LUSAKA, Oct 6 (Reuters) – Zambia’s government will sign an agreement allowing it to receive $1.5 billion in health funding from the United States after resolving concerns over Washington’s request for medical data, its health minister said on Tuesday.
Earlier this year negotiations stalled over Zambia’s concerns over data privacy and a US attempt to tie the funding to access to critical minerals.
Below are more comments by Health Minister Roma Chilengi at a press conference:
• “The government is pleased to announce that it will sign the agreement … on Thursday,” Chilengi said
• The minister said the agreement would see the US provide $1.5 billion in health funding over five years, while Zambia would spend $2.1 billion
• The US is a major funder of HIV/AIDS, malaria and public health programmes in the Southern African copper-producing nation
• Zambia and other African nations have had reservations over requests that they share sweeping medical data with the US as a condition to receive funds
• Chilengi said data-sharing would be limited to providing information required to monitor and evaluate US-funded health programmes. A clause had been removed that would have required Zambia to share patient medical specimens with the US if requested
• On whether the US funding was conditional on mining access, he said “there is no mention of critical minerals” in the health pact
• Chilengi said he was also not aware of a separate critical minerals agreement being negotiated with the US
• African countries including Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda have signed similar US health pacts, which are part of the Trump administration’s changed approach to foreign aid under which poorer countries are meant to transition from aid to self-reliance. Ghana and Zimbabwe rejected deals over data-sharing demands
(Reporting by Chris MfulaWriting by Anathi MadubelaEditing by Alexander Winning and Peter Graff)
