40,000 Health Workers to Be Recruited Following $1.5 Billion US Health Deal
40,000 HEALTH WORKERS TO BE RECRUITED FOLLOWING $1.5 BILLION US HEALTH DEAL
Zambia is set to recruit 40,000 health workers under a US$1.5 billion health agreement signed today with the United States Government.
The five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will see 15,000 frontline health workers and 25,000 community health workers recruited to strengthen Zambia’s health workforce.
Health Minister Professor Roma Chilengi said the frontline recruits would include nurses, medical doctors, midwives, pharmacists, clinical officers and laboratory scientists.
Under the agreement, the United States will provide US$1.5 billion, while Zambia will increase its domestic health expenditure by US$975 million over a period of five years.
Professor Chilengi said the agreement would also support human resource development and workforce capacity, medical commodities and local manufacturing, as well as strengthen health systems.
The Minister said the support would cover areas such as data management, laboratory systems and logistics, while also helping Zambia reduce the burden of HIV, tuberculosis and malaria.
The agreement will further support epidemic and pandemic preparedness.
Professor Chilengi said the partnership would provide financial relief during the early years while Zambia progressively increases its own domestic contribution towards the health sector.
He said the arrangement was intended to help Zambia transition to a fully Government-led health financing model after 2030.
The agreement comes after Zambia earlier suspended the signing of the MoU over concerns surrounding several provisions, particularly health data protection, biological specimen sharing and the duration of the agreement.
Professor Chilengi said the two governments resolved the concerns through negotiations before signing the final agreement.
He said the duration of the agreement was reduced from the originally proposed 25-year framework to five years.
Speaking during the MoU signing ceremony, US Chargé d'Affaires Mich Coker noted that to the American people, the MoU is a strategic investment and economic opportunity that reinforces the close friendship and partnership with Zambia and the region.
“This MoU is a model through which our nations can work together, not through dependency but through partnership, not through short term fixes but through long term systems,” he said.
He added that the agreement had been signed to save lives and strengthen economies, with both countries moving forward with shared beliefs that the prosperity of their nations is deeply connected.
Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs Minister Mulambo Haimbe clarified that the MoU is not in any way linked to the sharing of Zambia’s critical minerals.
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