But Zambia and Zimbabwe are pushing back against what their healthcare activists say are exploitative terms, linking pharmaceutical packages, access to personal data and critical minerals. Mnangagwa complained that Washington wanted unfettered access to Zimbabwean health data but without any guarantees that it would offer privileged access to new vaccines or treatments based on the data. The complaints about patient data access are not unique to Zimbabwe. Zambian officials have also expressed concern that the health funding was tied to US firms obtaining mining contracts. The Trump administration has made no secret of its wish to make its development spending far more transactional, particularly in promoting private medicine and Christian-linked foundations and in giving US firms access to African patient data.

Source: The North Africa Journal March 02, 2026 13:44 UTC