Kinshasa : The United States and Congo signed a $1.2 billion health partnership Thursday, the two countries’ governments said in a joint statement.
The Department of State said it will provide up to $900 million over the next five years to support the Central African country to fight HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, maternal and child mortality, and other infectious diseases. Congo’s government will commit to increasing its own domestic health expenditures by $300 million over the same period, according to the statement.
U.S. aid cuts have crippled health systems across the developing world, including in Africa, where many countries relied on the funding for crucial programs, including those responding to outbreaks of disease.
The State Department has signed 19 bilateral global health partnerships with African countries as of Thursday.
