Zambia and the United States near deal on contested health aid agreement
Zambia's foreign minister says the United States has agreed to drop disputed data-sharing and mineral-linkage clauses, bringing a $1.5 billion health pact close to signing.
Zambia’s foreign minister, Mulambo Haimbe, announced that the United States has consented to eliminate the controversial data-sharing requirements that had stalled a proposed health agreement. The U.S. also agreed to uncouple the health deal from a separate critical-minerals arrangement that Zambia had previously objected to. With these revisions, the five-year health assistance program, estimated at roughly $1.5 billion with just over $1 billion coming from the United States, is poised for final signing.
Haimbe made the remarks after meeting US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Chris Kulukundis in New York during the UN General Assembly. A Zambian communiqué highlighted a renewed strategic partnership and broader cooperation in health, investment and minerals, but omitted specifics about the removed clauses.
Why it matters
The settlement clears a major obstacle to US health funding for Zambia and signals deeper cooperation on health and minerals.
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