Kenya 7th most affected by US aid freeze

Kenya ranks seventh among countries most affected by US foreign aid cuts, indicating the country’s heavy dependence on donor money, especially in the healthcare sector.

The country has received about $1.7 billion (Sh220.15 billion) in aid from the United States in the last three years, a large part of it going to health services.

This is according to official data from the US Agency for International Development (Usaid) website for 2023, 2024, and available data for 2025.

The pattern of aid distribution in Kenya reveals most of the money goes to HIV/Aids programmes; economic development; agriculture; other health programmes;  water supply and sanitation; humanitarian assistance; operating expenses;  programme support; general environmental protection; and democracy, human rights, and governance, respectively.

The analysis used funding information provided by Usaid to analyse allocated foreign aid between 2023 and 2025 and sectors that required the most spending in 2025.

“The final ranking is based on the total amount of aid received by the country in this time frame,” said Slot.day, which analysed the data, verified by The Star.

The Usaid data show the US has maintained substantial funding for HIV/Aids programmes in Kenya, with the sector receiving $66 million (Sh8.54 billion) in 2025 allocations.

However, Kenya's foreign aid support from the US has been decreasing, from $846 million (Sh109.53 billion) in 2023 to $128 million (Sh16.57 billion) in 2025.

“While the total aid package of $1.7 billion (Sh220.15 billion) over three years demonstrates substantial US commitment, the declining trend in annual allocations could potentially undermine years of progress in public health initiatives,” the analysis indicates.

Last week, the World Health Organization noted that Kenya was among eight countries – six of them in Africa – that could soon run out of HIV drugs following the US government's decision to pause foreign aid.

However, Kenya’s Ministry of Health sought to quell fears, saying the country has at least enough ARVs to last four months. It said more shipments are on the way, raising Kenya’s ARV stock to enough levels until June 2025.

US President Donald Trump announced the freeze on his first day in office in January as part of a review into government spending.

"Disruptions to HIV programmes could undo 20 years of progress," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned last week on Monday.

It could also lead to more than 10 million additional cases of HIV and three million HIV-related deaths, he added, noting this was "more than triple the number of deaths last year".

Nigeria, Kenya, Lesotho, South Sudan, Burkina Faso and Mali - as well as Haiti and Ukraine - would run out of live-saving anti-retroviral (ARV) medicines in the coming months, Dr Tedros said at a press conference last week.

Trump's executive order paused foreign aid support for an initial duration of 90 days in line with his "America First" foreign policy.

It has affected health programmes around the world, leaving shipments of critical medical supplies, including HIV drugs, greatly hampered.

The majority of the US Agency for International Development's (USAID) programmes have since been terminated.

Despite a waiver issued in February for the US's ground-breaking HIV programme, its work has severely impacted.

Known as the US President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar), it relies on logistical support from USAID and other organisations hit by the turmoil.

It has led to the "immediate stop to services for HIV treatment, testing and prevention in more than 50 countries", Dr Tedros said.

Launched in 2003, Pepfar has enabled some of the world's poorest people to access anti and has been credited with saving more than 26 million lives worldwide.

Last week, Kenya’s Ministry of Health said the country has nearly five months of stock of the commonly used ARV known as TLD, a combination of Tenofovir/Lamivudine/Dolutegravir.

This is the main ART regimen used by more than 92 per cent of all Kenyans living with HIV.

Health Cabinet Secretary Dr Deborah Barasa said currently, there are 2,026,555 packs of TLD at both the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (Kemsa) and the subcontracted distributor Mission for Essential Drugs and Supplies (MEDS), translating to 4.7 months of stock.

She said another 4.8 million packs will arrive in Kenya by June this year. “This will increase central level stocks to over 11 months of stock by end of June, 2025,” Dr Deborah said.

Kenya has about 1.4 million people living with HIV, and more than 95 per cent of them are on treatment.