Topic analysis

Zambia: Is the US trading HIV treatment for resources?

The Trump administration is linking critical US health aid, including funding from the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), to demands for access to Zambia's critical minerals (copper, cobalt, nickel) as part of its America First Global Health Strategy, which replaces longstanding aid programs with bilateral Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs). Zambia, where over 1.3 million people rely on this life-saving HIV treatment funding, is resisting the deal due to reduced proposed aid amounts, mandatory domestic health spending increases, 25-year data sharing requirements, and concerns over using health aid as a bargaining chip, with a May deadline to sign or face massive funding cuts that could reverse decades of progress in curbing HIV/AIDS in the country.