'long rains', April to
July. Daylight is constant at about 12 hours daily throughout the year.
Transport & Communication
(http://www.kenyaweb.com/transport/index.html)
Kenyan road traffic moves on the left. Many drivers proceed with reckless
abandon at high speed. We discourage short-term visitors from renting cars
and urge extreme caution for pedestrians. Public transport tends to be
crowded, slow and dusty. There is daily air service between Nairobi and Kisumu, Mombasa, and other internal points. Train service is slow. The
postal service is efficient and there are a number of internet providers.
USAMRU has direct satellite links in both Nairobi and Kisumu. Telephone
service has been improving and cell phones, nonexistent two years ago, are now
common.
Security.
Nairobi, like all big cities with large migrant populations, has more crime than
do smaller cities and rural areas. Visitors are urged to read the security
briefing they will be given and to exercise the precautions advised.
Miscellaneous Nairobi has well established medical
services; the best
and most reliable emergency care is at two private facilities, Nairobi Hospital and Aga Khan Hospital.
Many of the city's restaurants and recreational facilities, of which there is a
wide selection, have moved to suburban centers north of the city center (http://www.kenyaweb.com/vnairobi/eat_out.html).
For visitors with little time, Nairobi National Park, which borders the city,
has nearly all the country's major mammals (except elephants) and is
remarkably un-crowded.
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Kenya and neighboring Uganda and Tanzania all share Lake Victoria, the source of
the Nile, and constitute East Africa. About the size of the state of Texas
(583, 000km2), Kenya has both a long coral reef protected Indian
Ocean coast and extensive arid regions boarding Somalia, Ethiopia and
Sudan. Although bisected by the equator, much of Kenya is higher than
1,500 m above sea level. The diversity of climate and topography make disease
transmission complex.