Makueni Governor Mutula Kilonzo Junior has revealed that the county is set to lose 269 healthcare workers starting March in the wake of the American aid freeze.
Addressing reporters on the possible impacts of the American aid freeze on the county, Mr Kilonzo Jnr on Thursday added to the growing calls on US President Donald Trump to rethink his move.
“Makueni alone is set to suspend 269 healthcare workers starting March. They are serving HIV and Aids and TB clients,” Mr Kilonzo Jnr said as he called on President William Ruto to urgently engage President Trump to unfreeze the flow of aid to the country.
Makueni is among Kenyan counties that receive billions of shillings from the United States Aid Agency (USAID), with critical investments in agriculture, health, water and environmental conservation programmes.
The Nation has established that Christian Health Association of Kenya (Chak) and Center for International Health, Education and Biosecurity-Kenya (Chieb), two of the many non-governmental organisations funded by USAID and which run HIV/AIDS and TB programmes in Makueni County, have sent some of their employees on leave.
Mr Kilonzo Jnr said the US aid freeze had plunged the country into an unprecedented national crisis.
In addition to creating massive joblessness and denting the budgets of many county governments, the governor said the move announced by President Trump was likely to reverse the milestones the country has achieved in combating the HIV scourge.
“A large population of Kenyans depend on HIV suppression drugs. Statistics show that in Makueni County, HIV infection among the youth aged between 24 and 35 years has been on a steady increase,” he said.
“We might start losing people and the stigma around the disease which had gone away may return. Some of the Makueni hospitals are likely to close down because they are likely to lose up to 10 members of staff and nurses who were under the American programme.”
The governor lashed out at former President Uhuru Kenyatta over his remarks on the American aid as he called for combined efforts to address the problem.
“Stop laughing at us. You left us with these deals. You are laughing at the people you used to serve,” Mr Kilonzo Jnr said in response to Mr Kenyatta’s call on countries affected by Trump's aid freeze policies to be innovative.
“Why are you crying? It is not your government; it is not your country. You do not pay taxes in America. This is a wakeup call for you to say, ‘okay what are we going to do to help ourselves? Nobody is going to continue holding out a hand there to give you. It is time for us to use our resources for the right things,” Mr Kenyatta said a week ago.
Mr Kilonzo Jnr called on President William Ruto to ignore his predecessor and engage President Trump at least to negotiate for a smooth transition on the American aid freeze so as to save lives and avert a crisis.
