Joint Letter to Sec. Rubio on Zambian Medical Assistance

Download the statement as a PDF

Secretary of State Marco Rubio
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20520

March 26, 2026

Dear Secretary Rubio,

We are deeply troubled by reports that the State Department is considering withholding HIV and other lifesaving medical aid to Zambia as a means of pressuring the country into signing a critical minerals agreement with the United States. We urge you to immediately clarify that the U.S. will not resort to this abhorrent tactic.

An estimated 1.3 million Zambians receive HIV treatment under the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), and tens of thousands of additional lives are saved in Zambia each year thanks to ongoing U.S. efforts to combat malaria and tuberculosis. As you yourself have at times acknowledged, these programs provide well-documented benefits to global health, the global economy and global security. Many in the public health community are advocating for their expansion. Threatening these programs — and the lives of those reliant on them — to gain leverage in trade negotiations is ethically indefensible. Furthermore, to withhold these vital medicines would only deepen poverty and suffering in Zambia and the surrounding region, creating a ripple effect of instability that could have unforeseen impacts on U.S. interests over the short, medium and long term.

Any partnership regarding critical minerals must respect local agency for it to succeed. Insofar as the U.S. seeks Zambia’s aid in improving critical mineral supply chain resilience, we should prioritize initiatives that meet the job creation, environmental and sustainable development goals of both countries. Unlike previous critical minerals agreements, any proposal with Zambia should ensure the communities from which minerals are extracted are central participants in the value chain. The attached public comments on the “Design of a Plurilateral Agreement on Trade in Critical Minerals,” signed by many of our organizations, contain concrete recommendations on how such a proposal could be crafted.

Of course, PEPFAR and other health assistance to Zambia should in no way be conditioned on any sort of minerals agreement — even a mutually-beneficial one. Again, we urge you to please immediately and publicly repudiate the notion that the United States would hold lifesaving medical aid hostage to increase leverage in minerals discussions.

Sincerely,
Trade Justice Education Fund
Afrewatch International
Africa Faith and Justice Network
AIDS United
All-Africa Conference: Sister to Sister
Alliance of Baptists
American Friends Service Committee
Association of Concerned Africa (ACAS-USA)
AVAC
Climate Rights International
Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, U.S. Region
Council for Global Equality
Dominican Leadership Conference
Earthworks
Foreign Policy In Focus
Friends of the Congo
Friends of the Earth United States
Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA)
Global Black Gay Men Connect
Global Health Council
Global Network of Black People working in HIV
Global Witness
Health GAP
Inclusive Development International
Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
Mighty Earth
Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate
Mpact Global
Muso
National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd
National Jobs for All Network
National Working Positive Coalition
NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
Oil and Gas Action Network
Oxfam
PAI
Partners In Health
PFLAG National
Positive Women’s Network-USA
PrEP4All
Presbyterian Church (USA), Office of Public Witness
Public Citizen
Sisters of Mercy of the Americas Justice Team
StrongMinds
The Advocacy Network for Africa (AdNA)
TIP Global Health
Treatment Action Group
Union of Concerned Scientists
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
Unitarian Universalists for a Just Economic Community
United Church of Christ
US-Africa Bridge Building Project

350 Seattle
350NYC
Action Group on Governance and Environmental Management (AGGEM)
Blue Line Indivisible
California Trade Justice Coalition
CCoHOPE Indivisible
Center for Health and Hope
Dallas Peace and Justice Center
Downtown United Presbyterian Church Justice Ministry
Earth Ethics, Inc.
Eco Chaleur Bay
Extinction Rebellion San Francisco Bay Area
Good Health Community Programmes
Hands Off Hudson Valley/Monroe Indivisible
Housing Works
Indivisible Corning Elmira
Indivisible Katy Huddle
International Trade Education Squad – Park Slope Food Coop
Just Strategy
LHL International Tuberculosis Foundation
LIDOSOM
Little Sisters of the Assumption
Malach Consulting
Middle Wisconsin
Move Past Plastic (MPP)
New York Trade Justice Coalition
Nonviolent Austin
Occupy Bergen County
Partnership for Earth Spirituality
Putnam Progressives
Santa Cruz Climate Action Network
SoCal 350 Climate Action
South Asian Fund For Education, Scholarship and Training Inc
South Country Unites
Texas Fair Trade Coalition
The People’s Justice Council
The Resilient Activist
WESPAC Foundation, Inc.

cc: U.S. Trade Representative Jaimeson Greer
Acting Global AIDS Coordinator Jeffrey Graham
Deputy Assistant Secretary for PEPFAR and Health Programs Dr. Rebecca Bunnell
U.S. Ambassador to Zambia Michael C. Gonzales

Photo: TAZARA Railway, courtesy of katsuma tanaka, available in the public domain via Unsplash.