Health Clinic Rationing HIV Medication in Kenya Due to US Funding Freeze
NAIROBI: The health clinic where Alice Okwirry collects her HIV medication in Kenya’s capital Nairobi has been rationing supplies of antiretrovirals to one-month refills since the U.S. government froze foreign aid.
Impact on Clinic and Patients
The clinic is a half hour’s drive from a warehouse on the outskirts of the city, but for Okwirry, they may as well be an ocean apart. Without U.S. funding, distribution from the warehouse, which stocks all U.S. government-donated HIV medicine to Kenya, has ceased, leaving supplies of some drugs worryingly low, according to a former USAID official and a health official in Kenya.
Global Supply Chain Disruption
The 90-day foreign aid freeze, ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump after taking office on January 20, has upended the global supply chain for medical products to fight HIV and other diseases. It is also blocking the distribution of drugs that long ago reached their destination countries.
Patient’s Plight
"I was just seeing death now coming," said 50-year-old Okwirry, who was diagnosed with HIV in 2008 and has a 15-year-old daughter, Chichi, who is also HIV-positive. Okwirry used to receive six-month supplies of ARVs from the clinic but now can only get one month. "I told Chichi: what about if you hear the drugs are doomed?" Okwirry said, growing emotional. "She told me: Mom, I’ll be leaning on you."
USAID Payments System Down
The State Department issued a waiver last month exempting funding for HIV treatment from the freeze. However, the USAID payments system in Kenya is down after the cuts, meaning contractors who implement the programs cannot be paid, said Mackenzie Knowles-Coursin, who was the deputy head of communications for USAID, East Africa, until resigning on Feb. 3 in protest at the dismantling of the agency.
Warehouse Stockpile
On the outskirts of Nairobi, millions of life-saving doses sit on the shelves of a warehouse, unused and unreachable. The warehouse, run by the Mission for Essential Drugs and Supplies, supplies drugs to some 2,000 clinics nationwide. The commodities at the warehouse include 2.5 million bottles of ARVs, 750,000 HIV test kits, and 500,000 malaria treatments.
Kenyan Government Response
Kenya’s Health Minister, Deborah Barasa, said she expected her government to mobilise funds to allow the supplies at MEDS to be released within two to four weeks. "We have identified the resources that are required," she said in an interview.
Fear and Anxiety
Kenya has the seventh-largest number of people living with HIV in the world, at around 1.4 million, according to World Health Organization data. The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the main U.S. vehicle for funding HIV treatment, supplies some 40% of Kenya’s HIV drugs and supplies.
FAQs
What is the impact of the U.S. government’s foreign aid freeze on HIV treatment in Kenya?
The freeze has led to rationing of HIV medication and a disruption in the global supply chain for medical products to fight HIV and other diseases.
What is the current stock situation of HIV treatments in Kenya?
Stocks of two critical HIV treatments, Dolutegravir and Nevirapine, are low, but the health minister expects the government to mobilise funds to release the supplies at the warehouse within two to four weeks.
What is the estimated number of people living with HIV in Kenya?
According to World Health Organization data, around 1.4 million people in Kenya are living with HIV.
What is the main U.S. vehicle for funding HIV treatment in Kenya?
The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief supplies some 40% of Kenya’s HIV drugs and supplies.