Guinea signs health agreement with US

DAKAR, March 2 (Reuters) - Guinea and the United States have signed a five-year health cooperation agreement totalling nearly $143 million in funding from both countries, finance minister Mariama Cire Sylla said.

• The U.S. has been pursuing bilateral deals with African countries after dismantling its aid agency last year, cutting funding and contracts worldwide.

• The memorandum of understanding will mobilize $142.6 million over the period 2026–2030, including $91.27 million that will be provided by the U.S. and $51.33 million by Guinea, the minister said in a Facebook post on Sunday.

• "This partnership will strengthen the fight against malaria, accelerate the elimination of polio, modernize our laboratories, consolidate human resources in health, and improve the quality of our health data systems," she said.

• Global health advocates have criticised parts of the deals, including lines in some which ask countries to promptly share data with Washington about pathogens that could spark epidemics in their countries, as a condition of getting the funding - but without guarantees that countries will have any access to medical tools developed as a result.

• The average yearly U.S. funding in the health deal is roughly a third of the aid that flowed to Guinea through USAID in 2024, according to U.S. government data.