Washington is threatening to withhold HIV treatment unless Zambia hands over access to its copper and cobalt. The terms are worse than anything offered to any other African country. But Zambia has more leverage than it thinks. A State Department document seen by The New York Times confirmed what many of us tracking this issue have suspected for months. Washington is prepared to withhold HIV treatment funding from Zambia unless the government agrees to grant American companies preferential access to our copper, cobalt and lithium. The deadline is May 2026.