Zambia and the United States will on Thursday sign a five-year health financing agreement worth more than US$3.6 billion. The deal goes ahead after the Government removed specimen-sharing and patient-data provisions that had drawn public concern. Health Minister Professor Roma Chilengi said the revised memorandum of understanding (MoU) now contains no clauses unfavourable to the country.

Under the co-financing arrangement, the US Government will provide US$1.516 billion, or 41.8 per cent of the total, while the Zambian Government will contribute US$2.107 billion, or 58.2 per cent. The agreement will be signed at the Ministry of Finance and National Planning.

Prof Chilengi said the concerns raised over data protection, intellectual property, benefit sharing and specimen sharing were all dealt with during negotiations. “I’m happy to say that all those contentious issues have been duly reviewed and adjusted,” he said. “As the MoU stands now, it completely has no reference to any specimen sharing conditions. That appendix is completely dropped.”

On data, the revised agreement does not provide for the sharing of individual patient information. Only the data required to monitor and evaluate programmes funded under the deal will be shared. “I have to assure the people of Zambia that there will not be any data sharing of any citizens, as all the loopholes have been sealed,” the minister said.

He was equally firm on biological samples. “The Government will not be sharing any specimens with the United States because we removed all those aspects that raised concerns,” he said, adding that nothing in the agreement would endanger the lives of Zambians.

Prof Chilengi also dismissed suggestions that the deal was tied to the country’s mineral wealth, particularly critical minerals. No such clause existed, he said, even in the original draft. “As Ministry of Health, we never ever saw any MoU that speaks to minerals. There was no mention at all of any other MoU,” he said. “We did hear of those conversations in the public, but the contentious matters that were there were about specimen sharing and data protection.”

The contents of the agreement will not, however, be made public. The minister said citizens with grievances were free to take them to the ministry directly. “We are not going to reveal the details of this MoU, but people are free to come to the ministry so that we can engage them,” he said.

Because the agreement is an MoU, it does not require parliamentary approval. Cabinet has already approved it on the recommendation of Attorney General Mr Mulilo Kabesha.

Prof Chilengi described the deal as a historic co-financing landmark. He said it was designed as a performance-based arrangement for 2026 to 2030, aimed at closing service gaps and keeping essential health services running across all 10 provinces and 116 districts. The US contribution will be allocated annually.

“The approach of the MoU is that over the next five years, the US Government is committing to support the Zambian Government with funding that will augment the work that we do,” he said.

The minister set out what the money is expected to deliver. It will bring 25,000 community health workers into the formal health system and fully integrate medical procurement and distribution under the Zambia Medicines and Medical Supplies Agency (ZAMMSA), which he said would strengthen supply chain sovereignty and end drug stock-outs. He said the greatest impact would be on life expectancy, citing a rise from around 33 years in 2000 to 67 years.

The arrangement also commits Zambia to raising its own share of health spending over the five years. Prof Chilengi said the Government had already doubled the health budget from K13 billion in 2022 to K26 billion in 2026.

The deal drew support from health professionals and patient groups. Resident Doctors Association of Zambia president Dr Paul Chibwe said increased financing could help tackle shortages of medicines and consumables, workforce recruitment and retention, and infrastructure upgrades. He said the association was encouraged that the Government had listened to concerns about transparency before signing.

Network of Zambian People Living with HIV/AIDS programme manager Mr Dennis Chibuye also welcomed the agreement. He said better financing would improve health outcomes, particularly for the 1.4 million Zambians living with HIV who are on treatment.

The agreement comes as Zambia lines up support from other partners. A delegation of British parliamentarians led by Mr Michael Payne paid a courtesy call on the minister in Lusaka, commended the country for securing the US deal and reaffirmed the United Kingdom’s support for Zambia’s response to malaria, tuberculosis and HIV through the Global Fund.

“Health doesn’t stop at boundaries,” Mr Payne said. “Zambia may be thousands of miles away from the UK, but we live in a world that is closer than ever, and it seems we need to be closer than ever as nations around the world in tackling some of the health emergencies that exist.”

Prof Chilengi told the delegation that Zambia had submitted a US$315 million request to the Global Fund for 2027 to 2029, alongside more than US$200 million in prioritised needs. He said gaps remain in malaria financing, with the country’s needs over the next five years exceeding available funding by an estimated US$180 million.

“We respectfully invite you to continue championing the Global Fund and global health in the UK Parliament,” he said.

The MoU will be signed on Thursday, opening a five-year funding cycle running to 2030.

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