The United States has denied allegations that it sought access to Zimbabwe’s mineral wealth during negotiations over a proposed US$367 million health-aid agreement, insisting the talks were strictly focused on public health.
A US official familiar with the discussions said Zimbabwe abruptly withdrew from weeks of technical negotiations without providing any explanation, despite raising no policy or political concerns during the process.
“No policy or political concerns were relayed to us,” the official, speaking off the record, said. “The government then notified us it was ceasing negotiations without stating why.”
The official emphasized that the memorandum of understanding (MoU) under discussion contained no provisions explicit or implicit related to Zimbabwe’s critical minerals. “This MoU is, and has always been, about the health of the Zimbabwean people,” the official said.
The draft agreement, intended to run over five years, would have provided $367 million in funding and aimed to preserve long-standing global health-data standards, including the sharing of anonymized, aggregated epidemiological data used to track disease trends and direct treatment resources under PEPFAR since 2006.
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The US Embassy in Harare confirmed the collapse of the deal last week. Ambassador Pamela Tremont warned that terminating the MoU would deprive Zimbabwean communities of significant health benefits, particularly the 1.2 million people currently receiving HIV treatment through US-supported programs.
“We now face the difficult and regrettable task of winding down our health assistance in Zimbabwe,” she said.
The breakdown traces back to a letter dated December 23 from Zimbabwe’s Secretary for Foreign Affairs, indicating that President Emmerson Mnangagwa had personally ordered the halt of negotiations.
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“Zimbabwe must discontinue any negotiation with the USA on the clearly lopsided MoU that blatantly compromises and undermines the sovereignty and independence of Zimbabwe,” the letter stated.
The development comes amid Washington’s push for a new series of bilateral health agreements under its America First framework, introduced following reductions in USAID operations during the Trump administration. At least 20 African countries, including Kenya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Uganda, have signed similar agreements with the United States.
US officials stressed that the MoU was part of long-term efforts to strengthen health systems and improve outcomes for vulnerable populations, and denied any connection between the health-aid discussions and Zimbabwe’s natural resources.
The collapse of the agreement marks a setback in US-Zimbabwe health cooperation, raising questions about the continuation of programs supporting HIV treatment, disease monitoring, and broader public-health initiatives across the country.
