Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Health, Aden Duale, has held wide-ranging talks with U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., in a meeting that reaffirmed the deepening cooperation between Nairobi and Washington in the drive toward Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
These discussions, held at the Department of Health and Human Services headquarters, focused on four areas that both governments consider critical for the next phase of collaboration, including strengthening the health workforce, securing sustainable financing, improving access to essential medical products, and building a resilient technology-driven health system.
Duale said Kenya is prioritizing strong, multidisciplinary primary healthcare teams supported by well-equipped community health workers, noting that many of the country’s health gains depend on improving services where patients first seek care.
He further described current reforms within the new SHI framework coordinated by the SHA, currently covering over 27.6 million Kenyans. The system has been redesigned to ensure that funding for health services becomes more transparent, efficient, and equitable.
Much of the meeting centered on the expansion of partnerships with U.S. institutions, from government agencies to academia and private industry, for accelerated technology transfer and harmonization of regulatory standards. Officials from both sides said this cooperation is key to enhancing Kenya’s capacities for local manufacture of vaccines, pharmaceuticals, and diagnostic tools.
Duale welcomed the renewed commitment by the United States government to the Government-to-Government, G2G framework, terming it a practical way of aligning investment to Kenya’s National Health priorities.
The U.S. officials at the occasion included Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill, Global Health Center Director Paige Armstrong, CDC Deputy Chief of Staff Chris McLean, and senior advisor Ken Callahan.
For Kenya, the delegation included Dr. Ouma Oluga, Principal Secretary for Medical Services; Dr. Andrew Mulwa, Head of NASCOP; and Dr. Kamene Kimenye, CEO of the National Public Health Institute.
