HARARE – The Zimbabwean government has insisted that it had already planned to take over the health sector before U.S. President Donald Trump’s unexpected decision to freeze funding for USAID-backed programmes.
On January 20, Trump issued an executive order suspending all USAID funding for 90 days, prompting fears of a major setback in Zimbabwe’s fight against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB), and malaria. The U.S. agency has played a crucial role in funding essential medicines, health worker salaries, and public health initiatives across the country.
Despite concerns over the impact of the decision, Health Minister Douglas Mombeshora said the government had already been working on assuming full control of the sector.
“We had already planned to take over all health workers to be employed by the ministry because we were facing challenges of accountability. We did not even know the reporting structure of those employed by NGOs,” Mombeshora told journalists in Harare on Monday.
Although Trump’s suspension of health-related funding was later reversed, delays in medicine deliveries have raised concerns. Current stocks of essential drugs are expected to last only until June 2025.
Mombeshora said the government had procured additional supplies to last until September, but his statements appeared contradictory, as he also acknowledged procurement challenges and said the government had issued tenders for further supplies while waiting for the U.S. review process to conclude.
“We have enough stocks up to the end of June, but the stocks that were coming to cover the period after June have been stopped,” he said.
“We have actually floated a tender to procure medicines that will cover from June to the end of September while we assess other funding sources.”
USAID has not only funded the purchase of life-saving medications but also paid salaries for over 19,000 village health workers, as well as thousands of nurses and doctors working in opportunistic infection clinics across Zimbabwe.
Despite the funding uncertainty, Mombeshora assured the public that HIV treatment would not be disrupted, urging citizens to avoid panic and stockpiling of medication.
The situation, however, remains dire. Zimbabwe’s healthcare system has long struggled due to chronic underfunding, worsened by the withdrawal of other humanitarian organisations following Trump’s policy shift.
With the future of U.S. funding still under review, Zimbabwe faces mounting pressure to secure alternative sources to sustain its fragile public health system.
