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The Health Ministry now says Kenya retains full control of all patient information under the Kenya–US Health deal, pushing back against rising concern over how health records will be handled.
Medical Services Principal Secretary Ouma Oluga said on Tuesday, December 9, that Kenya now operates a unified national data pipeline that connects hospitals and health platforms through a government-managed system.
He revealed this on Tuesday, December 9, while appearing on Spice FM.
“We are implementing a comprehensive integrated health information system for the entire country. All hospitals and data systems plug into one pipeline, and the government stores all registries,” said Oluga.
Public concern grew after a clause in the cooperation framework between Kenya and the United States stated that the two countries would negotiate a separate data-sharing agreement to support implementation.
The five-year pact, signed on Thursday last week in Washington, commits Sh208 billion of United States funding to Kenya’s priority health programmes and aims to reinforce the long-term sustainability of national health systems.
Oluga said the clause had sparked misunderstanding over who holds patient information. He explained that the agreement exists precisely because external partners do not have access to Kenyan health records.
“If they had access to it, why would they sign it,” he said, adding, “The reason they are signing is that they do not have access to it.”
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He further stated that the government consolidated legacy systems earlier this year after issuing a stop-work order on the previous programme.
Services, including Chanjo for immunisation, Damu for blood, Tibu for tuberculosis, the malaria platform, and Kenya EMR, were brought together and placed under government hosting and management.
He added that earlier systems funded through the United States Agency for International Development involved nongovernmental groups setting up digital tools at the hospital level, a practice that predated the 2019 Data Protection Act.
“That information existed even from 2010. Now is when we have consolidated it and secured it under Kenyan law,” explained Oluga.
He said the data sharing agreement requires all access to comply with the Data Protection Act and the Digital Health Act of 2023.
The PS added that health regulations now demand clear justification for any use of patient information and mandatory feedback on how that data is applied.
“Every Kenyan has secured confidentiality,” said Oluga.
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