The five-year deal is worth $3.6 billion in total, combined funding from both countries for the African nation’s health services, Zambian Minister of Health Roma Chilengi told reporters Tuesday. He didn't say how much the U.S. would commit. However, he told Zambian state broadcaster ZNBC on Monday the U.S. would provide $1.5 billion over five years.
The U.S. has signed new bilateral health agreements with around two dozen African nations since last year, but some have pushed back on requirements to provide patient data. The Trump administration is pursuing bilateral agreements with African nations under U.S. President Donald Trump’s “America First” approach after dismantling the U.S.
Agency for International Development, once the world’s largest humanitarian donor. The new agreements aim to commit African nations to gradually increase spending on health services while the U.S. gradually phases out its assistance. However, the clauses that commit African countries to hand over health data and specimens to the U.S. government on request have been some of the most controversial.
He called the U.S. a critical partner and said Zambia was grateful for the assistance. The agreement will be signed on Thursday, Chilengi said. The U.S. has already signed health data and specimen-sharing agreements with at least nine African nations, committing them to send data and specimens within five days of a request, according to agreements published by the U.S.
The U.S. says it can then give the health data and specimens to up to 10 American “non-government entities” to develop diagnostics and medical treatments. The entities are not specified. The agreements say the information will help it track and prepare for new and emerging infectious diseases that have “epidemic or pandemic potential.” But they do not guarantee that the African nation that provided the data would benefit from any medical treatments developed.
They would only receive treatments developed “subject to the availability of funds” and “behind the U.S. government's domestic need,” according to the agreements. The African nation would also have to pay for them. In February, Zambia's neighbor, Zimbabwe, rejected a U.S. health deal partially over the data and specimen-sharing requirements.
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