Kenyan Court Halts US Health Aid Deal Over Data Privacy

A Kenyan court has halted the implementation of a $2.5 billion (£1.9 billion) health aid deal with the United States, citing concerns over the privacy of Kenyans’ medical data.

The suspension follows a petition filed by a consumer rights group seeking to prevent the potential transfer and sharing of sensitive personal health information under the agreement.

The court’s interim order prevents Kenyan authorities from proceeding with any aspect of the deal that involves the transfer, sharing, or dissemination of medical, epidemiological, or personal health data. This means the deal is on ice until the full case is heard.

The US, under the Trump administration, has been pursuing similar bilateral health aid agreements with several African nations, shifting away from traditional funding channels through aid agencies. These agreements typically require recipient countries to increase their own health expenditure, with the US contributing a significant portion – $1.7 billion in Kenya’s case, alongside $850 million from the Kenyan government.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio previously hailed the agreement as a “landmark” one during the signing ceremony last week. Besides Kenya, similar deals have been struck with Rwanda, Lesotho, Liberia, and Uganda.

However, the deal has sparked widespread anxiety among Kenyans, who fear their private medical records – including HIV status, tuberculosis treatment history, and vaccination details – could be accessible to the US government.

The Consumer Federation of Kenya (Cofek), one of the petitioners, argued that the agreement could lead to a loss of control over Kenya’s health systems. “If pharmaceuticals for emerging diseases and digital infrastructure, including cloud storage of raw data, are externally controlled, Kenya risks ceding strategic control,” Cofek stated in their court filing.

President William Ruto attempted to allay these fears on Wednesday, asserting that the Attorney-General had thoroughly reviewed the agreement. “The law that prevails on data that belongs to the people of Kenya is the Kenyan law,” he said.

As of now, the US government has not issued any official comment regarding the data privacy concerns raised by the Kenyan court and public. The case is scheduled to be revisited in court on February 12th.

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