Move to protect HIV services as US funding ends this week

Rumbidzayi Zinyuke-Senior Health Reporter

ZIMBABWE has begun a coordinated transition to shield critical HIV services, particularly the procurement and distribution of antiretroviral drugs (ARVs), from disruption as United States-funded health programmes wind down this week.

The US Embassy in Harare announced last week that Washington was set to discontinue all funding for Zimbabwe’s health programmes at the end of this month following the collapse of negotiations over a proposed funding deal.

The five-year deal had been expected to provide US$367 million but collapsed after Washington demanded access to biological samples for research and commercial purposes while declining to share the benefits of any future vaccines and treatments developed from them.

With the wind-down underway, the National AIDS Council (NAC) has convened implementing partners to identify which programmes must be absorbed into the new national response, with priority given to interventions that directly affect patients’ access to treatment. Speaking during a sensitisation meeting with parliamentarians in Kadoma on Friday, NAC monitoring and evaluation director Mr Amon Mpofu said the transition was an opportunity for Zimbabwe to strengthen ownership of its HIV response.

NAC, Mr Mpofu said, was working with implementing partners to establish which interventions could be taken over and maintained.

“There are certain programmes that we cannot afford not to do, like procurement and distribution of ARVs, and we have to make sure that those programmes are covered,” Mr Mpofu.

“The primary focus is to make sure there is no service interruption. We are now cutting on less important activities and focusing on core activities as we move forward, and we will monitor this and see how it goes.”

About 1,3 million Zimbabweans are estimated to be living with HIV, and around 1,2 million are on antiretroviral therapy.

Zimbabwe has achieved the UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets at population level — meaning the vast majority of people living with HIV know their status, are on treatment and are virally suppressed — though gaps remain among children, adolescent girls and young women, men and key populations.

Mr Mpofu said the gains demonstrated the importance of maintaining treatment and prevention programmes even as the financing environment changes.

Zimbabwe still records about 15 072 new HIV infections annually, with NAC targeting a reduction to around 5 000. Mr Mpofu said the current transition should, therefore, not result in the weakening of prevention programmes, particularly those targeting vulnerable groups.

“We should never relax, otherwise we go back to where we came from,” he said.

The country, he added, should focus on preserving the systems and programmes that had delivered significant progress rather than allowing funding changes to reverse those gains.

“There are programmes that we cannot afford not to continue because they ensure that our people continue accessing treatment. We have to take those programmes and continue sustaining the response, because once you are HIV positive, you remain positive for life, and we cannot weaken the treatment that is keeping people alive.”

Zimbabwe will, however, enter the transition with continued support from the Global Fund for HIV, tuberculosis and malaria programmes.

Global Fund data shows Zimbabwe’s current grant budgets at about US$455 million, while officials say the country has secured a further funding package for the 2027-2029 period.

Global Fund country coordinating mechanism oversight officer Ms Tuso Tanda said the support would provide an important cushion but warned that Zimbabwe could not assume international funding would continue indefinitely.

Source: Move to protect HIV services as US funding ends this week – herald

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