Government says it will sign the Health Memorandum of Understanding with the United States government on Thursday 8th October 2026 at the Ministry of Finance, following months of negotiations over several provisions in the agreement.
Health Minister Professor Roma Chilengi says the negotiations focused on clauses relating to intellectual property, specimen sharing, information and data sharing, as well as the duration of the agreement. He says the specimen-sharing condition has been completely dropped, while the provisions on information and data sharing have also been removed.
Professor Chilengi says the changes have resulted in an agreement that both governments are comfortable with and have cleared the way for the signing. He says the United States will contribute US$1.5 billion to Zambia’s health sector over the next five years, while the total joint contribution by the two governments will amount to US$3.6 billion.
Professor Chilengi says the Ministry of Health did not see any provision in the MOU relating to critical minerals, stating that the negotiations were specifically around specimen sharing, data collection and the duration of the agreement.
Responding to calls for the MOU to be taken to Parliament, Professor Chilengi says the matter was referred to the Attorney General, who advised that it be taken to Cabinet. He says Cabinet subsequently reviewed and approved the agreement.
Professor Chilengi says the MOU will not be made public before the signing, but Government is pleased with the final agreement and considers it a landmark approach to strengthening Zambia’s health sector.
By Mike Mwendachabe
