Ghana has rejected a proposed health agreement with the United States over concerns surrounding data privacy, governance oversight and access to sensitive health information, according to officials from Ghana’s Data Protection Commission.
Arnold Kavaarpuo, Executive Director of the commission, said the proposed arrangement would have granted multiple US entities broad access to Ghana’s health data infrastructure without sufficient safeguards or prior approval mechanisms.
The scope of the data access that was requested under the deal “went far beyond what would typically be required,” Kavaarpuo told The Associated Press.
“That, in effect, was outsourcing the health data architecture of the country to a foreign body,” he said. “The proposed data sharing agreement looked at access not only to health data sets, but also to metadata, dashboards, reporting tools, data models and data dictionaries.”
The agreement formed part of the Trump administration’s “America First” global health funding strategy, which has replaced earlier USAID-linked programmes across Africa.
Key developments:
- Ghana would have received approximately $109 million in US funding over five years.
- The wider agreement was reportedly valued at around $300 million.
- Officials said the proposal included access to metadata, dashboards and reporting systems.
- Zimbabwe has also rejected a similar agreement, while Zambia has reportedly raised concerns.
Ghana said it remains open to negotiating revised terms with stronger data protection safeguards.
ℹ️ AP News
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