Ghana has rejected a proposed health cooperation agreement with the United States after objecting to provisions that would have granted access to sensitive national health data.
The deal was part of a broader US global health funding framework that would have provided about $109 million (Sh14 billion) over five years to support programmes targeting diseases including HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and polio.
The talks, a source familiar with the proposal told Reuters, collapsed ahead of an April 24 deadline set by Washington.
“They were pretty normal dealings and negotiations in the beginning, and then increasingly there was a lot more pressure, especially at the end,” the source said.
At the centre of the dispute is a requirement under the United States’ “America First Global Health Strategy,” which ties health assistance to expanded data-sharing and increased financial participation from recipient countries. The policy reflects a wider restructuring of US foreign aid, including the dismantling of the US Agency for International Development earlier this year.
Ghana had previously received $219 million (Sh28.3 billion) in US foreign assistance in 2024, including $96 million (Sh12.4 billion) for health programmes, highlighting the scale of existing cooperation now being restructured under the revised funding model.
Health data access has emerged as a key sticking point in several negotiations under the new approach, with recipient countries raising concerns over sovereignty and control of sensitive national information.
The breakdown in Ghana follows similar difficulties in other African countries engaged in talks under the same framework. In February, US talks with Zimbabwe collapsed over concerns related to access to health data. In Kenya, a similar agreement has been suspended after a court halted implementation following a legal challenge by a consumer protection group.
According to Reuters, the United States State Department has signed 32 agreements under the global health strategy, representing $20.6 billion (Sh2.7 trillion) in combined US funding and co-investment from partner countries, with further agreements expected in the near future.