The government, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has stated that United States President Donald Trump's decision to pause U.S. foreign aid will hinder the ability of many African countries to achieve health goals among other targets.
In a statement on Tuesday, January 28, Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary (PS) Dr. Korir Sing'Oei expressed hope that President Trump's administration would develop new strategies to support vulnerable populations.
However, the PS maintained that it is time for African nations to step up and work towards breaking their dependency on foreign aid.
"The announced pause to U.S. foreign assistance will unfortunately impair the ability of many African countries to meet health and other targets and undermine the realization of SDGs. We hope President Trump’s administration will provide new pathways for cushioning most vulnerable populations.
"Equally, African states must rise up to the challenge and seize the opportunity to wean themselves from external dependency," Korir remarked.
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After taking an oath of office on Monday, January 20, President Trump signed an executive order pausing all foreign aid by the U.S. government.
In the order shared by the White House, all foreign aid programmes were paused for 90 days.
During the 90 days, the US government will assess the programmes to ensure that they align with the current administration's policies.
"The responsible department and agency heads, in consultation with the Director of OMB, will make determinations within 90 days of this order on whether to continue, modify, or cease each foreign assistance program based upon the review recommendations, with the concurrence of the Secretary of State," read part of the order.
Kenya is one of the beneficiaries of U.S. aid programs and has received significant support in the past through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
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