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Universal Healthcare workers stage protests outside Parliament in Nairobi, demanding permanent employment, in this photo taken on October 7, 2025. [Bernard Orwongo, Standard]
Kenya's healthcare system stands at a breaking point as debt servicing consumes 60 per cent of national revenue, threatening the country's path to Universal Health Coverage, health advocates have warned.
The country faces a "fiscal trilemma" as it balances ballooning debt, increasing development needs, and managing citizen resistance to taxation, according to participants at a civil society webinar in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Debt servicing costs are projected to reach Sh1.87 trillion by June 2025. This absorbs an average of 60 per cent of national revenue, according to the Parliament of Kenya 2025 Medium Term Debt Management Strategy.
The financial pressure forces a direct trade-off between "people and payments," with the government spending significantly more on interest than on health.
Africa faces an annual health financing gap of $66 billion, data from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention shows.
The continent bears 23 per cent of the global disease burden but accounts for only one per cent of global health expenditure.
Most African nations spend just $8 to $129 per person on health, far below the $4,000 seen in high-income countries. Experts noted that every dollar invested in health yields a four-fold return in economic growth.
In Kenya, the impact has been devastating, with approximately 54,000 health workers losing their jobs due to terminated donor-funded programs.
Funding for the Global Fund was slashed from Sh28.7 billion in 2024/25 to Sh17.3 billion in the latest budget.
"Africa is at a decisive moment to reshape the future of its health response," observed Dr Penninah Iutung, AIDS Healthcare Foundation Executive Vice President, adding, "We cannot beg our way out of a $43 per person deficit. Our leaders must renegotiate debt terms as a block to reclaim the fiscal space for health investments."
Participants at the forum called for a shift to domestic manufacturing to move beyond the current three per cent local production of vaccines.
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