Ruto inks health deal amid fears Kenya will give up key patient data

President William Ruto holds talks with the CEO of the US International Develop,ment Finance Corporation in Washington, DC, on December 4, 2025. [PCS] 

A high-stakes bilateral health cooperation framework between Kenya and the US, originally slated for signing in mid-November, was postponed over deep disagreements on health data ownership, real-time surveillance obligations, and national sovereignty.

President William Ruto is now expected to oversee the eventual signing, but civil society, legal experts, and public health advocates are demanding major revisions, warning that the current draft risks turning Kenya’s health information systems into a 25-year American asset.