President Donald Trump of the United States of America (USA) and the head of DOGE, Elon Musk, have branded USAID a criminal organization that should be “left to die.”
According to Trump and Musk, USAID has, over the years, been used to launder money, sponsor the manufacture of bioweapons, and influence governments around the world using “America’s taxes.”
The decision to shut down USAID is going to be noisy and with many casualties in Kenya. 2,000 workers under the AMPATH Program under the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) have been sent home on compulsory unpaid leave.
In total, there are 35,000 Kenyans who are directly employed by USAID and entirely depend on the organization for livelihood. There are millions of others, mostly patients and children who depend on the organization for medication and help.
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We have established that at least 1,952 doctors and clinical officers will leave their jobs this month if the program is shut down. 1,234 nurses and midwives will be sent packing without pay.
At the same time, 576 laboratory staff will be without jobs as well as over 350 pharmacists across the country. Over 24,577 community health workers will be without jobs too, something that has set panic among Kenyans and left tongues wagging.
The government, as usual, seems to have no plan B as the announcement got them unawares, and pants down, with the majority of funds allocated for the health sector either missing or in the process of being stolen.
HIV/AIDS patients in Kenya are looking at a dark future given that USAID played a major role in supplying ARVs to patients across the country. Getting these life-saving medications is going to be an uphill task and many will probably die.
The government, also, seems not to have a plan for HIV/AIDS patients and how they will access ARVs.
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