In January 2025, United States President Donald Trump ordered a 90-day pause on foreign aid and halted grants by the US Agency for International Development (USAID). The agency was responsible for implementing the bulk of the assistance under the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the world’s leading HIV and AIDS initiative. This created aUS$67 million funding gap for Zimbabwe’s HIV programmes.
Clinics slowed services, outreach programmes stalled and fears grew that years of progress could unravel. The crisis exposed Zimbabwe’sheavy dependence on foreign aidand raised urgent questions about sustainability. CITE reporting revealedZimbabweans caught between an underfunded public health system and an expensive private sector.Patients faced empty pharmacies, high consultation fees, and delayed care.
Meanwhile, South Africa, the preferred destination for those seeking better healthcare, imposed stricter access rules for foreign nationals, turning away patients or demanding upfront cash payments. Economic hardship disrupted treatment adherence,as patients defaulted on HIV and TBmedications due to poverty, transport costs, and food insecurity. Health officials warned this could fuel drug resistance and new infections, underscoring how economic hardship directly fuels public health crises.
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Data from Bulawayo showedrising STI infections and repeat cases, reflecting persistent risky sexual behaviour, low condom use and weak behaviour-change interventions, signalling ongoing public health risks despite decades of prevention efforts. Chief Medical Officer at Mpilo Central Hospital,Dr Narcisius Dzvanga, retiredin December 2025, leaving a key leadership vacancy at one of Zimbabwe’s main referral hospitals. Revelations thatUS$400 000 in public funds were spent to beautifySenate President Mabel Chinonoma’s private residence, US$64 000 of it on curtains installed in two lounges, five bedrooms, a home office, staff quarters, scullery and kitchen.At a time of collapsing services, the story showed how the elite live a life of excess and impunity, widening the trust gap between citizens and Parliament.
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