Kenya’s High Court on Thursday put the brakes on a $1.6 billion Kenya-US Health Cooperation Framework, issuing temporary orders after a petition argued the agreement risks allowing the transfer of confidential health data belonging to Kenyan citizens.
The decision by Justice Bahati Mwamuye followed a case filed by the Consumers Federation of Kenya, which asked the court to halt the implementation until the state provides safeguards for how medical and epidemiological information would be handled.
In her interim ruling, the judge paused any move by the State Law Office, the Senate and other government agencies, to operationalise the deal, saying the suspension applied “insofar as it provides for or facilitates the transfer, sharing or dissemination of medical, epidemiological or sensitive personal health data.”
Mwamuye also issued a separate conservatory order, stating that “a conservatory order be and is hereby issued suspending, staying and restraining the respondents from implementing or operationalising the Health Cooperation Framework.”
Kenyan president hails deal
The contested agreement was signed on December 5 in Washington, DC, where Kenya became the first African nation to adopt a government-to-government health cooperation framework with the US.
President William Ruto witnessed the signing alongside US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi.
Rubio said Kenya was selected as the inaugural partner because of its long-standing institutional stability. Ruto described the deal as a major boost to Kenya’s drive toward universal health coverage.
Nairobi said the funds will strengthen medical infrastructure, supply chains, workforce training and insurance access.
Uganda also signs US healthcare deal
The court’s suspension means the framework cannot advance until a determination is made on whether its data-sharing provisions comply with constitutional privacy protections. Further hearings are expected in the coming weeks.
It comes as Uganda signed a five-year $2.3 billion health partnership with the US on Thursday to strengthen the Ugandan health system, expanding essential services and improving disease surveillance.
Officials said the agreement will support maternal and child health, HIV/AIDS programmes, infectious-disease control and public-health security.
