Trump demands Zambia hand over mineral rights by tomorrow or he'll cut country’s medication access

Donald Trump has told Zambia that it will have to provide preferential mineral supply to the US - or risk a massive cut in healthcare funding which will affect millions of people. The southern African country must decide by Thursday, April 30 if it will provide US businesses with preferential access to its minerals. A decision to not provide this access could result in the loss of support for 1.3 million people who rely on US funding for HIV treatment . HIV is a virus that affects the body's immune system and makes it difficult to fight infections. US aid supports antiretroviral treatment - medications that stop the virus from replicating and enables the immune system to recover. Zambia's resources include copper, cobalt and lithium. African countries have long relied on US funding to support their health bills. Al Jazeera reported that African countries received $5.4bn in US assistance in 2024, spent largely on humanitarian, health and disaster needs. The Trump administration cut funding in January 2025 and dismantled the US Agency for International Development (USAID). A US aid funding tracker found that that the effects of the cuts have led to 518,428 child and 263,915 adult deaths from manageable diseases like HIV and tuberculosis. The aid cuts align with Trump's America First agenda, in which foreign aid must directly serve US national interests. The stance supports the view that aid causes over-reliance. Other African countries have already felt the impact of US aid cuts. South Africa has been frozen out of health aid by the Trump administration largely due to charging American ally Israel with genocide at the International Criminal Court and political policies that US claims are anti-white. The loss of US funding has affected health services, dismantled HIV prevention programs and disrupted the South Africa-US research collaboration.