United States to end Zimbabwe health aid as talks on $367 million deal fail

By Agencies

HARARE: The US is ending its health aid programs in Zimbabwe after Harare withdrew from talks over a bilateral deal with Washington.

An agreement would have provided the country with $367 million over five years for programs including HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention, tuberculosis, malaria and disease outbreak preparedness, according to the US embassy in Zimbabwe.

As part of the proposed deal, Zimbabwe was asked to gradually increase its own funding for healthcare, it said.

𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐈𝐌𝐌𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐀𝐓𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐙𝐢𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐰𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐙𝐢𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐰𝐞

Harare, Zimbabwe, February 24, 2026 – The Government of Zimbabwe has… pic.twitter.com/LC25AZDXdn

— U.S. Embassy Harare (@USEmbZim) February 25, 2026

In a statement, the embassy said the “proposed MOU represented the largest potential health investment in Zimbabwe by any international funder and was built on a co-funding model designed to ensure sustainability and a path toward self-reliance.

“The MOU asked Zimbabwe to gradually increase its own health funding alongside U.S. support, building on more than $1.9 billion in U.S. health support to Zimbabwe since 2006 that is directly responsible for Zimbabwe reaching the UNAIDS 95-95-95 goals.”

Some sixteen African countries have so far signed health collaboration MOUs with the United States

However, President Emmerson Mnangagwa directed officials to stop negotiations with the US “on the clearly lop-sided MoU that blatantly compromises and undermines the sovereignty and independence of Zimbabwe as a country,” a letter dated Dec. 23 and signed by the nation’s secretary for foreign affairs and trade shows.

Responding, Pamela Tremont, the US Ambassador to Zimbabwe, said in a statement, “We will now turn to the difficult and regrettable task of winding down our health assistance in Zimbabwe.

“The Government of Zimbabwe has assured us it is prepared to sustain the fight against HIV/AIDS, and we wish them well.”

US President Donald Trump’s administration is seeking bilateral health pacts with several nations on the continent. It has already signed pacts with more than a dozen countries, including Kenya and Nigeria.

The moves have raised concerns about data privacy and the risk of weakening global cooperation. A Kenyan court temporarily froze the $2.5 billion deal and asked the government not to share medical, epidemiological or sensitive personal health data with the US.