The United States has denied that it was seeking access to Zimbabwe’s mineral wealth through a proposed health-aid agreement that was ultimately abandoned on the instructions of President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
A US official familiar with the negotiations said Zimbabwe walked away from weeks of intensive technical discussions without providing any explanation.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the talks had focused strictly on health cooperation and assistance, and Zimbabwean representatives never raised any political or policy objections throughout the entire negotiation process. Said the official:
“No policy or political concerns were relayed to us. The government then notified us it was ceasing negotiations without stating why.
“The MOU focused solely on health cooperation and did not contain any provisions related to critical minerals, neither explicitly nor implicitly.
“This MoU is, and has always been, about the health of the Zimbabwean people.”
Washington has said the agreement would have upheld long-standing global health-data standards, including the sharing of anonymous, aggregated epidemiological data that has been used since the launch of PEPFAR in 2006 to track disease trends and direct treatment resources.
The US Embassy in Harare confirmed the collapse of the deal last week. Ambassador Pamela Tremont warned that the breakdown would deny Zimbabwean communities significant benefits, particularly the 1.2 million people currently receiving HIV treatment through US-supported programmes.
The draft memorandum of understanding (MoU) carried $367 million in funding over five years. At least 20 African countries, including Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Uganda, have signed similar agreements with the United States.
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