American billionaire and philanthropist Warren Buffett has given Kenya a grant of Sh3.8 billion to support health services.
The money, given through the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, will be directed to the State Department of Medical Services, easing pressure on the health sector in the wake of President Donald Trump’s massive funding cuts to Kenya.
The development was revealed by Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi in the Budget estimates for the 2025/2026 financial year, making it one of the significant grants to the national government.
The Ksh3.8 billion grant from Buffett is equivalent to 18.1 per cent of the Ksh20.93 billion project budget for the State Department of Medical Services for the upcoming financial year.
It comes at a time when critical medical supplies and services have been affected after an executive order by Trump resulted in the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) putting an end to some of its major projects within the country.
The aid cuts affected shipments of critical medical supplies such as HIV drugs and vaccines. In the wake of the cuts, the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned that the decision to terminate the aid would result in Kenya running out of HIV drugs.
Also, the government then revealed that it required close to Ksh25 billion to replace the funding from the US government, with two billion needed immediately to address the shortages.
In the wake of the executive orders, wealthy philanthropists and charities were challenged to chip in and assist affected persons.
The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, originally known as the Buffett Foundation, supports reproductive health initiatives, including access to contraception and safe abortion services.
In the coming financial year, Kenya will receive Ksh24.47 billion in grants, with Buffett's grant ranking third. Other donors are the World Bank (Ksh12.37B), Global Fund (Ksh4.4B), Green Climate Fund (Ksh950M), European Development Fund/European Economic Community (Ksh840M), and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (Ksh540M).
Buffett is currently the world’s sixth-richest person, with a personal net worth of $161 billion (Ksh20.8T), as per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
He is a serial investor who built his fortune through investing, particularly by building and growing Berkshire Hathaway, a holding company which he bought in the 1960s, and has been known to be at odds with Trump’s aggressive trade policy.
