Rising anger in Africa over 'lopsided' US health funding agreements

Concerns Over US-Africa Health Agreements

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has expressed concerns regarding data governance and pathogen sharing in bilateral health agreements between the United States and African countries. Director-General Jean Kaseya highlighted potential requirements for African countries to share sensitive pathogen and health data with the US as a condition for funding.

There is no assurance that vaccines, diagnostics, or treatments developed from this data will be equitably accessible to the contributing countries. This issue has led to resistance from several African governments.

Zimbabwe has withdrawn from discussions on a proposed $367 million US health agreement due to concerns about data sharing and perceived inequality in the deal. Zambia has postponed signing its agreement, raising questions about terms that could impact national interests, including provisions on data and medical resources.

The Trump administration is pursuing these agreements as part of its America First global health strategy, following changes to its development agency, USAID. At least 17 African countries have reportedly signed agreements with the US, securing a total of $11.3 billion in aid. However, there are significant concerns about the concessions made to Washington, some of which extend beyond health issues.

In Nigeria, funding appears to be linked to addressing what the US administration terms the persecution of Christians. Zambia's agreement reportedly involves US access to strategic mining resources. The agreements also require African nations to rely on US regulatory approval for new drugs and technologies prior to their introduction.

Based on reporting by Africanews.