Kenya Govt Sends Message To Trump After Freezing US Foreign Aid

The government of Kenya has responded to a surprise move by United States (US) President, Donald Trump to suspend U.S. foreign aid for 90 days.

In a statement on Tuesday, January 28, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary (PS) Dr. Korir Sing'Oei lamented that the move, captured in an Executive Order, could frustrate development in critical areas such as health.

He urged Trump's government to develop new strategies to support vulnerable populations in countries like Kenya, which face significant risks in light of the recent developments.

However, Sing'oei maintained that African nations should now step up and work towards breaking their dependency on foreign aid.

Principal Secretary in the State Department of Foreign Affairs Korir Sing'oei speaking on August 7, 2024. /KORIR SING'OEI

"The announced pause to U.S. foreign assistance will unfortunately impair the ability of many African countries to meet health and other targets and undermine the realization of SDGs. We hope President Trump’s administration will provide new pathways for cushioning the most vulnerable populations.

"Equally, African states must rise up to the challenge and seize the opportunity to wean themselves from external dependency," Korir remarked.

Trump ordered a 90-day pause in foreign development assistance pending assessments of efficiencies and consistency with his foreign policy. Kenya is among countries that depend on aid from the US.

The order said "the foreign aid industry and bureaucracy are not aligned with American interests and in many cases antithetical to American values” and “serve to destabilise world peace by promoting ideas in foreign countries that are directly inverse to harmonious and stable relations internal to and among countries.”

"All department and agency heads responsible for United States foreign development assistance programs shall immediately pause new obligations and disbursements of development assistance funds," read the executive order signed by Trump. 

As outlined in the new policy, some foreign aid programmes may be stopped if deemed to be violating the Trump administration policies. "Reviews of each foreign assistance program shall be ordered by the responsible department and agency heads under guidelines provided by the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)." read the order in part.

"The responsible department and agency heads, in consultation with the Director of OMB, will make determinations within 90 days of this order on whether to continue, modify, or cease each foreign assistance program based upon the review recommendations, with the concurrence of the Secretary of State."

According to a 2020 report by AidData, the US contributions to Kenya were estimated at over $3 billion (about Ksh386.85 billion in the current exchange rates) annually, with approximately $1 billion (about Ksh128.95 billion in the current exchange rates) per year coming directly from foreign aid. 

Most of this aid has historically been directed toward health initiatives through the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Since its inception, Kenya has received about $7 billion (about Ksh902.65 billion in the current exchange rates) from PEPFAR over 15 years, making it one of the program's largest beneficiaries. 

In May 2024, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announced that it would be investing close to Ksh4.1 billion in Kenya's dedication system.

This order, left unchallenged through legal methods, means that if Kenya is deemed not to align with U.S. foreign policy objectives, critical funding for public health initiatives, including HIV/AIDS treatment programs, could be reduced. This could significantly impact thousands of Kenyans who rely on subsidised healthcare services.