The United States will end funding for Zimbabwe’s health programmes at the end of September following the collapse of negotiations over a US-proposed deal that Zimbabwe rejected in part over a requirement to share sensitive health data, the US Embassy said on Friday.
An embassy spokesperson in Harare confirmed the decision and released remarks delivered this week by US Ambassador Pamela Tremont at an event titled “Beyond assistance.”
Tremont said the end of US-supported health programmes followed “Zimbabwe’s decision to decline a bilateral health MOU.” She added that the US will now shift its relations with Zimbabwe “from one largely focused on health and humanitarian assistance, to one built on broader economic, trade and investment opportunities.”
Zimbabwe is among the first countries to face action following Washington’s new approach to tie health aid to bilateral country-to-country agreements.
Data safety concerns
The withdrawal casts uncertainty over programmes to combat HIV and other diseases. For decades, the US has supported Zimbabwe in its fight against HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria.
Zimbabwean officials have raised concerns over diminishing international aid, saying the country would prioritise raising funds domestically as assistance from the US and other Western countries dries up.
The US-Zimbabwe dispute dates to February, when both countries announced the collapse of talks on a bilateral deal proposed under U.S. President Donald Trump’s “America First” approach to foreign aid.
Zimbabwe government spokesperson Nick Mangwana said the proposal contained conditions the country could not accept, citing concerns over data sharing, fairness, sovereignty and Washington’s shift away from global health institutions.
‘Health sovereignty’
According to Mangwana, the proposal was tied to “comprehensive access to Zimbabwe’s sensitive health data, including virus samples and epidemiological information from our citizens.”
Namibia also rejected a bilateral agreement with the US because of concerns about provisions for sharing health data and biological specimens, local media reported.
In early September, the US said it would start phasing out its financial support for Namibia’s HIV response programmes. The US will provide Namibia with $45 million for its HIV response in fiscal 2027 before shifting to “technical cooperation,” the two governments said in September, but did not cite the health data fallout as the reason for the development.
African governments have in recent months increasingly called for “health sovereignty,” reflecting efforts to finance and manage their health systems with less reliance on foreign aid.
Country-by-country health agreements
Africa CDC has described the continent as facing “an unprecedented financing crisis,” saying official development assistance to Africa has halved over the last five years.
Under the Trump administration’s new approach, Washington has been negotiating country-by-country health agreements that it says will reduce donor dependency and increase domestic financing.
So far, 35 countries have signed such agreements, the majority in Africa, according to KFF, a US health-policy research organisation tracking the deals.
At least four African countries — Ghana, Zambia, South Africa and Zimbabwe — have publicly resisted or failed to conclude new US bilateral health agreements, while Kenya’s agreement has faced a legal challenge.
