The American Footprint in Kenya

Two threads of US presence, advancing in parallel for half a century, a special-forces airstrip on the Lamu coast, and an $8 billion bet on the nation's health. Scroll to trace them, year by year, from above.

$71.3M

Manda Bay runway, 2026

$8B+

US health investment

1969

first US lab in Kenya

No. 1

sub-Saharan Major Non-NATO Ally

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Half a century, two footprints

$8B+into Kenya's health since 1969

$1.6BG2G health deal, 2025-2030

10,000ftManda Bay runway, 2026

From a single sleeping-sickness lab in 1969 to a 10,000-foot military runway in 2026, the American presence in Kenya grew into two parallel infrastructures, one for security, one for survival, woven through the same map.

Compiled June 2026 · A chronological aerial narrative