Zambia’s Refusal of Conditional US Health Package Signals New African Stance: Economic Historian
20:52 06.05.2026 (Updated: 22:00 06.05.2026)
CC0 / / Médicament
Subscribe
Zambia’s Refusal of Conditional US Health Package Signals New African Stance, Says Economic Historian
The $2 billion US health package offered was conditional on signing a minerals accord granting US firms preferential access to copper and cobalt—resources that account for over 70% of Zambia's export earnings, said economic historian Dr. Blessing Karumbidza.
"That's not partnership; it's conditionality," he told Sputnik Africa, noting that such deals echo colonial-era extraction logic where infrastructure was built to serve Western interests, not African citizens.
The US is using aid as a bargaining chip in Cold War‑style competition with China, which controls over 60% of global cobalt refining capacity, Karumbidza argued.
Zambia, the analyst noted, joins Ghana and Zimbabwe in asserting that "healthcare cannot be traded for sovereignty."
To strengthen continental sovereignty, he called for diversifying partnerships (including with BRICS), deepening intra‑Africa trade, and ultimately creating a united Africa that "speaks with one voice."
Subscribe to @sputnik_africa
Sputnik Africa | X
The $2 billion US health package offered was conditional on signing a minerals accord granting US firms preferential access to copper and cobalt—resources that account for over 70% of Zambia's export earnings, said economic historian Dr. Blessing Karumbidza.
"That's not partnership; it's conditionality," he told Sputnik Africa, noting that such deals echo colonial-era extraction logic where infrastructure was built to serve Western interests, not African citizens.
The US is using aid as a bargaining chip in Cold War‑style competition with China, which controls over 60% of global cobalt refining capacity, Karumbidza argued.
Zambia, the analyst noted, joins Ghana and Zimbabwe in asserting that "healthcare cannot be traded for sovereignty."
To strengthen continental sovereignty, he called for diversifying partnerships (including with BRICS), deepening intra‑Africa trade, and ultimately creating a united Africa that "speaks with one voice."
Subscribe to @sputnik_africa
Sputnik Africa | X
