US to end health aid to Zimbabwe after funding talks collapse

The U.S. is to wind down health assistance to Zimbabwe after the African country withdrew from talks on a proposed $367 million bilateral funding deal

HARARE, Zimbabwe -- The United States has said it will begin winding down health assistance to Zimbabwe after the collapse of negotiations on a proposed multi-million-dollar bilateral funding agreement.

Zimbabwe’s decision was driven by concerns over data sharing concerns, fairness, sovereignty and Washington’s broader shift away from global health institutions, government spokesperson Nick Mangwana said on Wednesday.

The U.S. had offered $367 million over five years to support Zimbabwe’s priority health programs, including HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention, tuberculosis, malaria, maternal and child health, and disease outbreak preparedness, the U.S. embassy in Zimbabwe said.

The proposed deal would have represented the largest potential health investment in Zimbabwe by any international partner, providing “extraordinary benefits for Zimbabwean communities — especially the 1.2 million men, women, and children currently receiving HIV treatment through U.S.-supported programs,” U.S. ambassador Pamela Tremont said in a statement on Tuesday.

“We will now turn to the difficult and regrettable task of winding down our health assistance in Zimbabwe,” she said, adding that Zimbabwe had indicated it was prepared to continue its HIV response independently. ” We wish them well,” said Tremont.