US to request pathogens samples in return for health assistance
Earlier this year, President Donald Trump cut funding for such programs as part of a broader cost-cutting and foreign policy realignment. The proposed memorandums of understanding (MOUs) would allow dozens of countries to renew access to US programs targeting diseases like HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria, as well as initiatives on surveillance, lab systems, and electronic health records.
Under the plan, partner countries would be expected to fully fund the programs within five years. In exchange, they would be required to share pathogen specimens and genetic sequences with the US within days of discovery. The draft MOUs reportedly offer no guarantees that these countries would gain access to vaccines or medicines developed from their samples.
Experts have criticized the approach. Michel Kazatchkine, a member of the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response, told The Guardian that the proposal “threatens health security, data security, and, ultimately, national sovereignty,” giving the US commercial dominance over pandemic countermeasures.
Earlier cuts by Trump also included reductions to USAID, the US agency historically used to fund foreign health and political programs. Former USAID chief Samantha Power noted last month that the agency had previously used such funding to support pro-EU political outcomes, including in Moldova, via aid originally allocated for Ukraine.
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