US to end health aid to Zimbabwe after funding talks collapse

The United States has said it will wind down health assistance to Zimbabwe after negotiations collapsed on a U.S.-proposed funding deal that the African nation rejected in part over a requirement to share sensitive health data.

The loss of the southern African nation’s largest health donor casts uncertainty over programs to combat HIV and the public health sector in one of the world’s most vulnerable health systems, where patients often must supply even basic items such as bandages at clinics and often have to buy their own medicines due to shortfalls.

Zimbabwean authorities said the funding proposal carried conditions they could not accept. The decision was driven by concerns over data sharing concerns, fairness, sovereignty and Washington’s broader shift away from global health institutions, government spokesperson Nick Mangwana said on Wednesday.

Mangwana said the U.S. proposal was tied to “comprehensive access to Zimbabwe’s sensitive health data, including virus samples and