When President Donald Trump signed an executive order on January 20, 2025, pulling America out of the World Health Organisation (WHO) membership, the decision sent shockwaves through Kenya’s health system.
Officials in Kenya quickly expressed concern as the country braced itself for potential impacts.
“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,” Amos Gathecha, Principal Secretary for Public Service, said on January 28, 2025, adding that Kenya would have to find ways to cope if the US exits.
Days earlier, on January 23, 2025, the Director General for Health, Patrick Amoth, had announced plans to build stronger health partnerships with other countries. The goal is to keep programmes running while mobilising funding from diverse sources and working more closely with neighbouring countries and the African Union.
“Collaboration with international partners is critical to ensure that our health priorities are not compromised,” said Dr Amoth. “Our plea is that collectively, we are safer together as a whole world, while individual countries are at liberty to make any major decision that suits them. Following lessons learnt from most of these outbreaks, we are only safer together as one global community.”
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale (Centre) Public Health PS Mary Muthoni (left) and Health Director-General, Dr Patrick Amoth, appear before National Assembly Health Committee at Parliament buildings Nairobi on May 15, 2025.
Photo credit: dennis Onsongo | Nation Media Group
“Kenya has made remarkable progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS, with 98 percent of people living with HIV aware of their status and on treatment, and 94 percent achieving viral suppression. The ministry is actively engaging with other development partners and investing in local pharmaceutical manufacturing to prevent treatment disruptions.”
The US formally exited the WHO on Thursday, January 22, 2026, leaving Kenya and other nations reliant on support from the UN agency facing potential setbacks.
In Kenya, the WHO runs multiple programmes, including disease surveillance systems that monitor and track disease outbreaks across the country. These include a network of Emergency Operations Centres (EOCs) for outbreak response and Kenya’s National Influenza Centre, which tracks flu mutations and respiratory pathogens.
In immunisation, the WHO provides technical assistance for Kenya’s National Vaccine and Immunisation Programme, supporting routine childhood immunisations for diseases such as polio, measles, rubella and tetanus.
The WHO also introduced HPV and malaria vaccine programmes and works to improve immunisation data quality through partnerships with Gavi. The recent measles outbreak, which affected more than 2,900 children and killed at least 18, underscores how critical this support is.
WHO’s Neglected Tropical Diseases programmes run mass drug administration campaigns targeting 13 million children. Recently, the organisation provided $1.6 million worth of medicines and trained more than 800 healthcare workers across 20 counties for campaigns addressing lymphatic filariasis, schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminths. These programmes use digital health systems to track disease control efforts across affected communities.
The organisation provides crucial support for maternal and child health, working to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality through integrated nutrition interventions and child health programmes. WHO also strengthens Kenya’s laboratory systems, supporting diagnostic quality standards, whole-genome sequencing capacity and international laboratory accreditation—essential for detecting and responding to disease threats.
Technical backbone
WHO’s technical assistance extends to Kenya’s Universal Health Coverage (UHC) initiatives, supporting health financing reforms, including the transition from the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) to the Social Health Authority (SHA). The organisation also helps strengthen primary healthcare and develop the health workforce through capacity-building programmes.
Additionally, WHO supports Kenya’s health data systems, including electronic health information platforms and the Demographic and Health Survey programme, which has already been affected by the American foreign aid freeze, hampering Kenya’s ability to collect crucial information on disease patterns.
While WHO does not directly fund HIV and TB treatment programmes—which rely primarily on PEPFAR and the Global Fund—it provides crucial technical guidance. This includes international treatment guidelines adopted by Kenya, integrated TB-HIV service delivery models, and support for surveillance systems for TB case detection, drug resistance monitoring, and HIV/TB co-infection tracking. The loss of this technical coordination could weaken the quality and standardisation of these life-saving programmes.
Historically, the US has been one of the largest funders of the WHO, with contributions ranging between $163 million and $816 million annually over the past decade.
America’s exit, however, may face a legislative challenge. Although it was the only country that reserved the right to leave the WHO when it joined in 1948, its withdrawal is governed by rules: it must give one year’s notice and settle outstanding obligations. The US has not paid the $260 million (Sh33.5 billion) it owes for 2024–2025.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that the US decision creates a situation in which everyone loses, as diseases do not respect borders.
“It’s a loss for the US, and it’s also a loss for the rest of the world,” he said. “Withdrawal from WHO is a loss for the United States, and it’s also a loss for the rest of the world. When I say loss, I mean it makes the US unsafe. The withdrawal makes the rest of the world unsafe. It’s not really the right decision.”
“The US cannot be safe without working with the WHO. It’s not about money. I’m not saying money doesn’t matter, but what matters most is solidarity, cooperation, and for the whole world to prepare itself for any eventualities to a common enemy, like a virus like Covid-19,” he emphasised.
Deal dilemma
While Kenya is yet to fully contextualise the impact of the US decision, the country has entered into a deal with the Trump administration, a move expected to fill the gap left by the withdrawal of USAid funding and cushion the country against the most severe effects of the changes.
In December, the Trump administration signed a Sh207 billion health cooperation framework to support priority health programmes in Kenya, including HIV/AIDS, TB, malaria, child health, polio eradication, disease surveillance, and infectious disease outbreak response and preparedness.
However, this came with a condition that the Kenyan government must increase its domestic health budget by Sh109.7 billion to gradually assume full financing after five years.
“Kenyan and United States’ commitments in the Framework are thus fully aligned and mutually beneficial,” said President William Ruto in December last year during the signing of the deal in the US. “Kenya welcomes this partnership and the co-investment it represents,” said Aden Duale, Cabinet Secretary for Health.
“The engagements that began on August 27, 2025, finally resulted in this signing today. It has been a great honour leading the Kenyan team in the negotiations with the American team… This cooperation framework is quite a departure from the past and will have a lasting impact on health for all,” said Dr Ouma Oluga, Principal Secretary for Medical Services.
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale (left) with Medical Services Principal Secretary Dr. Ouma Oluga during a press briefing at Afya house, Nairobi on August 25, 2025.
Photo credit: Lucy Wanjiru | Nation Media Group
However, the deal now faces legislative challenges, with the High Court stalling its implementation over what the court termed lasting violations of citizens’ rights, stigma, and the potential misuse of personal information.
