Zambia signed a five‑year health‑financing memorandum of understanding with the United States in Lusaka on Thursday, concluding a public dispute over whether the country was trading citizens’ medical data and mineral rights for aid.
The deal, which includes a separate data‑sharing agreement, will see the US provide roughly $1.5 bn (£1.1 bn) over the period, with Zambia contributing a share. Civil society groups had criticised a leaked draft that they said allowed too much data sharing and linked funding to preferential access for US companies to Zambia’s mineral resources. The then‑US ambassador denied those claims.
Health Minister Roma Chilengi said the revised text removes clauses that would have required Zambia to send biological specimens to the US and bars sharing of individual patient records. Data exchange will be limited to information needed to monitor and evaluate programmes funded under the deal.
The agreement aims to support HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, maternal and child health, disease surveillance and broader health system work, including recruitment of community health workers. The US has described the arrangement as a shift from a donor‑recipient model toward shared responsibility, with US funding expected to decline over the five years as Zambia increases domestic spending.
Officials say the combined package covering 2026 to 2030 is roughly $3.6 bn, though figures for the Zambian share have varied. The new deal replaces support that for years flowed largely through US programmes, following the US Agency for International Development’s closure under President Donald Trump last year.
Watch for how the partnership will affect Zambia’s health outcomes and whether the data‑sharing provisions meet civil society concerns in the coming months.
