The United States has doubled down on its plans to reduce foreign-aid funding. The slash to health aid cuts will disrupt the provision of essential services across Africa from antiretroviral (ARV) drugs for HIV to monitoring infectious diseases and care services for infants and their mothers.
A think-tank, the Centre for Global Development (CGD), found that US health aid accounted for more than 10 percent of total government spending in 30 African nations. In eight of these countries, it is equivalent to more than 50 percent.
Kenya is identified among the 26 countries that the CGD indicates will suffer most due to reliance on American aid, coupled with low income levels and a high risk of being unable to meet its financial obligations.
For instance, Kenya’s health aid is equivalent to 16 percent of the government’s health spending. As a country struggling from debt distress that stands at Sh11.35 trillion, Kenya will struggle to replace American health aid.
This comes at a time when Kenya’s fight against HIV/Aids, tuberculosis and malaria, faced a double blow threatening to undo a decade of progress. The government reduced allocation for these programmes under the Global Fund by close to 40 percent, from Sh28.7 billion in 2024/25 to Sh17.3 billion in 2025/26.
This means that for more than 1.3 million Kenyans who rely on free ARV treatment risk not getting adequate services, while the more than 36,000 new HIV infections reported annually may not be managed.
The cuts made by President Trump's administration show how many of these African nations have grown unduly reliant on the US and other donors to fund essential medical services.
To increase their defence spending, European nations are likewise cutting back on foreign aid. Furthermore, philanthropic organisations lack the funds necessary to replace government aid budgets.
As a result, African countries must reorganise their health systems to become less dependent on foreign political whims for funding priorities.
