US-Africa health deals: Why some nations are turning down Trump’s money
A Kenyan court initially suspended the country’s agreement following legal challenges demanding patient privacy protections.
Arnold Kavaarpuo, director general of the Ghana Data Protection Commission, told the BBC that the government in Accra had objected to the proposed deal for similar reasons.
“We had concerns about the breadth and scope of data that would be required,” he said.
“We were the ones producing the data and passing it on to US authorities, and there were no real reciprocal safeguards when it came to protecting Ghanaian data and Ghanaian sovereignty.
“And from our perspective,” he added, “once the data left Ghanaian borders, we had no control over what happened to it.”
Zimbabwe also cited concerns about requests for medical data that would likely be shared with U.S. pharmaceutical companies as the reason for rejecting the deal.
A government spokesman said there was no guarantee that drugs or vaccines developed from pathogens would be made available to the public, noting that the WHO already has a system where its members can share data and benefit from any treatments in future outbreaks.
African countries have previously transferred medical knowledge through existing programs such as USAID and Pepfar, America’s main program to combat HIV and AIDS.
The United States insists that sharing data and samples is key to continued scientific advancement and mutual cooperation.
And a State Department spokesman said the material requested was the same aggregated, de-identified data that has been used for years to fight infectious diseases.
What changes is the context, says Nelson Aghogho Evaborhene, a doctoral student in global health management at Roskilde University in Denmark.
“It was an unequal relationship, but politically it was quite tolerable,” he says, “because you could sell it to the local population as an altruistic need to improve healthcare.
“But it’s changed significantly now because it’s more about transactional leverage.”
Many African countries have also learned lessons from Covid; The race to find a vaccine has proven the value of pathogen data but has left the continent struggling to get doses for its people.
“I think one of our biggest opportunities as Africa is that we have important information that can help build the global health security ecosystem,” says Aggrey Aluso, managing director of Resilience Action Network Africa (Rana).
Rana joined more than 50 civil society groups in signing an open letter warning African leaders that US terms were not driven by Africa’s national or regional interests; This view is also shared by South Africa.
“Frankly, no self-respecting nation on earth should participate in this agreement. [two requests]South African Minister of Health Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi told the BBC:
“HE [the US] If there is any outbreak or outbreak in their area, they will pick up their pathogens.
“They will also provide them with a genome for life. But the US will give them money for five years.”
Debates over health diplomacy have become more pronounced in recent weeks following the spread of a new Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
