Zambia Rejects U.S. Conditions Linking Health Aid to Minerals Access

Zambia has publicly stated that negotiations over a proposed $2 billion United States health package have stalled because some attached conditions are unacceptable. Officials said the conditions include demands for sharing citizens' data and linking the health agreement to a separate critical minerals deal.

The government insisted the two agreements must be treated separately. The foreign affairs minister said in a televised address on May 4 that sharing citizens' data would violate Zambians' right to privacy. The minister added that the matter is subject to litigation in Zambian courts and must be respected.

Officials also objected to efforts that would make conclusion of the critical minerals agreement conditional on the health memorandum of understanding. Zambia is Africa's second-largest copper producer after the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It holds large deposits of cobalt, nickel, manganese, graphite, lithium and rare-earth elements.

Chinese companies have long held major stakes in the country's mines and smelters, which produce minerals used in power grids, data centers and electric vehicles.

Officials said Zambia's main concern with the minerals agreement is the insistence on preferential treatment for U.S. companies. The government takes the view that Zambians must have a say in how critical minerals are used and that no strategic partner should be treated preferentially over others.

Health activists separately criticized attempts to link healthcare funding to strategic minerals access. "When health becomes a bargaining chip, everyone becomes less safe," said Asia Russell, executive director of advocacy group Health GAP.

The outgoing U.S. ambassador to Zambia rejected the accusations in a farewell speech on April 30. The ambassador said any suggestion that the United States would withhold critical life-saving healthcare support unless it obtains critical minerals is false.

The ambassador also accused the Zambian government of covering up an environmental disaster involving a Chinese mining company last year. A dam collapse caused toxic waste to spill into rivers used for drinking water, according to the ambassador. The ambassador further accused the Chinese state-owned company of corruption and said American companies face bureaucratic obstacles and demands for bribes.

Officials described the ambassador's remarks as mischievous, deeply regrettable, undiplomatic and inconsistent with mutual respect.