Yinka’s view
In the year since dismantling USAID, the Trump administration’s nascent Africa policy team has signaled a clear break from the past.
The language is consistent — “commercial diplomacy,” “trade not aid” — and so is the intent: to recast a decades-old, often paternalistic relationship on more transactional terms.
The shift has drawn predictable backlash, particularly over abrupt cuts to health and humanitarian programs that could put millions at risk. But in private, African officials and business leaders have been more sanguine. Some have even been publicly supportive, arguing that a more transactional framework offers leverage to negotiate for national priorities. Even former US officials have acknowledged the earlier system’s shortcomings.
But the new approach is already beset by tensions. Proposed bilateral health and development agreements, intended to replace USAID programs, have sparked pushback from governments and civil society in Kenya, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, questioning whether deals framed as partnerships tilt too far toward US interests.
To be sure, the Trump administration is following through on its stated goals, pursuing agreements designed to deliver tangible returns for the US. After a visit to Lusaka in December, a senior State Department official said Zambia had committed to reforms aimed at unlocking substantial US support in exchange for cooperation in mining and improvements to its business climate.
However, aid tied explicitly to economic and strategic concessions is precisely what gives some African leaders pause. Zambian officials are now closely reviewing a multibillion-dollar package that could grant the US access to key minerals, such as copper and cobalt, in exchange for health support and citizens’ health data.
The stakes are not abstract. Thousands still depend on US-backed health programs. But in countries with long memories of external exploitation, the political risk of appearing to trade sovereignty for aid is acute. As one Zambian official told me: “We want to be sure we’re signing something that is in line with our sovereign values.” They have until May, when the US deadline expires, to decide.
Notable
- A leaked email from the leader of the US State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs in January told diplomats to “unabashedly and aggressively” remind African nations of the “generosity” of US aid.