Ghana has turned down a proposed bilateral health agreement with the United States after negotiations collapsed over demands for access to sensitive national health data, according to a Reuters report.
The deal formed part of Washington’s broader “America First Global Health Strategy,” a policy framework introduced under the Trump administration to reshape foreign aid by pushing partner countries to take on greater financial and operational responsibility for disease control programmes, including HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, and polio.
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Negotiations, which began in November 2025, were expected to secure approximately $109 million in U.S. health support for Ghana over a five-year period. However, talks broke down after Ghanaian officials raised concerns about provisions requiring the sharing of sensitive health data, which they deemed unacceptable.
A source familiar with the discussions said the talks started routinely but became increasingly pressured toward the final stages, with Washington reportedly setting an April 24 deadline to conclude the agreement.
The impasse represents a setback for the U.S. effort to recalibrate its global health partnerships. Similar disagreements have emerged in other countries, including Zimbabwe, where talks also stalled, and Kenya, where a proposed agreement was temporarily halted by a court following a legal challenge.
Ghanaian authorities have yet to comment publicly on the failed negotiations, as officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the government did not respond to requests for comment.
The U.S. State Department declined to disclose specifics of the negotiations but reiterated its commitment to maintaining strong bilateral ties with Ghana.
We continue to look for ways to strengthen the bilateral partnership between our two countries,” a spokesperson said.
Data from official foreign aid sources show the United States disbursed about $219 million in assistance to Ghana in 2024, including $96 million allocated to health programmes. It remains unclear what level of financial commitment Ghana would have been required to make under the proposed deal.
As part of a broader restructuring of foreign aid delivery, the U.S. Agency for International Development was dismantled earlier this year. The State Department reports that 32 agreements have so far been concluded under the new global health strategy, amounting to $20.6 billion in funding—comprising $12.8 billion from the U.S. and $7.8 billion in co-investment from partner countries—with more agreements expected in the coming months.
Source: Reuters
