NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 10 – The Consumers Federation of Kenya (Cofek) has raised concerns over the government’s new Health Cooperation Framework with the United States, saying the pact could expose Kenyans to data-privacy and sovereignty risks.
The lobby group, in a statement, argues that the agreement requires stronger safeguards before implementation.
“The intent of the US–Kenya Health Cooperation Framework is laudable, but the devil lies in the details, not in the aspiration,” read the statement in part.
“As the primary beneficiaries and the source of all health-related data, Kenyan consumers through COFEK must have a formal seat at the partnership’s governance and oversight structures.”
Cofek says the cooperation must reflect Article 46 of the Constitution, the Consumer Protection Act, and public-participation requirements under Articles 10 and 118.
It wants full disclosure of the private-sector players from pharmaceutical firms and laboratories to tech and cloud-storage companies that will access or process Kenyan health data.
The lobby also demands clarity on the types of data to be collected, how long it will be stored, and the purposes for which it will be used, warning that transparency is a legal obligation, not an option.
It further notes that providing such data takes time and may impose economic losses on consumers, calling for fair compensation mechanisms.
Cofek has flagged Paragraph 8 of the Memorandum as vague and potentially open to interpretations that could weaken privacy protections or national sovereignty.
It insists that decisions based on Kenyan health data must be public, auditable, and jointly supervised, with consumer representatives involved in processing, monitoring, and independent oversight.
The group warns that Kenya risks ceding strategic control of its health system if external players control pharmaceuticals for emerging diseases or the digital infrastructure hosting raw data.
According to Cofek, unrestricted data sharing could discourage other partners, affecting research funding and undermining Kenya’s competitiveness in medical tourism.
The statement comes even as Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale announced that the government will soon publish the full details of the Sh208 billion health partnership recently signed between President William Ruto’s administration and the United States.
CS Duale said the documents would be tabled in Parliament, describing them as public records intended to ensure transparency, adding that the National Treasury, the Attorney General, and the Ministry of Health legal teams have already examined their contents.
Duale stressed that only aggregated, high-level information will be shared, excluding personal identifiers such as national ID numbers, addresses, or individual medical records.
The shared data, he said, will focus on totals, trends, performance indicators and system-level outcomes.
The agreement also sets up a process-metrics audit that would allow the U.S. to verify results in up to 5% of selected health facilities, laboratories, clinics or programs, based on random sampling or mutual agreement.
President William Ruto last week witnessed the signing of the Kenya-US Health Cooperation Framework, signed by Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington D.C.
President Ruto said the agreement will strengthen Kenya’s efforts to realize universal health coverage, modernize hospital equipment, deliver the Social Health Authority’s services, and boost disease surveillance and emergency preparedness.
