Kenya is poised for a significant boost in healthcare funding after a coalition of international philanthropists, including the Gates Foundation, the United Arab Emirates, which recently rebranded as the Mohamed Bin Zayed Foundation for Humanity, and a group of American donors announced a Ksh64.65 billion (USD 500 million) aid package.
The support comes at a critical time, as the country faces reduced foreign assistance following aid cuts by the US President Donald Trump's administration.
The funding will focus on revitalising the health sector, which has been heavily impacted by recent aid cuts, with particular attention to maternal and newborn health programmes. The initiative will span across sub-Saharan Africa but will be anchored in Nairobi, which will serve as its headquarters.
The project has been in the works for at least a year. But its role has become more important as governments worldwide follow the U.S. in pulling back from international aid, its chief executive, Alice Kang’ethe, told Reuters in an interview.
''It is an opportune moment,'' she stated, stressing that the fund aimed to work alongside African governments, experts, and organisations rather than parachuting in experts or technologies, an approach she said differed from many traditional donor programmes.
The billionaires behind the foundations aim to save the lives of 300,000 mothers and newborn babies by 2030 and expand quality care for 34 million mothers and babies across the region.
Further, the partners also pledged Ksh12.94 billion (USD100 million) in direct investments in maternal and child health, separate from the fund.
Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Lesotho, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe are among the other African countries that the donations will go to.
The work will track and target the key reasons babies and mothers die, including infection, severe bleeding for mothers, and respiratory distress for infants.
The fund is also backed by the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, Delta Philanthropies, and the ELMA Foundation, among others.
Trump's decision to order cuts from the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) left the health sector exposed to funding challenges, including job cuts.
In February 2025, the U.S. announced a 90-day limited waiver on the PEPFAR programme under USAID, allowing workers under the programme to continue working.
