Zambia signed a five-year health financing agreement with the United States in Lusaka on Thursday, October 8, following months of controversy over medical data sharing and alleged links to mineral access.
Under the agreement, the US will provide about $1.5 billion, while Zambia will contribute additional funding. Officials estimate that the combined package for 2026 to 2030 will total approximately $3.6 billion.
The funding will support programmes covering HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, maternal and child health, disease surveillance, health-system improvements and the recruitment of community health workers.
The government said the revised agreement addressed concerns about privacy, intellectual property and benefit-sharing. Health Minister Roma Chilengi said clauses requiring Zambia to send biological specimens to the US had been removed and individual patient records would not be shared.
Data exchanges will instead be limited to information required to monitor and evaluate programmes funded under the agreement.
A draft leaked earlier in 2026 had prompted civil society organisations to accuse the government of risking citizens’ health data. In May 2026, Foreign Minister Mulambo Haimbe described the proposed data-sharing provisions as a privacy violation and alleged that the funding was being linked to US access to Zambia’s critical minerals. The then-US ambassador, Michael Gonzales, denied the claim.
The agreement follows US President Donald Trump’s closure of the US Agency for International Development after returning to office in January 2025. Washington has since pursued health-financing agreements based on shared responsibility with several African countries.