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A Kenyan court temporarily blocked the government from implementing a health aid agreement with the US, citing privacy concerns over the potential storage and use of citizens’ data.
The $2.5 billion pact would see the US government invest up to $1.6 billion into Kenya’s health programs to combat HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases. The court’s injunction was in response to a lawsuit brought by consumer rights groups who argued that the partnership with Washington would involve sharing sensitive health information outside Kenya.
US health assistance for Africa has taken the form of bilateral partnership agreements in which both parties agree to fund programs under a new “America First Global Health Strategy.” The pact with Kenya, announced on Dec. 4, requires Nairobi to increase domestic health expenditure by $850 million over a five-year period.
Meanwhile the US signed two separate five-year health deals worth a combined value of $2.5 billion with Uganda and Lesotho. Washington will invest $1.7 billion in Uganda’s efforts to combat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and other infectious diseases, while the East African country will commit $500 million to the endeavor, according to the US State Department. Lesotho will receive $232 million and provide $132 million for a similar initiative.
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The “America First Global Health Strategy” was launched in September, months after US President Donald Trump revised his government’s approach to humanitarian assistance following the dismantling of USAID, which hit African countries particularly hard. The Trump administration will continue to enter bilateral health cooperation agreements with countries around the world, the State Department said.