Top ministry officials to meet US envoy over frozen US health aid

The Ministry of Health will hold talks with US acting Ambassador Marc Dillard in an effort to reinstate foreign aid, following its suspension under an executive order signed by President Donald Trump.

The funding freeze has significantly impacted Kenya’s healthcare system. The move has left the Kenyan government with a Sh30.92 billion funding gap in the health sector, putting supply of essential medical commodities worth Sh24.9 billion at risk.

On Monday, Health Cabinet Secretary Deborah Barasa admitted that Kenya has long relied on US government funding to sustain its healthcare system, and the withdrawal of this support threatens service delivery.

Speaking during a health summit in Nairobi, she said diplomatic interventions are underway to mitigate the impact of the funding shortfall. “We are actively engaging in diplomatic discussions, and on Wednesday, we shall meet with the US acting Ambassador. Additionally, we are developing an impact assessment report, which will be shared to support intervention efforts,” she said.

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She added, “As we know, the global fight against HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria is supported by PEPFAR, and UNAIDS and deriving quite a number from the US government. Kenya has been dependent on donor-driven vertical health programmes and there was a stop order that has disrupted the US government of Sh30.9 billion.”

Dr Barasa said top ministry and government officials will meet with Dillard today (Wednesday) on the issue.

Deputy President Kithure Kindiki acknowledged that some critical programmes in health are hugely funded by the US government. But with the US freeze on foreign aid, he assured Kenyans that the government will work round the clock to ensure the move does not affect service delivery.

“We are making all necessary contingency decisions, and arrangements, to ensure there will be no disruption of services to the people of Kenya,” said Prof Kindiki during the health summit.

Dr Barasa said the US donor has also left uncertainty in human resources with at least jobs of 41,547 people being in limbo as they are directly employed by PEFFAR, running an HIV programme across the country.

Of the employees, the ministry recommends the retention of at least 11,059 front-line workers at a cost of Sh5.8 billion, annually. To bridge the employment gap, the CS pleaded with counties to allocate a budget to run some programmes and absorb the employees.

“From various pillars, a total of Sh30.92 billion is required for a seamless transition. I ask counties to retain all healthcare workers for integration for health system strengthening, restructure the human resource system, integrate to Taifa care, and county set aside funds for donor programs and capacitate human resources so that we do not lose gains made over the years,” said Barasa, noting that integration of staff is also key.

Additionally, some Sh139 million is required for transition funding for key databases including Kenya Electronic Medical Records and (EMR) and Kenya Health Information Systems (KHIS).

Currently, health data mostly for malaria, Tuberculosis (TB) and HIV/AIDS is under key and lock of the donor, by virtue of supporting these programs.

“We are integrating data so that we do not lose patient's data through the cracks,” said Barasa. It is worrying that Kenya’s health data is manned by the donor.

Apart from the human resource aspect and commodities, freezing of foreign aid poses public health risks, majorly in leading killer diseases namely malaria, TB, and HIV/AIDS.

According to Barasa, for example, whereas 1.4 million Kenyans are on antiretroviral therapy (ART), there is a potential of 58,495 new HIV infections by 2030, against the current 16,000 new infections.

TB deaths are also projected to increase to at least 23,500 annually, among them 20,000 linked to HIV.

Whereas cases of malaria have decreased over the years, with a cut in funding, the country is projected to report 12,0900 malaria deaths annually, a rise from the current 1,000.

The fear of recording a surge of HIV infections is happening at a time when the government is only five years shy from the 2030 target of eliminating new infections, mother-child HIV infections, and AIDS deaths.

The projection of ending infections and deaths was pegged on donor support, mostly from the US government which largely handles HIV programs through the PEPFAR programme.

Malaria deaths are also likely to arise from the current 12,000 every year due to changes in climate.