Ministry of Health and Sanitation has since allayed fears about data sharing, saying no data will be transmitted without authorisation. The agreement, signed on February 11 2026, seeks to strengthen global health security by supporting outbreak response and the development of diagnostics and medical countermeasures. Malawi Health Equity Network executive director George Jobe said collaboration should be founded on equity and mutual benefit. The specimen deal comes months after Malawi and the US signed a five-year $936 million bilateral health cooperation memorandum of understanding (MoU) in January 2026. Malawi committed to increase its own annual health spending by $143.8 million over the MoU period.