Zambia signs US health aid deal after disputes over data-sharing

Zambia has signed a five-year health financing agreement with the US, ending months of public disputes over whether citizens' medical data and mineral rights were being traded for aid. Health Minister Roma Chilengi stated that the deal would not allow sharing of individual patient records and that data exchange would be limited to information needed to monitor and evaluate funded programs. Civil society groups had criticized a leaked draft, fearing loss of control over citizens' health data, and some accused the aid of being linked to preferential access for US companies to Zambia's mineral resources.