The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the United States have signed a memorandum of understanding for health sector cooperation valued at $1.2 billion, the US State Department reports.
The five-year agreement provides for US investments of up to $900 million in the African country's health sector. Additionally, under the terms of the document, the DRC authorities commit to increasing their own health expenditures by $300 million.
"The memorandum promotes ... strengthening the DRC's capacity to detect and contain infectious disease outbreaks before they spread globally. The memorandum includes funding for global health security to establish a national integrated surveillance system and outbreak response," the statement read.
The DRC Ministry of Health, for its part, emphasized the significance of the investments provided for in the agreement for strengthening the national health system. The ministry noted that the agreement aims to contribute to the fight against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, as well as strengthen the DRC's health system emergency preparedness.
Earlier in February, the Zambian government suspended signing an agreement with the USA allocating over $1 billion for health programs, citing that it conflicted with the country's interests.
In December of last year, Kenya and the USA signed a framework cooperation agreement in Washington under which the States would invest $1.6 billion in Kenya's health sector over five years. However, the country's High Court later suspended its implementation following a lawsuit by a local human rights organization regarding the protection of Kenyans' personal data.
Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda, Eswatini, Cameroon, and several other countries have also signed five-year cooperation agreements with the USA, providing for Washington's investments in African nations' health sectors.