Zambia finally bows down to the America First Health Strategy to the tune of USD 2.5 billion
Lusaka has finally bowed down to the United States, with Zambia now being included in the America First Global Health initiative agreement.
Previously, there have been reports that the Southern African nation was resisting to be included in the America First Global Health Strategy (AFGHS), alongside 36 other countries.
The United States and the Republic of Zambia today signed a five-year bilateral Health Cooperation Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) under the Trump Administration’s America First Global Health Strategy (AFGHS).
Washington describes this to be a new model of health partnership built around greater Zambian investment, stronger accountability, and a clear path toward self-reliance.
Building on more than 50 years of U.S. health assistance to Zambia, this official agreement represents a US$2.49 billion partnership of US$1.52 billion in planned U.S. health assistance.
Lusaka has meanwhile pledged a commitment to invest US$975 million in new funding in its own health system over five years.
Under this agreement, the United States also plans to provide more than US$13 million in Global Health Security funding to strengthen Zambia’s ability to detect and respond to infectious disease threats.
Over five years, Zambia will progressively assume greater responsibility for its health system, including the procurement of health commodities, transitioning frontline health workers supported by the United States, into its civil service, and strengthening systems to track medicines and supplies from production to delivery.
The United States will support Zambia in modernizing its health infrastructure, to include expanding electronic medical records and interoperable data systems for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and disease outbreak surveillance.
The America First Global Health Strategy Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) that have been signed to date represent more than US$27.2 billion in new health funding, including more than US$16.1 billion in United States assistance alongside more than US$11.1 billion in co-investment from recipient countries.
The MoUs are building on decades of progress fighting HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, and other infectious diseases around the world.
As of October 8, 2026, the State Department has signed 36 bilateral global health Memoranda of Understanding with Angola, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon and Côte d’Ivoire.
Other countries bound in the agreement include the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Guinea, Honduras, Kenya, Lesotho and Liberia.
There is also Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Panama, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam, and Zambia.