NAIROBI— Kenya and the United States have formalised Data Sharing Agreement that will see Nairobi provide aggregated health programme data to Washington for seven years, aimed at strengthening joint efforts to detect, prevent, and respond to infectious disease threats.
Signed on December 4 in Washington, DC by Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Health Aden Duale and U.S. Senior Official Jeremy P. Lewin, the agreement operationalises a broader Cooperation Framework on health security. It allows the U.S. access to anonymised, aggregate-level data from Kenyan health information systems funded under American bilateral programmes, including dashboards, reporting tools, and, where necessary, secure login credentials.
Crucially, Kenya will retain full ownership of all data and intellectual property rights. The pact explicitly prohibits the transfer of individual-level or personally identifiable information “to the maximum extent practical” and mandates that any publications arising from the data include Kenyan co-authors and receive Nairobi’s clearance.
The agreement emphasises compliance with Kenya’s Data Protection Act (2019) and Digital Health Act (2023). In case of conflict between Kenyan and U.S. laws, Kenyan regulations prevail. The U.S. is required to notify Kenya immediately of any data breach and faces restrictions on data access if American funding for the underlying health programmes is reduced or cancelled.
Running until December 2032, the deal can be terminated by mutual consent or under terms of the parent Cooperation Framework. Both sides described the arrangement as a model of transparent, sovereign partnership in global health security.
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale hailed the agreement as “a vote of confidence in Kenya’s digital health infrastructure while safeguarding national strategic assets.” U.S. officials underscored that the pact will enhance real-time surveillance of emerging pathogens that threaten both nations.
