US commits $480m in health funding to Ivory Coast, the latest to sign ‘America First’ health deals – Chicago Tribune
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast — The United States and Ivory Coast signed a health agreement Tuesday requiring the United States to commit $480 million to the West African country’s health sector, as part of the “America First” global health financing pacts that reflect the Trump administration’s foreign policy.
The signing in Abidjan, the capital of Ivory Coast, covers areas such as HIV, malaria, maternal and child health and global health security. It is the latest agreement the United States has reached with more than a dozen African countries, most affected by U.S. aid cuts, including Ivory Coast.
Cuts in U.S. aid have crippled health systems across the developing world, including Africa, where many countries depended on funding for crucial programs, including those designed to respond to disease outbreaks.
The new health pact is based on the principle of shared responsibility, with Ivory Coast pledging to provide up to 163 billion CFA francs ($292 million) by 2030, or 60% of the overall commitment, according to Ivorian Prime Minister Robert Beugré Mambé.
The U.S. Ambassador to Ivory Coast, Jessica Davis Ba, said the U.S. government was moving “beyond the traditional approach to aid to a model focused on trade, innovation and shared prosperity.”
“Today, our bilateral cooperation enters a new phase. We are implementing the America First global health strategy,” the ambassador said.
The Trump administration says new “America First” global health financing deals aim to increase self-sufficiency and eliminate what it sees as ideology and wasteful international aid. These agreements replace a patchwork of previous health agreements under the now-dismantled US Agency for International Development.
In Ivory Coast, USAID has invested $115 million to support sectors such as health, education and aid to refugees mostly fleeing violence in neighboring Sahel states.
Analysts say the new approach to global health aligns with U.S. President Donald Trump’s tendency to deal with other countries in a transactional manner, using direct talks with foreign governments to promote his agenda abroad.
