US signs $228 million deal with Rwanda for health under new aid model

KIGALI: The United States and Rwanda have signed a deal for the provision of $228 million for the health sector in the East African nation, the State Department said, the second such pact under the Trump administration’s new approach to overseas aid.

Kenya became the first country this week to strike a deal with Washington under “America First Global Health Strategy,” which was unveiled in September by the administration and seeks to improve target countries’ self-reliance in managing their health sectors. The $228 million will be provided by both governments. The Rwanda deal lays out “a comprehensive vision to save lives, strengthen Rwanda’s health system,” the State Department said late on Friday, while helping to make America “safer”.

The health funding agreement comes a day after Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame and his Democratic Republic of the Congo counterpart Felix Tshisekedi affirmed their commitment to a U.S.-brokered deal to end conflict in eastern Congo.

Under the health deal, the U.S. will provide up to $158 million to Rwanda to fight HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other infectious diseases, the State Department said. The cash will also strengthen disease surveillance and outbreak response. “In turn, the government of Rwanda plans to increase its own domestic health investment by $70 million, taking on greater financial responsibility as U.S. support is gradually reduced over the years,” the department said.

The agreement will also build on an initiative that sees drone-delivery startup Zipline taking life-saving medical products where they are needed, in co-operation with Rwanda, the Department said. “The agreement underscores Rwanda’s ambition to build a self-reliant, adaptive, and technology-enabled health system,” said Oliver Nduhungirehe, Rwanda’s foreign minister, after he signed the deal with U.S. officials in Washington.