Zambia signs five-year health deal with the US after dropping the specimen-sharing clause

Zambia has signed a five-year health financing agreement with the United States, according to the BBC. The broadcaster says the signing ends months of public argument over whether the country was trading citizens’ medical data and mineral rights for aid. The memorandum of understanding was signed in Lusaka on Thursday 8 October, together with a separate data-sharing agreement.

The BBC reports that the US will provide about US$1.5 billion over the five years, and that Zambia will also contribute. The deal comes after the US closed its aid agency USAID last year. The BBC says Washington has since sought similar agreements with several African countries, arguing that partner governments should carry more of the cost. Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda are among those that have signed, while Ghana and Zimbabwe turned down agreements over conditions on sharing data and specimens.

The Zambian deal was controversial before signing. A draft that leaked earlier this year led civil society groups to warn that Zambia was accepting wider data-sharing terms than other African countries. The Chapter One Foundation said the government risked signing away citizens’ health data, and HIV advocates asked for the text to be published. Activists also pointed to reports that health money was linked to preferential access for US companies to Zambia’s copper and other critical minerals. The BBC says the then US ambassador denied that link.

Mwebantu reports that Health Minister Roma Chilengi told a media briefing that the government and the US had agreed a revised text. He said concerns about the length of the agreement, data protection, intellectual property, benefit sharing and specimen sharing had been reviewed. According to Mwebantu, he said the provision on specimens was completely removed, so Zambia will not have to share any specimen because of the agreement. He also said the only information to be shared is data needed to monitor and evaluate the programme. The BBC adds that he said individual patient records would not be shared.

We have not seen the signed text, so these descriptions come from officials and the two outlets.