United States Agency withdraws Sh2.1 billion health support

United State of America Ambassador to Kenya Robert Godec during a media training in Kisumu on May 09,2017. He said American government has withdrawn funding to the ministry of health in Kenya due to misappropriation of funds. (Photo: Denish Ochieng/ Standard)

Kenyans will bear the brunt of the American government's decision to discontinue its multi-million-shilling annual funding of key medical support projects in public hospitals.

The US switched off a Sh2.1 billion aid tap because of "corruption and integrity issues" at Afya House.

The move made through the United States Agency for International Development (Usaid) has put thousands of lives and jobs at risk, and is likely to hurt at least seven critical programmes.

"We took this step because of ongoing concern about reports of corruption and weak accounting procedures at the ministry," US Ambassador Robert Godec said yesterday, following the Monday announcement.

He added: "The action is intended to ensure healthcare spending reaches those in need, and to protect US taxpayers' money."

He went on: "We are working with the ministry on ways to improve accounting and internal controls and hope to restore the funding when appropriate progress is made."

The freeze rekindles memories of the loss of billions of shillings at Afya House early in the year that put Cabinet Secretary Cleophas Mailu and his then Principal Secretary Nicholas Muraguri in the eye of a firestorm over one of the biggest graft cases to rock the Jubilee administration.

Dr Muraguri was later transferred to the Ministry of Lands in the same capacity. An auditor estimated Sh5 billion was lost in the scandal but the ministry insisted the amount stood at Sh3 billion.

UNDER INVESTIGATION

Dr Mailu conceded the various expenditure queries red-flagged by the audit office were under investigation and assured Kenyans that the suspension was temporary and critical support services such as the HIV/Aids support would remain unaffected.

"The Usaid decision is going to affect the health sector severely. But we are not surprised because the Ministry of Health has been riddled with accounting issues for a while now," said Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union's Secretary General Ouma Oluga.

Dr Oluga said the doctors' union wrote a letter requesting an audit of the funds for training after more than Sh250 million was not accounted for. He said Sh184 million was released to pay about 350 interns but not all of the money was paid to the interns.

Godec had earlier said the US was concerned about how its finances were spent, even though he had no evidence that the money had been misappropriated. US fears were raised by a previous internal audit which raised huge queries on expenditure and misallocation of funds.

Following the suspension of direct support to the Ministry of Health, all departments will be affected. Key areas under suspension include salaries and wages of all staff under the Global Health Security Agenda and US President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief.

It also means that administrative staff could miss salaries during the period of the suspension.

The cut will also stop all domestic and international travel for meetings, trainings and conferences.

All costs and planning assistance associated with hosting these meetings have also been frozen.

Godec placed the budgetary support in 2016 at Sh65 billion, much higher than the Sh45.8 billion expenditure in 2015.

A memo by Brian Woody, Usaid Kenya's contracting officer, to implementing partners said the agency had suspended activities such as participation in meetings including technical working groups, coordination committees, steering committees and intergovernmental committees or other similar groups with the Ministry of Health.

FAMILY PLANNING

Among the services that would not be affected is the supply of anti-retroviral drugs to about 250,000 Kenyans under just one of the 10 programmes run by Usaid.

Mailu said the ministry was addressing the matters raised in the internal audit. "We wish to clarify that US government support for procurement of life-saving essential commodities such as ARVs, HIV test kits, nutritional supplements, family planning products and other essential equipment have not been affected," Mailu said.