MPs warn TB funding cuts could reverse Kenya’s health gains
By Emmanuel Rono, March 18, 2026Members of the National Assembly have expressed deep concern over reduced funding for tuberculosis (TB) programmes, warning that Kenya risks undoing years of progress in combating the disease.
According to the Parliament of Kenya report on Wednesday, March 18, 2026, the concerns arose during a sitting of the National Assembly Departmental Committee on Health, which was scrutinising the Supplementary Estimates I for the 2025/2026 financial year.
The report said that officials from the National Tuberculosis, Leprosy and Lung Disease Programme told the committee that a funding cut from $10 million (Ksh1.3 billion) to approximately $7.7 million (about Ksh1 billion) over two years would significantly undermine key interventions.
The reduction translates to a shortfall of roughly Ksh200 million annually.
Impact on programme activities
According to Dr. Immaculate Kathure, head of the NTLD-P, the reduction would slow down critical programme activities, including the rollout of new treatment and diagnostic strategies.
“We have made significant progress, including reducing treatment duration for drug-resistant TB from 18 months to six months, and for children from six months to four months,” Kathure said while appearing before the committee on Tuesday, March 17, 2026.
“We are also introducing preventive therapies that shorten treatment periods further. However, these gains are at risk if funding is not restored,” Kathure added.
She added that the cuts would affect policy development, frontline healthcare worker training, and the deployment of modern diagnostic technologies such as digital X-rays and near point-of-care testing using sputum and oral swabs.
Need for Technology
She noted that these technologies are crucial for early detection and improving access to TB services at the community level.
“Advocacy, communication and awareness creation will also be affected. TB disproportionately affects men, and we must invest in targeted messaging to reduce stigma and improve access to care,” she told the committee.
Seme MP James Nyikal, who chairs the National Assembly Departmental Committee on Health, acknowledged the concerns, noting that the funding shortfall could disrupt essential public health programmes.
Nandi Woman Representative Cynthia Muge pressed for answers over reports that staff working under TB programmes had gone without pay for up to 21 months and lacked health insurance cover.
“There is a serious outcry from workers who are central to this programme. Without them, implementation will stall. We need clarity on their status and the challenges they are facing,” she said.
Her concerns highlighted broader systemic challenges facing the programme, including human resource constraints that could further weaken service delivery. Chuka Igambang’ombe MP Patrick Munene warned that continued cuts to TB, malaria, and HIV programmes could erase years of progress.
“Every time we reduce funding for these diseases, we risk losing the gains we have made. Eventually, even the investments already made will go to waste,” he said, criticising what he called a disproportionate focus on infrastructure at the expense of disease control.