The Lower Eastern Times Opening The Third Eye
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Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale is pushing for Kenya’s health data to be processed and stored on locally managed platforms, following the U.S. government’s withdrawal of support for key health information systems.
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The U.S., which has long funded most of Kenya’s national health record systems, cut off access in February, leaving the Ministry of Health without critical backend data access.
Speaking at the World Health Assembly in Geneva, Duale emphasized the need for African nations to build their own secure digital infrastructure to reduce dependency on foreign systems.
“The recent setbacks have exposed weaknesses in our health data systems,” said Duale. “We must invest in local solutions to ensure data sovereignty and improve healthcare resilience.”
The suspension of support originated from a funding freeze initiated under former U.S. President Donald Trump. As a result, platforms vital to data reporting, disease tracking, and research—such as KHIS2, KenyaEMR, Afya KE, and Chanjo KE—are now facing technical challenges due to lack of maintenance and system upgrades.
Health officials have expressed concern over limited access to critical HIV data systems still managed by U.S.-funded partners, despite government assurances that patient information remains secure on Ministry-hosted servers.
In response to concerns raised by the Kenya Legal and Ethical Issues Network, the Ministry of Health stated on April 4 that all HIV and STI data is securely stored and restricted to authorized personnel for healthcare delivery and policy formulation.
However, a March 10 ministry report confirmed that key digital platforms are struggling without donor support, impairing Kenya’s ability to monitor public health trends and manage health crises effectively.
The United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) also reported that Kenya no longer has full access to the Kenya Health Information System, a core tool for planning and surveillance.
Moreover, the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS)—a pivotal source of national health and population data funded by USAID—has been suspended, further impacting evidence-based policymaking.
