Kenya Takes Lead in U.S. Funding

The new U.S. commitment to fight HIV in Kenya -- $2.7 billion over the next five years -- represents a 112% increase in funding for that nation's AIDS program.

"Kenya is now the biggest recipient of this program [the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief] in the world, more than South Africa," U.S. ambassador Michael Ranneberger told reporters December 16 in Nairobi.

Under the agreement, Kenya's government is expected to increase direct budget support for anti-HIV efforts by a minimum of 10% annually, Ranneberger says. The expansion of PEPFAR's commitment to Kenya, whose economy is east Africa's largest, is seen by the United States as an enhancement of a successful program.

AIDS-related deaths in Kenya have fallen by 29% since 2002.