US Delays Zambia Health Agreement, Links Aid to Mining Deal

The United States government has delayed the signing of a $1.5 billion health aid agreement with Zambia, making the release of funds contingent on new terms for collaboration in the mining sector and broader business reforms. The Memorandum of Understanding, originally scheduled for signing on December 11, was abruptly postponed, surprising officials and stakeholders who had been preparing for the announcement.

Instead, Caleb Orr, a senior Department of State official responsible for energy and business development, traveled to Lusaka to meet with Zambia’s president. Orr stated that economic cooperation would now take precedence and serve as a prerequisite for the health funding package.

Observers note that while US foreign aid agreements often carry transactional elements, tying health funding directly to mining concessions represents a striking departure from precedent. In Rwanda, for example, health agreements were signed only after an economic accord that Washington praised for unlocking commercial opportunities. Yet the explicit linkage of humanitarian aid to resource extraction in Zambia has been described by veterans of US global health programs as “uncharted” and “the first of its kind in the Department of State’s history.”

The move underscores a broader shift in US foreign policy under the Trump administration, where aid packages are increasingly tied to economic leverage and strategic interests. For Zambia, the delay raises questions about the balance between securing critical health funding and negotiating mining concessions that could reshape the country’s economic landscape.