Zambia has followed Zimbabwe in suspending negotiations with the United States on a proposed health funding agreement, accusing Washington of exploiting aid to gain preferential access to Africa’s critical mineral resources, Mining Zimbabwe can report.
By Rudairo Mapuranga
Foreign Minister Mulambo Haimbe on Monday said that the U.S. offered up to $2 billion in health assistance over five years but tied the conclusion of the deal to a separate critical minerals agreement that would give American companies preferential treatment over rival bidders, a condition he described as “unacceptable.”
“A further concern is the coupling of the proposed agreements, such that the conclusion of the critical minerals agreement is made conditional to the conclusion of the health memorandum,” Haimbe said in a statement. The Zambian government has been “consistent that the agreements must be considered separately on their respective merits.”
Lusaka also rejected U.S. data-sharing demands that Haimbe said would violate “our citizens’ right to privacy.” Health advocates had earlier warned that the aid carried undisclosed risks to patient confidentiality. The U.S. State Department declined to comment, citing standard practice not to disclose details of bilateral negotiations.
The move follows a precedent set by Zimbabwe, which walked away from its own U.S. health deal in February 2026. Harare refused a $367 million package, with government spokesperson Nick Mangwana explaining that the U.S. demanded “unfettered direct access to Zimbabwe’s sensitive health data, including pathogen samples and epidemiological information from our citizens.”
“The United States offered no reciprocal sharing of its epidemiological data with our health authorities,” Mangwana said. “At its core, the arrangement was asymmetrical.”
Zambia, Africa’s second-largest copper producer and holder of significant cobalt and lithium reserves, has emerged as a strategic target for Washington’s campaign to reorient supply chains away from China. The U.S. is aggressively using offtake deals and state-backed funding to compete for copper and cobalt assets across the continent. In December 2025, the U.S. signed a partnership agreement with the Democratic Republic of Congo, securing preferential access to Congolese deposits.
Southern African nations have grown wary of such agreements. Zambia’s decision comes as Zimbabwe is already seeking new health partners. The Zimbabwe College of Public Health Physicians has called for continued dialogue with the U.S. to salvage HIV treatment for 1.2 million people, but Harare refuses to compromise on sovereignty.
“A partnership, by its very definition, must be built on a foundation of mutual respect, transparency, and reciprocal benefit,” Mangwana said.
For mineral-rich African states, the growing tension reflects a broader reckoning: Western powers may no longer dictate terms that trade humanitarian aid for resource access. The U.S. has signed similar health MOUs with about 30 countries, but opposition is mounting. Ghana rejected its deal over broad health data access, and Kenya’s $2.5 billion agreement has been suspended by a court challenge.
As the Trump administration pivots from direct foreign aid to transactional economic partnerships, Lusaka and Harare have drawn a clear line.
Meanwhile, China is reinforcing its alternative. Zambia and China launched a $1.4 billion project in November 2025 to modernise the TAZARA railway for mineral exports. Chinese firms have invested about $6 billion in Zambia over the past two decades. The question now is whether Washington can afford to lose the copper and cobalt, or whether it will learn to offer partnership without strings attached.
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