13 May, 2017
On the announcement, the Health Ministry tried to quickly assure Kenyans that during the suspension, HIV/AIDS activities, health security, family planning, and nutritional supplements would not be affected.
"What we have done on health assistance is to temporarily suspend technical support that goes directly to the Ministry of Health because of the ongoing concerns about accounting processes and procedures that revolve around corruption".
The US agreed that the $21m represents only a "small portion" of the country's annual $650m in health aid to Kenya, and that funding for health services and medications going directly to Kenyans, such as anti-retroviral therapy for 1 million people, will continue.
Corruption claims have plagued the Kenyan government for years. Around a third of the state's budget - around $6 billion - is lost to corruption every year, former finance minister, Philip Kinisu claimed last year. Late a year ago Kenya's security agencies started an investigation in the ministry over the alleged diversion of more than $50 million.
Kenya is ranked 145 out of 176 countries in Transparency International's index of the world's most corrupt countries.
In addition, some funds meant to provide free maternity care - a key policy in President Uhuru Kenyatta's 2013 election pledge - had been diverted to health-care companies to run projects instead of public health clinics.
The opposition has seized on corruption as a top issue before nationwide elections in August.
The IEBC was founded in 2011 to monitor and arbitrate electoral disputes to avoid post-election violence in the aftermath of 2007.
But it stressed that "support for life-saving and essential health services" will not be not affected.
In its statement the U.S. embassy said: "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 US has suspended millions of dollars of aid for Kenya s beleaguered health service following repeated allegations of corruption and mismanagement, officials said Tuesday. In October, Kenyatta infuriated voters by telling them he could not tackle corruption because his "hands were tied".
In a statement published yesterday, the US Embassy in Kenya said that its decision would ensure that health care spending reaches those in need and protects US taxpayers' money.
