What will happen to us? HIV patients ask after aid freeze
Health Cabinet Secretary Debra Barasa addresses journalists in Mombasa on Tuesday. She says the ministry is crafting a response to the aid freeze announced by the US.
What you need to know:
- Health Cabinet Secretary Debra Barasa said she has tasked various departments to map out financial and human resource implications to develop interventions.
- Speaking in Mombasa, Dr Barasa said that the ministry is looking for a concrete response.
More than 1.4 million Kenyans living with HIV face an uncertain future after the United States suspended billions in critical healthcare funding, part of a sweeping review of foreign aid ordered by President Donald Trump.
The pause of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (Pepfar) threatens to upend two decades of progress in Kenya’s fight against HIV/AIDS, leaving patients, healthcare workers and officials scrambling for alternatives.
“I am getting many messages both online and offline of HIV patients asking me this one question in many ways—what will happen to us?” said Cleopatra Wanjiku, 30, who was diagnosed with HIV and Aids in 2007 and uses her social media platforms to create awareness and debunk myths about the disease.
“This is a matter of life or death,” warned International AIDS Society President Beatriz Grinsztejn, “Pepfar provides lifesaving antiretrovirals for more than 20 million people—and stopping its funding essentially stops their HIV treatment. If that happens, people are going to die and HIV will resurge.”
Pepfar, a $7.5 billion program established in 2003 by former US George W. Bush, has been crucial to Africa’s HIV response.
In March 2024, Kenya was awarded Sh43 billion to support Pepfar initiatives through to September 2025. This funding is now in limbo. The impact is already being felt.
A project manager at a Pepfar-funded organisation, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “Procurement processes have halted, and we as staff are unsure of our future. We have been informed that we cannot go into any meetings with stakeholders or hold events.”
Kenya’s Health Ministry is scrambling to respond. Health Cabinet Secretary Debra Barasa said she has tasked various departments to map out financial and human resource implications to develop interventions. Speaking in Mombasa, Dr Barasa said that the ministry is looking for a concrete response.
“I have tasked various state departments and programme directors who will be affected by the executive order so that we can be able to map out matters finances and matters human resource, et cetera. With this, we will come out with a concrete way forward in terms of interventions which we will share with the Cabinet,” she said.
The crisis has exposed Kenya’s heavy reliance on foreign aid for its HIV response.
“Kenya is not prepared to achieve self-sufficiency in the fight against HIV/AIDS,” said Matthew Kavanagh, director of Georgetown University’s Centre for Global Health Policy & Politics.
For patients like Mary Atieno, a mother of two in Kisumu who has been on treatment for six years, the situation is dire.
“I can’t imagine going back to the days when getting medicine was a gamble. What will happen to my children if I can’t stay healthy?” she asked.
Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei acknowledged the crisis while calling for greater self-reliance.
“The announced pause to US foreign assistance will unfortunately impair the ability of many African countries to meet health targets. African states must rise to the challenge and seize the opportunity to wean themselves from external dependency.”
The US Embassy in Kenya has yet to issue an official statement on the funding suspension.
Local organisations that rely on small grants from Pepfar to run community-based programmes are also in jeopardy.
Health advocates warn that Kenya’s reliance on foreign aid has created vulnerabilities that must be addressed.
The Kenya AIDS Strategic Framework 2020/21-2024/25 aimed to increase domestic financing for HIV response to 50 per cent by 2025, but progress has been sluggish.
