On Wednesday, Kenyatta, Kenya's president from 2013 to 2022, addressed regional leaders at the East Africa Region Global Health Security Summit in Mombasa, Kenya. The center is affiliated with the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

In his remarks, which touched on the escalating conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo as well as the coronavirus, he called out leaders for "crying" about Trump's global medical aid freeze.
"I saw some people the other day crying that Trump has removed funding. He is not giving us any more money," he said, asking, "Why are you crying? It is not your government; it is not your country. He has no reason to give you anything. You don't pay taxes in America. He's appealing to his people."

Kenyatta called Trump's move a "wake-up call" for African leaders to reflect and consider: "Okay, what are we going to do to help ourselves?" He added that African governments should better manage their funds and not rely on others, saying, "Nobody is going to continue holding out a hand there to give you. It is time for us to use our resources for the right things. We are the ones who are using them for the wrong things."

Dozens of senior officials with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) were placed on administrative leave earlier this week.