President William Ruto and his American counterpart Joe Biden on Thursday presided over the signing of several lucrative deals putting the Kenyan Head of State in a position to jet back into the country clutching a bag of goodies.
The deals cover various fields including; Trade and Investment, Education, Security, Technology Cooperation as well as Health and Governance.
While the agreements were being reached, both governments reiterated that the deals reaffirm the strong bilateral relationship between the two nations spanning six decades.
Kenyans.co.ke highlights a list of the several agreements expected to benefit Kenyans in various ways.
Health Partnership
In a statement published by the White House on Thursday, it was announced that Kenya and the US had inked a Ksh900 billion deal to advance the war against HIV/AIDS.
The two countries agreed to develop a sustainability roadmap to integrate HIV service delivery into primary healthcare.
“Decades of collaboration between the United States and Kenya in the health sector have resulted in tremendous improvements in health not only for millions of our citizens, but also for the broader global community,” the statement read in part.
The roadmap will ensure over one million Kenyans under antiretroviral therapy and millions more benefit from HIV prevention programs.
On global health security, the two nations inked a Ksh 528 million deal between the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Ministry of Health to foster best practices in information sharing and defining steps toward the development and full launch of the Kenyan National Public Health Institute.
“To support our health partnership, Kenya and the United States plan to develop and launch a customized Public Health Emergency Management training program to enhance health security across all 47 counties in Kenya,” the statement explained.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Africa reported 247 million malaria cases in 2021, making it the biggest burden in the continent. The US President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) agreed to expand its procurement of pharmaceutical supplies from Kenyan manufacturers in addition to Ksh Ksh 4.4 billion pledged in 2023.
“In support the Government of Kenya’s localization goals, PMI is expanding its procurement of pharmaceutical supplies from Kenyan manufacturers and intends to procure up to an additional 5 million malaria treatments and 475,000 preventive treatment doses from Kenyan producers in 2024,” the statement said.
Education
The Biden administration pledged to provide Ksh 435 million for 60 Kenyan learners to undertake a course in Science Technology and Mathematics for one semester in the United States.
“The Administration intends to provide $3.3 million for a U.S. Department of State program for sixty Kenyan undergraduate students to study for a semester in the United States, with a focus on STEM,” the White House statement read.
Still on education, other agreements struck include; a Ksh 66 million deal for Partnership 2024 to support the development of Kenyan students, scientists, researchers, and engineers.
A collection of universities in the US also agreed to establish a technological bridge dubbed EDTECH Africa to cultivate educational exchanges between Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and African scholars.
