In Defense of Life Over Lithium in Zambia

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.

Photo: Courtesy of Dominik Vanyi , available in public domain via Unsplash.