State Department for Public Service PS Amos
Gathecha speaking in Machakos county on January 28, 2025/SCREENGRAB
Kenya will seek alternatives should the US stop funding the World Health Organisation (WHO), State Department for Public Service PS Amos Gathecha has said.
Speaking to the press on Tuesday in Machakos County, the PS noted that the US has been a key donor to the agency.
“We have not yet known the implications of his (US President Donald Trump) decision because we have been partners. It is something we are thinking about now, and we are still waiting to see because he just signed the executive order, but the world is urging him to stay,” Gathecha said.
The PS said Kenya would have to find ways to cope if the US exits.
“We must find ways to help ourselves if the US leaves,” he reiterated.
He added that the Global Fund has been key in supporting the health sector in the country.
US is the top donor and partner to WHO, contributing through assessed contributions and voluntary funding.
US President Donald Trump said on Saturday he may consider rejoining WHO, days after ordering the exit from the global health agency over what he described as a mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic and other international health crises.
"Maybe we would consider doing it again; I don't know. Maybe we would. They would have to clean it up," Trump said at a rally in Las Vegas.
The U.S. is scheduled to leave the WHO on January 22, 2026.
Trump announced the move after he was sworn in for a second term in the White House.
The U.S. is by far the biggest financial backer of the WHO, contributing around 18 per cent of its overall funding.
The WHO's most recent two-year budget, for 2024-2025, was US$6.8 billion.
Trump told the crowd in Las Vegas he was unhappy that the
U.S. paid more into the WHO than China, which has a much bigger population.
WHO has regretted the announcement that the US intends to withdraw from the organisation.