According to budget estimates released by the National Treasury, Kenya is set to receive a Ksh. 3.8 billion boost from the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation as part of external funding support for the 2025/26 financial year.
The grant will be directed to the State Department of Medical Services and is expected to enhance healthcare delivery across the country, especially amid growing concerns over dwindling foreign aid.
This development comes after reduced international funding, following former U.S. President Donald Trump to halt of foreign donations and suspension of support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Kenya’s Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi announced that the USAID freeze has created a Ksh.52 billion deficit in the 2024/25 fiscal year, prompting the government to re-prioritize spending and focus on critical sectors such as health, food security, and disease control.
In response to the funding shortfall, a high-level government meeting outlined several measures to ensure sustained health sector financing. These include:
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Reorganizing the existing health workforce to continue supporting HIV services
Increasing local production of essential medical supplies
Integrating HIV, TB, and malaria treatment into the Social Health Authority (SHA) benefits package
The USAID freeze also blocked an anticipated Ksh. 16.5 billion was earmarked for food security programs in arid and semi-arid (ASAL) regions, humanitarian aid to refugees in Dadaab and Kakuma, and investment in agricultural technology and cooperative development.
Initially established in 1964 as the Buffett Foundation, the philanthropic organization was later renamed to honor Warren Buffett’s late wife, Susan Thompson Buffett.
