The US cut the health assistance of $ 50 million to Zambia on drug theft allegations. world News

The United States cut the annual medical funding by $ 50 million, which should be provided for free for the alleged theft and for free for the sale of drugs donated, its ambassador said on Thursday.The US embassy in 2024 demanded the Lusaka Act on systemic theft of life-sax drugs and other products and other products coming for free for Zambian Public, Ambassador Michael Gonzalas told reporters.These included live-protect drugs for the treatment of malaria, HIV and tuberculosis. “Instead of investigating the supply sources and chasing the mastermind behind the theft of drugs, the law enforcement has focused on the following-level actors and only arrested a few mid-level officials,” he said.There was no immediate comment from the Ministry of Health.The ambassador said, “The United States cannot justify the US taxpayer to provide such massive assistance when the Zambian government will not take the necessary measures to protect this American investment.”Debt-affected southern African nations of 21 million people are highly dependent on foreign aid. According to Washington, about one-third of its public health expenditure comes from the United States. Gonzalas said that the fraud took place at the end of 2021 at the end of 2021 and an inspection in over 2,000 pharmacies last year found that most of the stolen goods were sold, including the United States, including the products provided with free, Gonzalas said.Some pharmacies were selling items purchased by Jambian government, Global Fund in Geneva and other donors. More than 64 percent of the population of copper -rich Zambia lives in poverty, the legacy of the years of corruption in the hands of some political people. President Hakend Hikilima was selected in 2021 on the promise of rooting Graft and wooing investors back. At the beginning of his tenure, there were high-profile arrests and there were touring hotels and helicopters belonging to a former minister. However, the fight against corruption has slowed down. Gonzalas said that the cuts he announced was different from the extensive review of foreign aid spending by the administration of President Donald Trump.Asked whether the action, to apply from January 2026, if the government took more action, it could be undone, the ambassador said: “At this point, after three years of extending it and after one year intensive engagement and requests, we have taken this decision.”