Kenya Debt Crisis: AHF, Civil Society Call for Global Reforms as Debt Repayments Outpace Health Spending
By Gedion Nzyoki -
NAIROBI, Kenya, July 1, 2026 — Civil society organizations have sounded the alarm over Kenya's growing debt burden, warning that escalating debt repayments are crippling healthcare, education, and other essential public services while calling for sweeping reforms to the global lending system.
The concerns were raised during the launch of the Freedom From Debt campaign, a global initiative led by AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) across 50 countries that seeks to reform what campaigners describe as an unfair international sovereign debt system.
Debt repayments squeezing essential services
Speaking during the launch at the Heron Portico Hotel in Nairobi, AHF Kenya Country Director Dr. Samuel Kinyanjui said Kenya's debt servicing consumed 70 per cent of government revenue in 2024, leaving limited fiscal space to fund critical sectors such as healthcare, education, and social protection.
"Debt is impoverishing our very people. While we agreed to repay the debt, I don't think there is any government that agreed to repay the debt with the human lives of its citizens," Dr. Kinyanjui said.
Dr. Kinyanjui illustrated the impact of the debt burden through the experiences of ordinary Kenyans, including mothers unable to access vaccines for their children and patients forced to endure long waiting times in understaffed hospitals because of inadequate government funding.
According to AHF, Kenya is spending more than nine times on debt servicing than it invests in healthcare. Across Africa, the organization says countries collectively spend about $89 billion annually servicing debt while receiving approximately $60 billion in official development assistance.
Calls for reforms to the global debt system
Dr. Kinyanjui argued that the current global financial architecture allows poorer nations to subsidize wealthier countries through what he termed an "unjust and immoral regime of wealth extraction."
He accused international lenders—including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, private creditors, and bilateral lenders—of operating within a system that disadvantages developing economies.
"They have lenders' clubs. Why don't we have borrowers' clubs?" he posed, calling for the establishment of a global Borrowers' Forum to strengthen the negotiating power of indebted nations.
Among the campaign's key demands are the operationalization of a Borrowers' Forum, automatic and interest-free debt service pauses during public emergencies, and the introduction of an AI Solidarity Levy.
While the global campaign proposes a one per cent levy on artificial intelligence-generated revenues, Dr. Kinyanjui said Kenyan civil society organizations were advocating for a five per cent levy to accelerate debt relief efforts.
He also called for greater transparency in public borrowing by proposing the establishment of a publicly accessible national debt register detailing every loan, its lender, interest rate, and intended purpose.
"The right to information is guaranteed by our Constitution. We should not be sneaking around looking for information about public debt," he said.
Health sector bears the burden
Dr. Kinyanjui further linked Kenya's debt burden to shortages of HIV commodities, claiming the country had reduced annual procurement of HIV test kits from about 11 million to approximately four million, forcing public health facilities to ration testing based on risk assessment criteria.
He challenged journalists to independently verify the situation by visiting public hospitals.
The Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Kenya (NEPHAK) Executive Director Nelson Otwoma warned that Kenya's commitment to achieving sustainable HIV financing could be undermined if debt repayments continue to consume the bulk of government revenue.
He noted that delegates at the recent United Nations High-Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS endorsed a target of 100 per cent sustainability, requiring countries to fully finance their HIV responses domestically.
"That cannot happen when 70 per cent of government revenue goes to servicing external debt," Otwoma said, adding that dwindling resources were contributing to shortages in HIV prevention programmes and medical commodities.
He urged international lenders to review borrowing terms and interest rates while calling on the African Union and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) to support African governments during debt negotiations.
Civil society demands accountability
Stop TB Partnership Kenya Executive Director Eveline Kibuchi said responsibility for ensuring borrowed funds deliver value ultimately rests with governments rather than lenders.
"The relationship between the lender and borrower is purely business. That's why there is interest. Even when you borrow a loan from a bank, the bank has no business with what you do with the money. Their business is ensuring that you repay the money within the stipulated period," Kibuchi said.
Representatives from civil society and partner organisations pose for a photo during the Freedom from Debt CSO convening and press conference. Photo: AHF (Facebook)
Kibuchi called for civil society organizations to be involved throughout the borrowing process—from negotiations and approval to implementation and monitoring—to ensure loans are used responsibly and deliver tangible benefits to citizens.
She further argued that following reductions in external donor funding, including cuts to United States-supported health programmes, Kenya must strengthen domestic financing by ensuring borrowed resources are invested effectively.
"And that's why we are demanding, as civil society, that we be involved in the entire borrowing process, the implementation of the loans, and in holding the government accountable to ensure that the money is used for the purpose for which it was borrowed," she added.
Meanwhile, Kenya Treatment Access Movement (KETAM) Chief Executive Officer James Kamau questioned the country's borrowing priorities, citing expensive infrastructure projects financed through debt while public health facilities continue to grapple with funding shortages.
Kamau also questioned the sustainability of the Social Health Authority (SHA), arguing that although millions of Kenyans are registered under the scheme, only a small proportion actively contribute, leaving the government with significant financing obligations.
Public awareness key to debt reforms
Health NGOs Network (HENNET) Executive Director Dr. Margaret Lubaale urged civil society organizations to intensify public education on debt issues, particularly among young people.
She said citizens should hold elected leaders accountable for borrowing decisions and develop a citizen-led debt reform manifesto ahead of the next General Election.
"There is a big role for CSOs to play in building the conscience of the populace to understand the dimensions of debt, the implications of debt, and how to connect what is failing in their daily lives with what is happening at the macroeconomic level," she said.
The Freedom From Debt campaign argues that Africa's external debt has exceeded $1 trillion, with at least 32 African countries now spending more on debt servicing than healthcare. It also notes that, for the first time in 2023, African governments collectively spent more on interest payments than on education.
Campaign organizers are now calling on governments, international financial institutions, development partners, and citizens to support reforms they believe would create a fairer global debt system, enabling developing countries to prioritize healthcare, education, and economic development over rising debt obligations.
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