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NYT: Trump Admin Considers Withholding HIV Treatments from Zambia in Exchange for Greater Access to Country’s Minerals

HeadlineMar 18, 2026

The Trump administration is considering withholding HIV treatment, tuberculosis and malaria medications from Zambia in order to force the country to open its mines to U.S. companies. That’s according to a leaked State Department memo obtained by The New York Times. The memo says, “We will only secure our priorities by demonstrating willingness to publicly take support away from Zambia on a massive scale.” The proposed deal would offer Zambia $1 billion in health funding over five years, which is less than half of what the country received before President Trump took office. In return, Zambia would need to grant U.S. companies access to its copper, cobalt and lithium reserves and agree to restructure a nearly half-billion-dollar agricultural grant to require regulatory changes in its mining sector. About 1.3 million people in Zambia rely on daily HIV treatment provided through U.S. aid programs.

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