Investing in Kenya’s People: Valuing the Benefits of the U.S.-Kenya Relationship Chapter 2 (part 2 of 3)

Finding 2: The U.S. directed USD 95.6 million on average of its annual bilateral assistance between 2014 and 2018 to help Kenya counter terrorism, secure its border, and responsibly enforce the country’s laws.

Between 2010 and 2018, eight U.S. government agencies collectively delivered an estimated USD 705.1 million in economic and military assistance (31 percent and 69 percent, respectively) to support Kenya’s security sector reform, peace building, and conflict management efforts.[7] The majority of this assistance (53 percent) was focused on strengthening the country’s ability to counter terrorist threats from Al Shabaab, the Al Qaeda-affiliated Somali insurgent group, and improve border security (see Figure 4). Over the last five years, the United States directed on average USD 95.6 million per year of its bilateral assistance programming to Kenya’s overall peace and security.[8]

The Global Train and Equip program, which “provides training, services, and equipment to national security services,” has been an important cornerstone of the U.S.-Kenya security partnership since 2011 (DSCA, 2020). Accounting for USD 329.9 million (47 percent) of all U.S. peace and security-focused assistance to the country between 2010 and 2018, the program has enabled Kenya’s security services to access equipment (e.g., helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles), special operations training, and technical assistance to successfully contribute to the African Union Mission in Somalia alongside four other troop-providing countries.

This emphasis on building the capacity of Kenyan civilian law enforcement and military is not limited to the Global Train and Equip program alone. The U.S. government trained 3,407 Kenyan security sector officials between 2010 and 2018 across 15 different programs, covering topics from counterterrorism and peacekeeping operations to maritime law enforcement and counternarcotics. According to a 2019 report, the dollar value of training programs for Kenyan security sector personnel held in fiscal year 2018 alone was approximately USD 4.9 million.[9] Table 2 breaks down the estimated number of Kenyans trained across U.S. government-facilitated security assistance programs between 2010 and 2018.

Finding 3: The U.S. government contributed an estimated USD 73.5 million per year on average to Kenya via multilateral partnerships, primarily in the health, governance, and infrastructure sectors.

In recent years, the United States has channeled an increasing amount of its overall official development assistance dollars via multilateral organizations (e.g., UN agencies, regional development banks) and multi-donor funds related to specific sector priorities (Pipa et al., 2018). However, its individual contributions are hidden from view, as multilateral organizations pool funding from the United States with those of other donors.

Beyond its bilateral assistance program, the U.S. government contributed an estimated USD 73.5 million per year [10] on average to Kenya between 2014 and 2018, through its core support to 20 multilateral organizations active in the country (See Figure 5). [11] Over the last five years, the majority of U.S. contributions via multilateral organizations and funds working in Kenya were in the health (62 percent) and industry and infrastructure (12 percent) sectors. These figures do not include U.S. government contributions to regional inter-governmental organizations such as the Common Market for East and Southern Africa, East African Community or the Inter-governmental Authority on Development, which are discussed separately in Box 4.

The sector emphasis of U.S. contributions to multilateral organizations and funds varies depending on the focus of each institution. Annual U.S. government contributions via the World Bank (USD 15.74 million) [12] and the African Development Bank (USD 1.42 million), [13] for example, largely benefit Kenya’s infrastructure and industry, energy, and water supply and sanitation sectors, in line with the mandates of these two organizations. The World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA)—which provides loans and grants to boost economic growth, reduce inequalities, and improve people’s living conditions—has increasingly funded good governance projects, such as improving Kenya’s public administration through its National Safety Net Program for Results project.

The United States funded approximately 18 percent (USD 6.44 million) of the United Nations’ operations in Kenya annually between 2014 and 2018. [14] This core support funds 12 UN agencies active in the country with a dominant focus in two sectors: (1) agriculture and food security (USD 3.2 million per year) and (2) crises, conflict, and humanitarian response (USD 1.4 million per year). These efforts complement U.S. bilateral assistance to agricultural development and drought response. For example, U.S. assistance to multilaterals such as the Food and Agricultural Organization supports projects that are helping Kenya and other countries in the region sustainably combat moths, locusts, and other invasive pests that threaten agricultural yields.

The World Food Programme (WFP) is the largest recipient of U.S. support among all UN agencies, which accounts for 38 percent of the agency’s overall funding in Kenya. The average annual U.S. support of USD 4.1 million to the WFP is about 2.7 times that of the next highest donor and contributes towards advancing Kenya’s development priority of food security.

In addition, the United States contributes an estimated USD 49.85 million per year to five other multilateral funds active in Kenya. [15] The Global Fund and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) capture 96 percent of these contributions (USD 43.02 million per year), in line with the strong emphasis of U.S. bilateral assistance on combating infectious diseases (HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis). Through the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), the Climate Investment Funds (CIFs), and the Global Environment Facility, the United States contributed an estimated USD 6.83 million annually to environmental disaster response, environmental protection, adaptation to climate change, and renewable energy projects.

Finally, the United States also contributed a grant element of USD 53.8 million as part of the USD 909.6 million in concessional loans granted to Kenya by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) between 2009 and 2013, for an average of USD 10.8 million per year during that period. [16]