WASHINGTON (Chatnewstv.com) — The United States and Kenya on Thursday signed a new Health Framework of Cooperation, establishing a $1.6 billion U.S. investment over five years in a partnership that Secretary of State Marco Rubio hailed as the model for the new America First Global Health Strategy.
Speaking at the State Department alongside Kenyan President William Ruto, Secretary Rubio used the occasion to announce a major shift in how the U.S. delivers global health aid, criticizing the prior system that channeled billions through non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
“We are not going to spend billions of dollars funding the NGO industrial complex while close and important partners like Kenya… have very little influence over how health care money is being spent,” Rubio said.
New Aid Model Focuses on Partner Nations
Rubio characterized the traditional aid model as inefficient, stating that NGOs often took a large percentage for overhead, resulting in health programs being “imposed on” host countries with only a fraction of the money reaching patients.
The new approach, which he called a “true partnership,” will see $1.6 billion invested over the next five years.
“If you want to help a country, work with that country, not work with a third party that imposes things on that country,” Rubio stated.
He chose Kenya as the first partner because of its “close partnership” and its “stable and strong institutions, both in government and in the health care sector.”
The investment is designed to improve Kenya’s domestic health care infrastructure and promote long-term self-sustainability, aiming for a future where the country may no longer need significant external assistance. As a sign of true partnership, President Ruto committed that Kenya will contribute an additional $850 million to support these efforts.
Ruto Expresses Gratitude, Highlights Domestic Commitment
President Ruto thanked the United States and President Donald Trump for the commitment, noting that U.S. partnership over the past quarter-century has already resulted in over $7 billion invested in Kenyan health and saved millions of lives from diseases like malaria and HIV/AIDS.
Ruto assured the U.S. that “every shilling and every dollar will be spent efficiently, effectively, and accountably.”
He noted that the new framework adds momentum to his administration’s goal of achieving Universal Health Coverage, which includes deploying health infrastructure and creating 107,000 community health promotors to ensure “health does not become a privilege for those who can afford, but a right for every citizen.” He added that Kenya is already mobilizing $3 billion in domestic resources for health infrastructure.
Kenya Praised for ‘Heroic’ Role in Haiti
Before the signing, Secretary Rubio offered “extraordinary” gratitude to Kenya for its “heroic role” in attempting to stabilize Haiti by leading an effort to deploy a Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission to the gang-plagued Caribbean nation.
Rubio said that without Kenya’s engagement, “as bad as Haiti is it would be indescribable what it would look like today.” He urged other countries, particularly those in the Western Hemisphere, to “step up and contribute” personnel and funds to the effort.
President Ruto affirmed that Kenya would not abandon the mission.
“I did promise that we are not going to walk away from Haiti, and I want to say that Kenya would not have succeeded in Haiti if it were not for the support, the friendship, and the partnership of the United States,” Ruto said, adding that Kenya will ensure a “smooth transition” to the new gang suppression force.
Both leaders were scheduled to attend a second event later Thursday for the signing of the Washington Accords for Peace and Prosperity between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda.
