Kenya and Global Fund Launch New Grants to Sustain Progress Against AIDS, TB and Malaria
28 June 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 launched the implementation of six new grants worth US$407 million, to sustain Kenya’s progress against AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria while strengthening health and community systems across the country over the 2024-2026 grant period.
The grants – which will be implemented by the National Treasury, and civil society partners AMREF Health Africa and 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 the rate of mother-to-child transmission to less than 5%. For TB, the ambition is to reduce incidence and mortality rates by 80% and 90% respectively by 2030, compared to the 2015 baseline. For malaria, the main objective is to reduce incidence and deaths from the disease by 75% by 2027.
The new funding comes on top of US$66 million in funds from the COVID-19 Response Mechanism, which focuses on supporting health systems strengthening and pandemic preparedness in the country over the 2024-2025 period. These investments have helped mitigate the impact of the pandemic on HIV, TB and malaria services and outcomes, and strengthened key parts 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 grants were officially launched on Monday, 24 June, in Nairobi, during a ceremony presided over by representatives of the Ministry of Health of Kenya and the National Treasury. In attendance were representatives of the French, Italian and U.S. governments, as well as civil society representatives, members of the Kenya Country Coordinating Mechanism, and other health partners and Global Fund representatives.
The ceremony was held at the new National Medical Supply Chain Center, under Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) – a state corporation of Kenya’s Ministry of Health, which leads the procurement, storage and distribution of medicine and medical supplies to over 8,000 health facilities in Kenya’s public health sector. The new warehouse will enhance primary health care service delivery and contribute directly to the attainment of UHC. It will also strengthen Kenya’s ability to respond to pandemics and emergencies resulting from climate change, as the country deals with severe weather events in the face of the growing climate crisis.
The total funding mobilized through the Global Fund is complementary to Kenya’s US$593 million co-financing commitment to strengthen the sustainability of domestic health financing in order to achieve UHC.
Kenya and the Global Fund have been partners since 2003, with cumulative investments of US$2 billion to date in the fight against AIDS, TB, malaria and COVID-19, and to strengthen systems for health.
Over the last decade, Kenya has made impressive progress in its fight against HIV, TB and malaria. For HIV, the country has achieved progress towards the 95-95-95 targets, reaching 94-94-89 in 2023, and maintaining nearly 1.4 million people on antiretroviral therapy. On the TB front, the country achieved a reduction of 11% in TB incidence between 2018 and 2020, and increased treatment success rates from 81% to 87% for TB and from 70% to 77% for drug resistant TB between 2015 and 2020. Between 2021 and 2023, over 7 million people were screened for TB. For malaria, the country has achieved a decline in malaria prevalence from 8.2% in 2015 to 6% in 2023. Since 2014, nearly 56 million long-lasting insecticidal nets have been distributed.
The Repulic of Kenya is also a donor to the Global Fund and increased its pledge from US$6 million to US$10 million at the Global Fund's Seventh Replenishment in 2022.