By Enyichukwu Enemanna
The United States and Kenya on Thursday sealed a deal, expected to be one of the series of ‘America First’ global health agreements, which is part of Washington’s efforts to overhaul foreign aid and calls for poorer nations to play a bigger role in fighting HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, and polio in their countries.
“So this is truly a partnership. This is the way we should be doing assistance around the world. True assistance is self-sustainability, building the ability to sustain yourself in the long term,” said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the signing ceremony in Washington.
The five-year $2.5 billion agreement replaces a patchwork of previous agreements operated by the defunct US Agency for International Development (USAID).
The deal allows for the movement of US funds from non-governmental groups to the Kenyan government, which would gradually take responsibility for health workers initially funded by the US.
The agreement also saw Kenya pledging to increase its own health spending by $850 million over the five years.
The partnership was a testament to the two countries’ shared resolve to make healthcare systems stronger, more resilient, and sustainable, Kenyan President William Ruto said.
“The framework we signed today adds momentum to my administration’s universal health coverage that is focused on supply of modern equipment to our hospitals, efficient and timely delivery of health commodities to our facilities, enhancement of our health workforce, and health insurance for all,” he said.
US officials said other African countries are expected to sign similar deals in the coming days.
The elimination of USAID as a separate agency sparked widespread criticism and concern in the global health community.
Its resulted in the defunding of multiple hundreds of programmes in developing nations, including for maternal and childcare, nutrition, and anti-HIV/AIDS, with Africa largely impacted.
