The health pact Zambia signed with the United States on Thursday has its first hard staffing number: 40,000 health workers over five years — 15,000 frontline staff and 25,000 community health workers, according to the Times of Zambia.
Health Minister Professor Roma Chilengi described the US$1.5 billion Memorandum of Understanding as a monumental and landmark decision, saying it is meant to be a catalyst for self-sustainability and local financing that would enable the Government to employ the 40,000 over the five-year period. The US Embassy's Chargé d'Affaires, Mich Coker, said the MoU "represented a transformative partnership between the US and Zambia, one built on shared commitment and mutual accountability".
Who gets hired first?
The Resident Doctors Association of Zambia says the recruitment should begin with those already in the system. In an interview on Friday, RDAZ president Dr Paul Chibwe said the Government needs to conduct a needs assessment, noting that promotions would create more vacancies in the sector, News Diggers reports.
The scepticism is sharper on the opposition benches. Democratic Progressive Party leader Antonio Mwanza questioned the excitement around the proposed recruitment, arguing that the Government can hire health workers without what he termed a questionable deal.
The pact has been this week's running story — negotiated for months, renegotiated after Zambia objected to data-sharing provisions, and signed on Thursday. The recruitment plan is the first detail of what it buys, and the argument over whose names go on the payroll has now begun in earnest.
For the doctors' association, the priority list is about retention as much as recruitment: hires made while existing staff wait for advancement risk feeding the very vacancies the programme is meant to close. For the Government, the five-year frame and the tapering US contribution are the point — the ministry's case is that the deal ends in Zambian self-reliance, not dependency.
Sources: Times of Zambia, “Zambia, US sign $1.5bn health deal” (9 Oct 2026); News Diggers, “Prioritize those in the system in 40,000 health workers recruitment – RDAZ” (10 Oct 2026).