Mbabane – The Government of Eswatini and the United States have entered a new five year health partnership that will inject more than E3.4 billion into the national health sector. The agreement was signed at the American Corner in Mbabane and outlines commitments running from 2026 to 2030.
Officials confirmed that the United States will provide US 205 million which is approximately E3.48 billion over the five year period. Government committed to contribute more than US 36.7 million which is about E625 million as external funding continues to decline.
The Minister of Economic Planning and Development Dr Tambo Gina told attendees that the partnership builds on almost two decades of cooperation between the two countries. He noted that the United States remains Eswatini’s largest bilateral partner with an investment of about US 900 million which is roughly E15.2 billion since 2005.
According to Dr Gina, this support has reshaped the country’s response to HIV and TB. Current figures show that more than 96 percent of people living with HIV are on treatment. Life expectancy has grown from 42.5 years in 2005 to 60.7 years by 2020. Cases of mother to child HIV transmission have fallen from an estimated 3 300 annually in 2005 to around 34 each year. Eswatini has also met the global 95 95 95 epidemic control targets earlier than expected.
Dr Gina said the new agreement is structured to strengthen the resilience of the health system and improve its ability to manage both emerging and existing diseases. He explained that the signing follows extensive consultations held by the two governments in October and November.
He added that the partnership will support improvements in national systems, institutions and workforce capacity while sustaining progress made in disease control. He said government intends to preserve these gains beyond 2030 through increased domestic investment and reforms that support national ownership of priority health programmes.
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