Zambia is set to sign a revised five-year health agreement with the United States valued at $3.6 billion, which will not include clauses requiring the African nation to share patient health data and specimens with the U.S. government. The revised deal excludes contentious requirements that had prompted pushback from several African nations.
Zambian Minister of Health Roma Chilengi announced Tuesday that the agreement, which will be signed on Thursday, has had clauses committing Zambia to share individual health data and specimens "completely removed." He stated that Zambia will "not be obliged to share any specimen" and expressed gratitude for the U.S.'s partnership.
The U.S. has been pursuing new bilateral health agreements with African nations since last year as part of a strategy to encourage increased national spending on health services while the U.S. gradually phases out its assistance. The U.S. committed $1.5 billion over five years, with the total deal combining funding from both countries.
However, requirements for African countries to provide patient data and specimens to the U.S. upon request have proven controversial. According to agreements published by the U.S. State Department, at least nine African nations have already signed agreements that commit them to sharing data and specimens within five days of a request. The U.S. states this information can be shared with up to 10 unspecified American non-government entities for developing diagnostics and medical treatments. The agreements note that any benefits derived would be "subject to the availability of funds" and secondary to the U.S. government's domestic needs, with African nations potentially responsible for the cost of treatments.
Similar data and specimen-sharing clauses have led other African nations to reject or push back against U.S. health agreements. In February, Zimbabwe rejected a U.S. health deal over these requirements, leading the U.S. to end all health assistance to the country last month. Namibia also reportedly rejected such clauses, and the U.S. announced it would phase out funding for Namibia's HIV treatment and prevention program, although a direct link to the data dispute was not publicly stated. Ghana also issued a similar rejection, with President John Dramani Mahama stating that the country would not have access to end products developed from its data.