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The United States signed a $2.5 billion, five-year bilateral health aid agreement with Kenya, marking the first such deal under the new US administration’s “America First” policy.
The agreement provides $1.6 billion from the US, with Kenya contributing $850 million while agreeing to take on greater long-term responsibility for its health sector.
The move comes after President Donald Trump dissolved the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and shifted funding away from Western non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised Kenyan President William Ruto for cooperation, particularly in Haiti, and emphasised that the new approach aims to reduce funding for the “NGO industrial complex” and give partner governments more influence over spending, focusing aid increasingly on religious groups.
A US official confirmed that agreements would be withheld from countries with which Washington has disagreements, naming South Africa.
The official defended the new approach against concerns that marginalised groups, such as the LGBTQ+ community in countries like Uganda, might be sidelined, claiming the new structure would be effective in reducing case rates across all high-risk populations.
