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The Ministry of Health (MoH) has dismissed concerns that Kenyans’ personal medical information will be shared under the new five-year health cooperation framework between Kenya and the United States.
Signed on Thursday in Washington, the agreement aims to support Kenya’s priority health programs while enhancing the long-term sustainability of the national health system. Under the deal, the U.S. government will invest KSh 208 billion in Kenya’s health sector over the next five years.
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In a Sunday statement, Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale emphasized that Kenya retains full ownership of all health data and related intellectual property within the covered systems.
He clarified that the framework focuses on aggregate-level data presented in dashboards and national reports, and does not require sharing personal information such as names, ID numbers, phone contacts, addresses, or individual medical records.
“The agreement includes strong safeguards: to the maximum extent practical, Kenya will not provide individual-level or personally identifiable data to the U.S. government. This provision was deliberately included to address exactly the fears circulating today,” Duale stated.
He further noted that the agreement aligns with Kenya’s Constitution, the Health Act 2017, the Data Protection Act 2019, and the Digital Health Act 2023, ensuring that the right to privacy is fully respected.
“This agreement operates within Kenya’s constitutional framework, where any limitations on rights must be lawful, reasonable, and justifiable. That standard is non-negotiable,” Duale added.
The CS highlighted that the framework will support efforts to eliminate HIV, TB, and malaria, while accelerating Kenya’s transition to a fully self-reliant health system by 2030.
The U.S. Embassy in Nairobi also reassured Kenyans that their data will remain safe, anonymized, and unidentifiable under the program. The embassy clarified that the funding is a direct government-to-government assistance package, not a loan, aimed at strengthening Kenya’s health infrastructure and reducing dependency on fragmented donor-led initiatives.
As part of the agreement, Kenya is expected to increase its domestic health expenditure by KSh 850 million over the five-year period. The historic deal makes Kenya the first African country to sign a government-to-government health partnership with the United States.
