US to End Zimbabwe Health Funding After Data-Sharing Talks Collapse

The United States will stop funding Zimbabwe's health programs at the end of September, the US Embassy in Harare said, after negotiations over a proposed bilateral agreement broke down. Zimbabwe declined to sign the deal, objecting in part to a requirement that it share sensitive health data.

An embassy spokesperson confirmed the decision and released remarks made this week by US Ambassador Pamela Tremont at an event called "Beyond assistance." Tremont said the end of American-supported health programs followed "Zimbabwe's decision to decline a bilateral health MOU." She said Washington would now move its relationship with Harare away from a focus on health and humanitarian assistance toward broader economic, trade and investment ties.

Zimbabwe is among the first countries to feel the impact of Washington's new approach of linking health aid to country-by-country agreements.

The withdrawal leaves uncertain the future of programs tackling HIV and other diseases in a country where shortages often force patients to bring basic supplies such as bandages to clinics and to buy their own medicines. For decades, the US has been Zimbabwe's largest health donor, backing HIV prevention and treatment, tuberculosis and malaria programs, clinical care, laboratory systems, health workers, medical supplies and community-based efforts.

Zimbabwean officials have voiced concern about shrinking international aid, saying the country would focus on raising funds domestically as support from the US and other Western nations declines. Some health advocates question whether Zimbabwe's financially strained government can take on the costs.

"Zimbabweans have already been suffering gravely as a result of abrupt disruptions to lifesaving malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV programs caused by the US stop work orders and USAID award terminations in 2025," said Asia Russell, executive director of the advocacy group Health GAP. "This deadly decision will trigger a public health catastrophe," she added.

The dispute traces back to February, when both countries announced the collapse of talks on a bilateral deal proposed under US 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. 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 over concerns about provisions for sharing health data and biological specimens, local media reported. In early September, the US said it would begin phasing out financial support for Namibia's HIV response. The two governments said the US would provide Namibia with $45 million for its HIV response in fiscal 2027 before moving to "technical cooperation," but did not cite the health data fallout as the reason.

African governments have increasingly called for "health sovereignty" in recent months, reflecting efforts to finance and manage their health systems with less reliance on foreign aid. 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, most of them in Africa, according to KFF, a US health-policy research organization 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.