Kenya’s William Ruto receives U.S. medical aid in first Trump administration deal

Kenya has signed a historic five-year health deal with the United States, the first such deal since Donald Trump’s administration overhauled its foreign aid program.

The $2.5bn (£1.9bn) deal is aimed at fighting the infectious disease in Kenya, and other African countries are expected to roll out similar deals in line with Trump’s wider foreign policy goals.

The intergovernmental agreement is intended to increase transparency and accountability but has raised concerns it could give the United States real-time access to critical health databases, including sensitive patient information.

Kenyan Health Minister Aden Duale tried to allay such concerns, saying “only de-identified aggregate data will be shared.”

On his first day in office in January, Trump announced a freeze on foreign aid, disbanded the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and cut billions of dollars in aid to poorer countries as part of a review of government spending.

This has led to drastic reductions in the availability of certain medicines in developing countries.

In September, the Trump administration launched an America First global health strategy that made aid dependent on negotiations that officials said would reduce waste and advance U.S. priorities.

According to the agreement with Kenya, the United States will contribute US$1.7 billion and the Kenyan government will contribute US$850 million, and will gradually assume more responsibilities.

The goals of the agreement are prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, maternal care, polio eradication, and response and preparedness for infectious disease outbreaks.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the agreement a “landmark agreement” when he signed it with Kenyan President William Ruto, calling Kenya “a long-standing ally of the United States.”

He praised Kenya’s leadership and contribution in the U.N.-backed fight against powerful gangs in Haiti.

“If we had five to 10 countries willing to step up and do even half of what Kenya has done, that would be a remarkable achievement,” Rubio said.

The Secretary of State explained that the United States wants its foreign aid to go directly to governments rather than through aid agencies and charities.

“We are not spending billions funding the NGO industrial complex while close and important partners like Kenya either play no role or have little impact on how health care funding is spent,” he said.

Kenya’s president said the funds would be used to achieve the country’s priorities, such as purchasing modern equipment for hospitals and increasing the health workforce.

Ruto added: “I assure you that every shilling and every dollar will be spent efficiently, effectively and responsibly.”

However, some Kenyans have called for disclosure of the full agreement, fearing it would allow the United States to access Kenyan patients’ personal medical records, such as HIV status, tuberculosis treatment history and vaccination data.

“What specific categories of data are being shared? Does it include genomic data, disease patterns, mental health data, insurance claims, hospital records, or biometric data? If not, why is it not written explicitly?” attorney Willis Otieno posted on X.

Prominent whistleblower Nelson Amenya has expressed similar concerns, urging the Kenyan government to publish the full agreement so “we can read it ourselves.”

Minister Duale dismissed such concerns, insisting that Kenya’s health data remains secure and fully protected by Kenyan law.

“Your health data is a strategic national asset,” Duale added.

U.S. officials have yet to comment on data concerns.

A number of other African countries are expected to sign similar agreements by the end of the year, U.S. officials said.