Ghana has reportedly walked away from a proposed bilateral health agreement with the United States after negotiations collapsed over demands for access to sensitive national health data.
According to a Reuters report, the agreement formed part of Washington’s broader “America First Global Health Strategy,” introduced under the Trump administration to reshape foreign aid partnerships and push beneficiary countries to take on greater responsibility for funding and managing disease control programmes such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and polio.
Negotiations between the two countries reportedly began in November 2025 and would have seen Ghana receive about $109 million in U.S. health support over a five-year period.
However, talks broke down after Ghanaian officials objected to clauses that required the sharing of confidential health data, a condition sources described as unacceptable to Accra.
“They were pretty normal dealings and negotiations in the beginning, and then increasingly there was a lot more pressure, especially at the end,” a source familiar with the discussions told Reuters. The source added that the U.S. had set an April 24 deadline for the agreement to be finalised.
The failed negotiations represent a setback for Washington’s efforts to redesign its global health partnerships. Similar disagreements reportedly affected talks with Zimbabwe earlier this year, while a separate agreement involving Kenya was temporarily halted following a court challenge by a consumer protection group.
The Government of Ghana has not publicly commented on the reported breakdown in negotiations. Attempts by Reuters to obtain responses from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and government spokespersons were unsuccessful.
The U.S. State Department also declined to disclose details of the negotiations but reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining strong relations with Ghana.
“We continue to look for ways to strengthen the bilateral partnership between our two countries,” a State Department spokesperson said.
Official foreign aid data shows the United States disbursed approximately $219 million in assistance to Ghana in 2024, with about $96 million allocated to health programmes.
Under the proposed arrangement, Ghana was expected to receive $109 million in health funding over five years, although the exact financial obligations expected from Ghana were not made public.
The development comes amid broader changes to U.S. foreign aid policy, following the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) earlier this year as part of reforms to aid delivery systems.
According to the U.S. State Department, 32 agreements have so far been signed under the new global health strategy, representing a combined $20.6 billion in funding, including $12.8 billion from the United States and $7.8 billion in contributions from partner countries.
