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The United States has announced it will cut $50 million (about £37 million) in aid to Zambia’s health sector, citing the government’s failure to address the widespread theft of donated medical supplies and drugs.
US Ambassador to Zambia Michael Gonzales described the move as a “difficult decision” taken after repeated warnings to Zambian authorities about safeguarding life-saving medications intended for the country’s most vulnerable.
“We are no longer willing to underwrite the personal enrichment of fraudsters while patients go without or are forced to purchase medicines that were donated for free,” Gonzales said.
The Zambian government has not yet commented on the decision.
According to the US Embassy in Zambia, a year-long investigation found that over 2,000 pharmacies across the country were selling stolen medical supplies meant to be distributed at no cost. Shockingly, 95% of the pharmacies visited were found to be selling these products.
The stolen items included medications donated by the US government, as well as stock funded by the Zambian government, the Global Fund, and other international partners.
The embassy said it shared its findings with the Zambian government in April 2023 and offered support to help stop the thefts. However, it accused the government of taking insufficient action, targeting mostly low-level offenders and failing to investigate those behind the large-scale diversion of supplies.
“The government’s response has fallen drastically short of demonstrating a commitment to protecting US assistance and the lives it is intended to save,” the US Embassy stated.
The aid reduction will primarily affect programmes that provide drugs for malaria, HIV, and tuberculosis. The cuts will take effect in January next year to allow Zambia time to make alternative arrangements.
Ambassador Gonzales, visibly emotional during the announcement, said: “This is not a decision we’ve taken lightly,” and acknowledged the devastating impact the cuts would have on patients.
The US provides about a third of Zambia’s public health funding, and the country has long depended on foreign donors to support its healthcare system. However, this scandal adds to a history of concerns about corruption and mismanagement within the sector.
The aid cut is unrelated to the broader freeze on foreign assistance implemented by former US President Donald Trump under his “America First” policy. That freeze, announced in January 2017, has already disrupted health services across Africa, including in Zambia, where HIV remains a major threat—particularly among youth.
In response to those broader cuts earlier this year, Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema remarked that Trump had “slapped us on both cheeks,” and called for his country to strengthen its own systems to ensure it can procure essential medicines independently.
