Feature Story

Impact of US funding cuts on HIV programmes in Zimbabwe

17 March 2025

Current Situation:

  • Some USAID and CDC-supported organizations have resumed work, while others  are still on pause.
  • Public health facilities continue to provide key services despite disruptions, with support from the Global Fund in 21 out of 64 districts.
  • Human resources disruptions are affecting HIV treatment services, including medicine distribution, patient management, and monitoring.
  • DHIS2 (District Health Information Software 2) is impacted due to the pause in human resources funding.

Immediate Risks and Disruptions:

  • Stocks of ARV supplies, HIV, viral load and other lab test kits, as well as condoms are available at facilities/service points, district, regional, and national warehouses with minimum disruption of distribution.
  • Condom supply and distribution are impacted, affecting availability, logistics, storage, procurement, packaging, branding, promotion, and demand generation activities.
  • HIV prevention services for key populations (sex workers, men who have sex with men, gay men, people who use drugs, transgender persons, prisoners) are disrupted, including access to PrEP, HIV testing, counseling, ART services, opioid agonist therapy, and harm reduction services.
  • Stigma and discrimination programmes funded by PEPFAR have stopped, affecting key populations.

Government Actions:

  • The government is exploring various sources of funding, including the current airtime tax to sustain healthcare financing.
  • Engagements with China and the Gates Foundation are ongoing to expand support for health programmes.

Civil Society Impact:

  • Civil society organizations are affected by the US Government shift and are seeking alternative funding.
  • Recommendations have been made to engage the government to allocate resources for medicines procurement and stocking with private sector support.

Impact on Key Populations:

  • Beneficiaries of key population programmes are facing challenges in accessing PrEP doses due to provider closures.
  • Anecdotal reports indicate that some key population representatives are engaging in high-risk sex to raise money for PrEP.

Resilience and Response:

  • Despite disruptions, public health facilities and the Global Fund continue to provide essential services.

UN Response:

  • Resource mobilization efforts include meetings with the Gates Foundation and the Embassy of Egypt to discuss priority funding areas and south-to-south resource mobilization and learning.