U.S. seeks pathogen data in exchange for foreign health aid, document shows

The Trump administration is seeking to make sharing data about pathogens a condition for countries receiving U.S. health aid, according to a draft document obtained by Reuters.

The U.S. wants countries to provide pathogen samples and genomic sequencing data within five days of an outbreak, as outlined in the document from the U.S. State Department. However, it does not guarantee that any drugs or vaccines developed from this data exchange would be made available to the countries affected.

This disparity could lead to a repeat of the inequalities seen during the COVID-19 pandemic and other outbreaks, where poorer nations struggled to access the medical tools developed to combat disease, despite often being the first to identify the threat, according to some experts.

The move could also undermine ongoing discussions at the World Health Organization (WHO), where nations are negotiating a comprehensive pandemic treaty to ensure that lower-income countries are not left behind in future health crises.

The U.S. document is a memorandum of understanding that would be signed by both the U.S. and recipient countries. It sets targets for addressing conditions such as HIV, maternal mortality, and measles vaccination.

The agreement covers U.S. aid until 2030, but the pathogen-sharing arrangement would last for 25 years.

This proposal is part of the broader shift in U.S. foreign aid under President Donald Trump's "America First" policy. The country's new global health strategy, released in September, aims to move recipient countries towards “self-reliance” and to establish bilateral agreements as quickly as possible.

Bypassing WHO-backed deal

In response to queries about the document, a senior State Department official stated that the U.S. was committed to transparency and accountability in its global health strategy, but did not offer further details.

A source familiar with the negotiations in one recipient country confirmed that the document was under discussion. Ghana's Ministry of Health announced on X on Thursday that it had received the document on global health terms from the U.S., but did not provide specifics.

Three global health officials confirmed they had seen the document and were aware that governments were discussing it with the U.S.

“These bilateral agreements ... will bypass the WHO and the foundations of solidarity and equity we have been working to build here,” said Michel Kazatchkine, the former head of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, during a WHO meeting in Geneva on Friday. Kazatchkine represents the Independent Panel on Pandemic Preparedness and Response, convened by the WHO to evaluate the global response to COVID.

WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier told Reuters that the agency had no information about the document. He stated that the pathogen access and benefits-sharing agreement currently being negotiated at the WHO would enable the sharing of materials "and, on an equal footing, the rapid, timely, fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the sharing or utilisation of such materials."

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