By John Mutiso
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has confirmed that the Kenya-U.S. health cooperation framework will run until 2030, after which the Kenyan government will fully take over the programme.Â
In an interview on Tuesday, December 9, he explained that the agreement is designed to strengthen the country’s healthcare system and integrate key disease programmes into the Social Health Authority (SHA).
“The signed Kenya-U.S. health cooperation framework is for 5 years, up to 2030. After 2030, the Kenya government will take over the whole program. The goal is to build a more resilient healthcare system. HIV, malaria, TB will be integrated into SHA at the primary care level,” he said.
Duale added that Kenya has a responsibility to invest in the health of its citizens and that the partnership supports the government’s ongoing budgetary efforts.
“We have a constitutional and moral duty to make sure that we take care of the health of our citizens. This deal is part of what we are budgeting and allocating for; it is reinforcing it.
“If we put the Ksh10 billion, Ksh20 billion, Ksh35 billion and we put the Ksh50 billion and we work with the Ksh210 billion that we are getting from the US, by 2030, the Kenya health care system will be resilient and sustainable,” he stated.
Duale also clarified that the agreement respects Kenyan law, especially on matters of data sharing.
He said that Kenya’s legal framework takes precedence in case of any conflict between the two countries’ laws and outlined the exit clause in the agreement.
“This agreement, particularly the data sharing, is anchored in our laws. In the event there will be a conflict between the two laws of these two countries, the Kenyan law supersedes.
“In the event that either participants want to walk out of this agreement, it will give the other six months in writing so that they can call it a day,” he explained.
Kenya and the US on Thursday, December 4, signed a Ksh208 billion health data agreement in Washington, D.C.
President William Ruto witnessed the signing of the deal by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi.
Under the framework, the US will provide up to Ksh208 billion ($1.6 billion) over the next five years to support priority health programs in Kenya, including HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB), malaria, maternal and child health, polio eradication, disease surveillance, and infectious disease outbreak response and preparedness.
The funding will go directly to key government systems, including the Social Health Authority (SHA), DHA, Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA), Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS), Ministry of Health (MoH), and the National Public Health Institute (NPHI).
In a statement after the agreement was signed, Ruto thanked the US government for choosing Kenya to be the first country to sign the health deal.
“We express our deep appreciation to the Government of the United States, under the leadership of President Donald J. Trump, for choosing Kenya as the first nation to sign such a Framework.
“This decision reflects growing confidence in the strength, sustainability, and reform momentum of our healthcare systems. This partnership builds upon Kenya’s long-standing health cooperation with the United States, an enduring collaboration spanning more than 25 years and backed by over 7 billion dollars in investment,” he stated.
