Fight Inequality Alliance Zambia (FIA), together with a coalition of Zambian civil society organisations, has rejected what it has described as an “unequal” US health-minerals pact, calling on government to provide full transparency on the reported arrangement.
FIA Zambia National Coordinator Mputa Ngalande expressed deep concern over reports of a “health-for-minerals” deal allegedly being negotiated between the Government of Zambia and the United States of America.
Ngalande stated that the reported arrangement links critical HIV/AIDS health assistance to the United States’ expanded access to Zambia’s strategic mineral reserves such as copper and cobalt.
He explained that the United States is reportedly proposing to provide US$1 billion in health funding over five years, but only if Zambia enters an agreement related to mining cooperation.
Ngalande said the linkage between humanitarian health support and long-term mineral access raises serious concerns over Zambia’s sovereignty, transparency, and long-term economic stability.
He warned that structuring an agreement that ties short-term health assistance to long-term resource concessions risks creating an unequal exchange that could harm future generations.
“This potentially derails intergenerational equity, making it impossible for future Zambian generations to benefit from mineral wealth and keeping the nation in an intergenerational poverty cycle,” Ngalande stated.
Ngalande further revealed that the coalition has identified several red flags in what it described as a leaked Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). He alleged that the agreement would require Zambia to surrender sensitive health data, pathogen samples and genetic data for up to 25 years, even though the funding would only last for five years.
He also claimed the arrangement appears to undermine the Minerals Regulation Commission Act of 2024, as it allegedly negotiates mineral rights outside Zambia’s established legal and regulatory framework.
According to Ngalande, the MoU would further require Zambia to notify the US government of infectious disease outbreaks within 24 hours, which he said could externalise national public health decision-making.
He added that the MoU suggests Zambia must assume full responsibility for health systems by 2030, a move he warned could create serious service delivery gaps for the over 1.3 million Zambians currently dependent on antiretroviral therapy (ART).
Ngalande said the lack of official disclosure has created an information vacuum, leaving citizens, Parliament, and oversight institutions unable to properly assess the implications of the deal.
He stressed that health is a fundamental right and should not be treated as a favour to be exchanged for Zambia’s natural resources.
Ngalande has since called on the Government of Zambia to immediately make the full MoU public, subject the agreement to scrutiny by Parliament and oversight bodies, and ensure any mineral concessions are conducted strictly under Zambia’s legal framework.
“Where opacity prevails, trust erodes,” the coalition warned.
He concluded by stating that Zambia must not be coerced into conceding its mineral wealth for temporary relief that could endanger citizens’ rights, privacy, and national interests.