U.S. flag and medicines are seen in this illustration taken, June 27, 2024. Image @ REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
Tanzania has become the latest African nation to sign on to Washington’s controversial health financing initiative, sealing a deal that had stalled for months after the United States signalled it was reassessing ties with Dar es Salaam over last October’s post-election violence. The memorandum of understanding, signed late Wednesday, commits the U.S. to investing more than $1.3 billion in Tanzania’s health sector over the next five years. Tanzania had notably been left out when Washington signed similar agreements with more than a dozen African countries late last year.
The agreement falls under President Donald Trump’s “America First Global Health Strategy” and follows similar pacts with Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda. The initiative is designed to help lower-income countries gradually finance more of their own healthcare as Washington scales back its traditional foreign aid programmes. In return for the U.S. investment, Tanzania has committed to spending $1.8 billion on its own health sector over the same five-year period. In a statement, the U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam said the agreement reflects both countries’ commitment to preventing infectious diseases and strengthening Tanzania’s ability to finance, manage and sustain essential health services.
Tanzania’s absence from the first round of agreements in December was widely seen as political. At the time, the U.S. State Department said it was reviewing its relationship with the country over concerns about restrictions on religious freedom and free speech, barriers to American investment and violence against civilians during Tanzania’s 29 October elections, when security forces opened fire on protesters challenging the results. Wednesday’s signing suggests relations have improved, even as the broader America First health initiative, which has secured more than $24 billion in funding commitments across Africa, continues to face criticism.
Much of that criticism has focused on the conditions attached to the agreements. Zambia rejected a deal linked to U.S. access to its mineral resources. In Kenya, courts suspended part of the country’s agreement in December while hearing a data privacy case brought by a consumer rights group. Another legal challenge argues the government bypassed Parliament before signing the deal. Lawmakers in Liberia have also raised concerns over data sovereignty and digital surveillance, calling for full public disclosure before approving their proposed $176 million agreement.
Tanzania’s Health Minister, Mohamed Mchengerwa, sought to address similar concerns before they gained traction at home. Speaking at the signing ceremony, he said the agreement does not include any provision requiring Tanzania to hand biological samples to American researchers.
“We did not enter into a specimen-sharing agreement,” Mchengerwa said, according to footage posted on the Health Ministry’s Instagram account.
He added that any Tanzanian samples linked to disease outbreaks, epidemics or future pandemics would be tested, stored and managed within Tanzania. His remarks directly addressed concerns that have surfaced in other countries, particularly Kenya, where officials have also denied the existence of pathogen-sharing provisions despite wording in the memorandum that critics say suggests otherwise.
By: Andrews Kwesi Yeboah