By Staff Reporter
PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has ordered government ministries to withdraw and further negotiations under the lopsided America First Global Health Strategy.
Prof Amon Murwira ,the Foreign and International Trade Minister communicated the directive to the secretaries of finance and health in a letter dated December 23, 2025, according to a previously unreported document seen by ZimLive.
“The President has directed that Zimbabwe must discontinue any negotiation with the USA on the clearly lopsided MoU that blatantly compromises and undermines the sovereignty and independence of Zimbabwe as a country,” the letter reads.
The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was being promoted by Washington as the future framework for US health support to Zimbabwe under its America First Global Health Strategy (AFGHS). But Harare found its conditions unacceptable on multiple fronts.
The US sought direct access to Zimbabwe’s health data over an agreed period, a provision Zimbabwean officials viewed as intelligence overreach. The US separately pushed for access to the country’s critical mineral resources as part of the broader arrangement.
Zimbabwe also objected on principle. Harare argued that signing a bilateral health agreement with Washington would be inconsistent with its commitment to multilateralism, particularly given that the United States had withdrawn from the World Health Organisation under the Donald Trump administration.
Entering into a parallel bilateral health architecture, the government reasoned, would effectively legitimise Washington’s exit from the global health order.
Despite Zimbabwe’s resistance, Washington’s health diplomacy offensive is gaining traction elsewhere on the continent. At least 14 African countries have already signed similar agreements under the AFGHS framework.
The rejection of the MoU comes as Zimbabwe also faces the loss of US humanitarian funding.
A year after Trump began dismantling USAID, which had funded programmes in Zimbabwe including the provision of HIV medicines, his administration is now initiating a new round of significant cuts to foreign assistance.
