WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has signed the first of what is expected to be dozens of “America First” global health funding deals that will prioritize fighting infectious diseases in countries deemed consistent with the president’s broader foreign policy goals and positions.
Kenyan President William Ruto and Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed the five-year, $2.5 billion deal with Kenya on Thursday, replacing a decades-old health deal run by the United States Agency for International Development until the Trump administration scrapped it earlier this year.
The elimination of USAID as an independent agency sparked widespread criticism and concern from the global health community because its direct impact resulted in the elimination of funding for hundreds of programs in developing countries, including cuts to maternal and child care, nutrition, and anti-HIV/AIDS programs.
Rubio said the agreement with Kenya “is designed to strengthen U.S. leadership and excellence in global health while eliminating dependency, ideology, inefficiency and waste from our foreign aid architecture.” He also praised Kenya’s role in leading and facilitating international stabilization forces against powerful gangs in Haiti.
Ruto praised the deal and said Kenya would continue to play a role in Haiti as gang-busting forces shift to wider operations.
Under the health agreement with Kenya, the United States will contribute $1.7 billion of the total and the Kenyan government will shoulder the remaining $850 million. According to U.S. officials, the agreement focuses on preventing and treating diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, with an emphasis on faith-based health care providers, although all clinics and hospitals participating in Kenya’s health insurance system are eligible to receive funds.
“This collaborative framework is radically different from the past and will have a lasting impact on the health of all,” said Ouma Oluga, Kenya’s principal secretary for health services.
Two State Department officials involved in the negotiations, Jeremy Lewin and Brad Smith, said Planned Parenthood programs that meet U.S. restrictions on providing abortion services would also be eligible. They said the agreement would not discriminate against gays, transgender people or sex workers.
Officials have said a number of other African countries are expected to sign similar deals with the United States by the end of the year, but Lewin and Smith said Nigeria and South Africa, the continent’s two most populous countries, are not expected to be among them because of political differences with Trump.
The dismantling of USAID has repercussions across Africa, leading to the closure of programs that combat disease and hunger and support maternal health, and even some programs that combat extremism and promote democracy. It also resulted in thousands of health workers losing their jobs because their salaries were funded by U.S. aid.
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Imre reported from Cape Town, South Africa.