HIV, TB and cancer patients rail against Kenya-UAE deal

Kenyan patients living with HIV, tuberculosis (TB), and cancer are raising alarm over a trade agreement between Kenya and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), warning that certain provisions in the deal could limit access to life-saving medicines and significantly increase their costs.

The concerns were voiced during a stakeholder forum in Nairobi on Tuesday, April 8, 2025, where advocacy groups and patient organizations called on Parliament to review the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) signed in January by President William Ruto and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Critics of the deal argue that it grants exclusive rights to a small group of pharmaceutical companies to manufacture and sell specific medications in Kenya — a move they say will monopolize the supply of critical drugs and restrict the availability of more affordable, generic alternatives.

Edgard Odar, Director of Econews Africa – one of the organizations spearheading opposition to the deal – noted that the agreement risks making essential medicines unaffordable for millions of Kenyans.

“When treaties are signed by the Kenyan government, they are supposed to be ratified locally. But in the case of economic treaties specifically, there is a problem in the sense that a lot of clauses are discussed without passing through stakeholders and specialists – so that stakeholder engagement comes at the tail end after the agreement has been concluded and that is problematic,” Edgard Odar said.

Odar emphasized that in democratic economies like the United States, trade deals are subject to parliamentary mandates and rigorous stakeholder input before negotiations are finalized.

In contrast, Kenya’s approach, he said, involves public participation only after agreements have already been signed.

“You see for trade agreements, if you look at the way US does it, Congress has to give the government a negotiating mandate,” Odar said.

Skyrocketing costs and limited access

The implications for patients could be severe.

Peter Owiti, of the Network of TB Champions, recalled a recent global shortage of salbutamol inhalers after a major manufacturer closed its US factory, sending prices soaring in Kenya from Ksh400 to Ksh1,000.

“Sometime in 2022 up to 2024 there was shortage of inhalers globally and the reason was that a company that had monopolize shut down their factory in the US. The price of salbutamol inhaler rose from Ksh400 to Ksh1,000,” Owiti said.

For cancer patients, the cost projections are even more dire.

“We have people that spent Ksh250,000 in 21 days. As per this agreement, these prices can go up to times 10. That means in 2021 days somebody will spend around Ksh2.5 million. Honesty in this Kenya, in this era, it’s going to be impossible for one to continue fighting,” Felix Mutiso, founder Cancer Must Bow, said.

Parliamentary oversight under scrutiny

The organizations are also questioning the role of Parliament in the approval process. They argue that lawmakers failed to subject the agreement to meaningful public scrutiny before endorsing it.

CEPA, which was signed in January, aims to deepen trade and investment ties between Kenya and the UAE by eliminating trade barriers, simplifying customs procedures, and encouraging industrialization and regional value chains.

However, it also includes provisions on intellectual property rights that critics say strengthen patent protections for certain pharmaceutical companies.

That, they argue, restricts Kenya’s ability to produce or import generic versions of patented drugs — an option that has been critical in the country’s battle against HIV and cancer.

The coalition of advocacy groups, led by Econews Africa, is now urging lawmakers to intervene before the deal’s pharmaceutical provisions are implemented.