Zimbabwe withdraws from $367 million US health agreement over data sharing concerns
Zimbabwe has withdrawn from talks on a proposed $367 million bilateral health agreement with the United States, citing concerns over the sharing of sensitive health data in exchange for U.S. financial support.
Government spokesperson Nick Mangwana said on Wednesday, February 25, that the arrangement amounted to an “unequal exchange."
"At its core, the arrangement was asymmetrical. Zimbabwe was being asked to share its biological resources and data over an extended period, with no corresponding guarantee of access to any medical innovations—such as vaccines, diagnostics, or treatments—that might result from that shared data," Mangwana said in a statement.
He added that the United States was not offering reciprocal sharing of its own epidemiological data.
The U.S. embassy in Harare confirmed that Washington’s health assistance to Zimbabwe would be wound down following the decision.
The two countries had been negotiating a bilateral health memorandum of understanding that would have provided $367 million to Zimbabwe over five years. The funding was intended to support HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention, tuberculosis, malaria, maternal and child health, and disease outbreak preparedness.
"We will now turn to the difficult and regrettable task of winding down our health assistance in Zimbabwe," U.S. Ambassador to Zimbabwe Pamela Tremont said.
Mangwana stated that the U.S. financial support was tied to conditions that Zimbabwe could not accept.
"When financial assistance is contingent upon concessions that touch upon national security, data sovereignty, or access to strategic resources, it fundamentally alters the nature of the relationship from one of partnership to one of unequal exchange. This we cannot accept."
On the same day, Zimbabwe’s mines ministry announced the suspension of exports of all raw minerals and lithium concentrates with immediate effect, citing alleged malpractices and leakages. Zimbabwe holds the largest lithium reserves in Africa.
The development follows similar concerns raised elsewhere on the continent. Late last year, a Kenyan court suspended a health funding agreement worth more than $1.6 billion signed with the United States, pending a hearing of a case filed by a consumer protection group over concerns about the safety of citizens’ health data.
"This growing continental reflection should not be misconstrued as anti-American sentiment," Mangwana said. "On the contrary, it is a sign of Africa's maturation as a geopolitical actor, one that seeks partnerships based on equality rather than patronage."
The Kenya pact was signed in Washington and was the first of its kind under an overhaul of U.S. foreign aid introduced during President Donald Trump's administration.
According to the U.S. embassy in Harare, sixteen African countries have signed health collaboration MOUs with the United States, representing more than $18.3 billion in new health funding. This includes over $11.2 billion in U.S. assistance and $7.1 billion in co-investment from recipient countries.
Last month, Washington announced it had signed a five-year health agreement with Malawi worth $936 million. Under the deal, signed as part of the U.S. government’s America First Global Health Strategy, the United States plans to provide up to $792 million over five years, subject to congressional approval.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
