Kenya and the Global Fund launch new grants to sustain progress in the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria
June 28, 2024
NAIROBI – The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the Global Fund), the Government of the Republic of Kenya and other health partners have begun implementing six new grants totaling US$407 million to sustain Kenya’s progress in the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria and strengthen the country’s health and community systems during 2024-2026.
The grants – to be implemented by the National Treasury, and civil society partners AMREF Health Africa and the Kenya Red Cross Society – will support Kenya’s progress towards universal health coverage (UHC) through comprehensive prevention, treatment and care services. For HIV and AIDS, the grants aim to reduce new HIV infections by 75%, AIDS-related mortality by 50%, and mother-to-child transmission to less than 5%. For tuberculosis, the ambition is to reduce incidence and mortality rates by 80% and 90% respectively by 2030, compared to 2015. For malaria, the main objective is to reduce incidence and deaths from the disease by 75% by 2027.
The new funds are in addition to US$66 million in funding under the COVID-19 response package, which targets health systems strengthening and pandemic preparedness in the country over the period 2024-2025 . These investments helped mitigate the impact of the pandemic on HIV, TB and malaria services and outcomes, and strengthened key elements of the health system, including disease surveillance systems, laboratories and diagnostics, medical oxygen facilities, human resources and community systems, and health product and waste management.
The official grant launch ceremony, hosted by representatives from the Kenya Ministry of Health and the National Treasury, was held on Monday, June 24, in Nairobi. Representatives from the governments of France, Italy and the United States, as well as civil society representatives, members of the Kenya Country Coordinating Mechanism, other health sector partners and representatives from the Global Fund were present.
The ceremony took place at the new National Medical Supply Chain Centre, under the aegis of the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) – a state-owned enterprise of the Kenya Ministry of Health, which leads the procurement, storage and distribution of medicines and medical supplies to over 8,000 public health facilities in Kenya. The new warehouse will improve the delivery of primary health care services and directly contribute to the achievement of UHC. It will also strengthen Kenya’s capacity to respond to pandemics and emergencies resulting from climate change, as the country faces extreme weather events amid a growing climate crisis.
The total funding mobilized through the Global Fund complements Kenya’s co-financing commitment of US$593 million to strengthen the sustainability of domestic health financing to achieve UHC.
The partnership between Kenya and the Global Fund began in 2003, with cumulative investments to fight AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and COVID-19 and to strengthen systems for health to date amounting to 2 billion to US dollars.
Over the past decade, Kenya has made impressive progress in its fight against HIV, tuberculosis and malaria. On HIV, the country has made progress towards reaching the 95-95-95 targets, reaching 94-94-89 in 2023 and maintaining nearly 1.4 million people on antiretroviral treatment. Regarding tuberculosis, the country managed to reduce the incidence of the disease by 11% between 2018 and 2020, and increase the therapeutic success rates from 81% to 87% for tuberculosis and from 70% to 77%. % for drug-resistant tuberculosis between 2015 and 2020. Between 2021 and 2023, more than 7 million people were screened for tuberculosis. Finally, with regard to malaria, the country has managed to reduce the prevalence of the disease from 8.2% in 2015 to 6% in 2023. Since 2014, nearly 56 million mosquito nets impregnated with long-lasting insecticide duration were distributed.
The Republic of Kenya is also a donor country to the Global Fund and has increased its pledge from US$6 million to US$10 million in the Seventh Replenishment of the Global Fund in 2022.
