In a hurry? Here’s a quick summary…
- Uhuru Kenyatta urged African leaders to stop relying on foreign aid, warning that the US won’t prioritize Africa in crises.
- He emphasized self-sufficiency, criticizing Africa’s spending on war over healthcare and urging pandemic preparedness.
Former President Uhuru Kenyatta has urged African leaders to reduce their dependence on foreign aid, following US President Donald Trump’s decision to pause federal aid worldwide.
Speaking at the East Africa Region Global Health Security Summit 2025, Kenyatta emphasized the need for African nations to collaborate and establish self-sustaining financial mechanisms, particularly for disaster management.
He cautioned that excessive reliance on foreign assistance hampers long-term economic progress, calling it a wake-up call for African leaders. “I saw some people the other day crying that Trump has removed funding.
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It is not your government, nor your country, why are you crying?” he questioned. “He has no reason to give you anything; you don’t pay taxes in America. This is a wake-up call for you to know what you’ll do to support yourselves. Let’s work together to bring an end to that.”
Reflecting on Africa’s financial priorities, Kenyatta noted that the continent spends billions on purchasing weapons for war instead of investing in critical sectors such as healthcare and education.
He stressed the need for African nations to take responsibility for funding their own pandemic responses rather than relying on external assistance.
“Whether we like it or not, funding for these (pandemics) has to come from ourselves because we have to begin to re-prioritize what is important for us as Africans on the continent,” he said.
“We need to remember the resources wasted when we kill each other. When we remember the lives lost in Sudan, all the way to the Sahel region, we’ve spent more buying bullets than protecting our health.”
Kenyatta also highlighted the urgency for Africa to prepare for future pandemics by implementing policies that ensure self-sufficiency in vaccine production and distribution. He criticized the continent’s over-reliance on foreign vaccines, pointing out how Africa was left behind during the rollout of life-saving treatments.
“As Africans, we should not wait for others to come to our rescue. We watched CNN and BBC celebrating new vaccines being rolled out, but none were coming to us. For any future pandemic, don’t think they’ll prioritize us. They give you the surplus, at times for free, since they have sorted themselves first.”
Trump’s decision to halt foreign aid and withdraw the US from the World Health Organization (WHO) has significantly impacted countries that rely on the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
For Kenya, this move marked the end of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), a program that has been instrumental in combating HIV infections and saving lives.
The funding cuts now put patients at greater risk of contracting or succumbing to the disease, as highlighted by the WHO.
In response, the organization expressed hope for a policy reversal, stating, “We hope the United States will reconsider, and we look forward to engaging in constructive dialogue to maintain the partnership between the USA and WHO for the benefit of the health and well-being of millions of people around the globe.”