The United States of America (U.S.) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Tanzania to invest more than 1.3 billion dollars in the country’s health care sector over the next five years, the latest in a series of agreements that have sparked controversy in some African countries.
The agreement, signed on Wednesday evening (1), is similar to those signed with countries such as Rwanda, Kenya, and Uganda as part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s “America First Global Health Strategy,” designed to make poorer countries more self-sufficient at a time when the U.S. is dismantling foreign aid programs.
According to a statement from the U.S. Embassy in Tanzania, cited by Reuters, the pact stipulates that, in exchange for an investment of more than $1.3 billion, Tanzania commits to investing $1.8 billion in the health sector over the same period.
“This joint investment reflects both countries’ commitment to preventing the spread of infectious diseases and to strengthening Tanzania’s capacity to finance, manage, and ensure the sustainability of essential health services,” the document states.
In some countries, these agreements have faced resistance due to concerns related to conditions such as granting the U.S. access to mineral resources and the sharing of personal health data and biological materials.
Zambia rejected demands that such an agreement be linked to U.S. access to Zambian minerals, while in Kenya, a court suspended part of the agreement in December pending a ruling on a data privacy lawsuit filed by a consumer advocacy organization.
Tanzania’s Minister of Health, Mohamed Mchengerwa, stated that the agreement does not provide for the sharing of laboratory samples with the United States.
“We have not entered into any agreement to share biological samples,” Mchengerwa declared during the signing ceremony, according to a video posted on the Ministry of Health’s Instagram account.
“Samples from Tanzania, including those related to outbreaks, epidemics, and potential pandemics, will be analyzed, stored, and managed here in Tanzania,” he added.
