Washington, D.C.— Kenya and the United States on Thursday formalised a landmark five-year Health Cooperation Framework and a bilateral Data Sharing Agreement, signed in the presence of President William Ruto during his official visit to Washington.
The signing of the historic Health Cooperation Framework between Kenya and the Government of the United States marks a significant strengthening of our commitment to the full actualisation of universal health coverage. This transformative framework prioritises the supply of… pic.twitter.com/4ZMnwjkRoC
— William Samoei Ruto, PhD (@WilliamsRuto) December 4, 2025
Under the new framework, the U.S. government has pledged USD 1.6 billion to accelerate Kenya’s transition to a fully domestically financed and self-reliant health system. The funds will bolster programmes combating HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria, while strengthening disease surveillance, laboratory networks, digital health infrastructure, supply-chain management, workforce development, and emergency response capabilities.
In a reciprocal commitment, Kenya has undertaken to increase its own health sector allocation by up to KSh 50 billion by 2030. The additional resources will enable the progressive transfer of donor-supported HIV, TB, and malaria programmes into the new Social Health Authority structure, marking a decisive shift away from long-term donor dependency.
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale described the agreements as a turning point. “For decades our partnership with the United States has relied on goodwill. Today we have formalised it under Kenyan law, particularly the Digital Health Act and Data Protection Act, ensuring all future exchanges of information, research materials, and health data fully comply with our sovereignty and regulatory standards,” CS Duale stated in a statement released on Thursday.
“The data-sharing instrument is time-bound to the duration of the five-year framework and will be published publicly to uphold transparency.” Duale added.
— Hon. Aden Duale, EGH (@HonAdenDuale) December 5, 2025
President Ruto hailed the deal as a cornerstone of Kenya’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda, reaffirming universal health coverage as a national priority. The agreements take immediate effect.
