Irungu Nyakera calls out govt over-reliance on donor aid for ARVs to tackle HIV
By Kiprono Keileb, October 28, 2025Former Planning Principal Secretary Irungu Nyakera has faulted the government for what he termed misplaced priorities in national spending, accusing it of relying on donors to fund essential health services while wasting billions on luxuries and bureaucracy.
Nyakera, in a strongly worded statement posted on his X account on Tuesday, October 28, 2025, questioned how Kenya can continue calling itself a middle-income country while depending on foreign aid to keep HIV treatment running.
“How do we keep calling ourselves a middle-income country, even likening ourselves to Singapore, while still begging others to fund our ARVs?” he said.
Watch: Nyakera criticises government for relying on donors to fund HIV treatment
He pointed out that the United States’ PEPFAR program gives Kenya about Ksh43 billion every year for HIV care, even though the Ministry of Health estimates that only Ksh33.9 billion is needed to keep treatment running smoothly.
“PEPFAR gives Kenya about KES 43 billion a year for HIV care. The Ministry of Health says we need Ksh 33.9 billion just to keep treatment running. What is Ksh33.9 billion against a Ksh 4.2 trillion national budget? That’s less than 1%,” he stated
Nyakera’s remarks come at a time when Kenya is facing growing concerns over donor dependency in the health sector, especially in the provision of life-saving ARVs for over 1.4 million people living with HIV.
The former PS also criticised the high expenditure at State House, saying the money used on non-essential expenses could easily bridge the funding gap for HIV treatment.
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Reversing progress on HIV/AIDs fight
“State House spent Ksh13.2 billion last year, most of it on domestic travel and ‘printing expenses, that’s already a third of the money needed to make HIV treatment free, adding that the rest could come easily from cutting waste, theft, luxury, and bureaucracy,” he stated
He warned that if the government fails to act urgently, the country risks reversing the progress made in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
“If we don’t fix HIV funding now, we risk sliding back to the 1990s, a time of fear, funerals, and lost generations. Kenya doesn’t need another donor. Kenya needs political will,” Nyakera said.
His statement has sparked fresh debate online, with many Kenyans echoing his call for better use of public funds and more commitment to local solutions in health financing.