Article by Wycliffe Muia: “Kenya has signed a historic five-year health agreement with the US, the first such pact since Donald Trump’s administration overhauled its foreign aid programme.
The $2.5bn (£1.9bn) deal is aimed at combating infectious diseases in Kenya, with similar agreements expected to be rolled out in other African countries aligned with Trump’s broader foreign policy goals.
The government-to-government deal aims to boost transparency and accountability but has raised fears it could give the US real-time access to critical health databases, including sensitive patient information.
Kenya’s Health Minister Aden Duale sought to allay such fears, saying “only de-identified, aggregated data” would be shared…However, some Kenyans are demanding the disclosure of the full agreement, with fears that it would allow the US to view personal medical records such as the HIV status, TB treatment history, and vaccination data of Kenyan patients.
“What specific data categories are being shared? Are genomic data, disease patterns, mental health data, insurance claims, hospital records, or biometrics included? If not, why is that not explicitly written?” lawyer Willis Otieno posted on X.
Well-known whistle-blower Nelson Amenya voiced similar concerns, urging the Kenyan government to release the full agreement so “we can read it for ourselves”.
Minister Duale has dismissed such fears, insisting that Kenya’s health data remained secure and fully protected by Kenyan laws.
“Your health data is a national strategic asset,” Duale added.
US officials are yet to comment on the data concerns…(More)”.
