Zimbabwe Health Sector in Peril as USAID Funding Cut

By Regina Pasipanodya

As Zimbabwe braces for the fallout of reduced international support, Tendai Mutasa*** is left grappling with an uncertain future.

A 38-year-old mother of two from Epworth has been living with HIV for more than eight years now.

“Since 2016, I have been on medication and I am happy that both my children were born negative despite me being positive. I believe this is because both of them could get nevirapine at the right time. But what will happen to those that will be born now with limited health support,” said Mutasa.

However, the recent announcement by United States President Donald Trump came as a devastating blow to Zimbabwe’s health sector as USAID a major donor to World Health Organisation (WHO) programs withdrew its funding.

“What I understand is that Zimbabwe was getting support for HIV and AIDS programs among others from USAID. However, if that fund is withdrawn what will then happen to us the beneficiaries? I am scared to even think about it,” Mutasa told Zimba Wave News.

Mutasa is one of the people in Zimbabwe who have been on Antiretroviral (ART) medication for years and are now grappling with the fear of uncertainty amid Zimbabwe’s deteriorating health sector vis a vis USAID funding cut.

A local nurse (identity withdrawn for ethical reasons) also said this pull by USAID is a total disaster for the health sector.

“If we could struggle when the funding was still available, imagine when it’s no longer there. Sometimes we could struggle to get just a set of surgical gloves. This is bad for our health workers, patients as well as institutions,” she said.

For decades, the government of Zimbabwe has never been able to provide sufficient support to the health sector and most of the programs relied heavily on donor funding.

Economics and Director at the Centre for Governance and Development at the Durban University of Technology, Professor Gift Mugano perceived the withdrawal of USAID funding not only as a threat to the health sector but as a national security threat because this sector has already been door drums and it was surviving on thin support from the donors.

“To me what Trump did was a last nail in the coffin because the government has not been able to suppit ort for years and even if they were putting budgets for it, they were not even allocating the supposed money and I wonder how we are going to proceed. I see disaster in the health sector, if not total collapse of the sector to be quite specific,” Mugano told

Zimbabwe’s health infrastructure and services have been reduced considering that even motor vehicles were donated by various donors including USAID, so mobility and visibility will be reduced, and even operations will also be largely constrained.

“We are already in a dire situation in terms of infrastructure, in terms of machinery and equipment, so it means the government has now to meet those things which it was not able to meet even when they were being supported. So that’s a challenge.”

“The Minister of Finance already put in place the sugar tax for cancer. That was specified as for cancer support and unfortunately, we have not seen how the money was used. It was collected quite a lot of money and so accountability also kicks in but if they were accountable and transparent, that would have been a game changer in terms of providing the resources to support the health sector,” said Prof. Mugano.

He also pointed out that as a country, Zimbabwe already has an AIDS levy which is one of the innovative forms of finance implemented decades ago, in which accountability in terms of collection of that money has to be taken seriously because USAID was quite strong in supporting as well issues to do with HIV and AIDS and other diseases such as malaria.

“We are a good model country in Africa in reducing the prevalence of HIV and AIDS, TB, malaria and those killer diseases. So when the fund is cut without any notice there is the possibility of a slowdown on these programs and kind of reverse the gains which have already been sustained or got. So but it also depends on how the government is going to respond to this,” he added.

However, the Chairperson for the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health and Child Care, Honourable Dr. Josiah Makombe said the withdrawal of US funding from the WHO could impact Zimbabwe’s health sector, particularly in areas where programs are co-funded by the WHO, in terms of health emergencies, such as cholera outbreaks and the recent pox cases.
“However, Zimbabwe has proven its resilience in managing health challenges despite economic constraints. Through strategic planning and the diversification of partnerships, the government is committed to safeguarding health funding and ensuring the continued delivery of services. We will leverage our strong ties with regional bodies such as the African Union and SADC, as well as international partners, to mitigate the effects of any funding gaps,” said Hon. Dr Makombe.
While a reduction in WHO funding could affect certain programs, such as immunization, disease surveillance, and maternal health, Hon. Dr Makombe said Zimbabwe has managed to establish robust health policies to strengthen its healthcare infrastructure.
“The government is actively working to ensure health system sustainability by prioritizing domestic resource mobilization, private-sector partnerships, and support from regional organizations. These efforts will minimize the impact on critical services and ensure that Zimbabweans continue to access quality healthcare. Therefore, as Zimbabwe, we can explore multiple alternative funding sources to address any gaps. These include:

Enhancing collaboration with private-sector players and international NGOs to co-fund health projects.
Mobilizing domestic resources through innovative mechanisms, such as health levies (e.g., the HIV and AIDS Levy, Sugar Tax, Sin Tax, and other recently introduced taxes such as the potential fast food tax that targets unhealthy food items like fried foods, burgers, and other high-calorie, low-nutrition products sold by fast food outlets.
Leveraging support from regional organizations like the African Development Bank and the African Union for funding specific health initiatives.”
Dr. Makombe advised that Zimbabwe’s public health initiatives, including disease prevention and control programs, are a top priority for the government.
“While the reduction in WHO funding may present challenges, the Ministry of Health and Child Care is already implementing strategies to ensure continuity. These include strengthening community-based health systems, engaging local stakeholders, and increasing domestic financing for programs such as immunization, malaria control, and HIV/AIDS prevention. Zimbabwe has also demonstrated significant success in mobilizing resources during emergencies, such as cholera outbreaks, and will apply the same resilience here, he added.