Funding Cuts Threaten HIV/AIDS Gains as ZAN Rallies for Survival

By Evans Jona

HARARE — The Zimbabwe AIDS Network (ZAN) has warned that the sudden suspension of USAID funding to HIV/AIDS programs in Zimbabwe has placed many community-based organisations on the brink of collapse, threatening to reverse years of progress in the fight against the epidemic.

“This was an unexpected move that has seriously affected not only ZAN members but civil society organisations in several countries,” said ZAN National Director, Tsuro Bore. “The threat of CSOs going dormant, quiet, and extinct is a reality this sector is facing.”

The funding freeze by the United States Special Watch Office (US SWO) has been compounded by budget cuts from major European donors, leaving HIV/AIDS service providers scrambling for survival. The Global Fund has also slashed Zimbabwe’s allocation under Grant Cycle 7 by 11 percent, from US$447 million, slowing down infrastructure projects and crippling rural services such as the Integrated Sample Transportation (IST) system.

“In rural areas, the IST programme, which used motorbike riders to deliver medical samples to laboratories, has been halted,” Bore explained. “This means results from vital blood and other tests can no longer be obtained promptly, jeopardising patient care.”

In response, ZAN has encouraged member organisations to tap into domestic funding initiatives through the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC), the National AIDS Council (NAC), and private sector corporate social responsibility programmes. “Forming consortiums to jointly respond to funding calls, engaging local and international trusts and foundations, and participating in the Global Fund Reprioritisation Process are some of the immediate steps we have taken,” Bore said. The reprioritisation process, aimed at maximising available funds for high-impact interventions, runs until the end of August 2025. ZAN has also urged members to pursue NAC’s social contracting opportunities and embraced virtual capacity-building for frontline health workers at decentralised levels.

For the medium to long term, ZAN is encouraging CSOs to establish income-generating arms, including ventures in mining, agriculture, real estate, and property rentals, to reduce dependency on donor funding. “We are looking at models such as Build Operate and Transfer or joint business efforts with banks,” Bore noted.
Despite the funding crisis, ZAN remains active in national HIV policy-making platforms. It works closely with the MoHCC and NAC to ensure the needs of its members are reflected in the next Zimbabwe National AIDS Strategic Plan (ZNASP). It is also a member of the Pandemic Fund National Steering Committee, which strengthens national health systems to respond to future health threats. Beyond traditional donors, ZAN is seeking support from philanthropic foundations, UN agencies, diaspora groups, and African Union health funds. Partnerships with private companies, including mining houses, telecoms, and banks, are being pursued for workplace HIV programmes and community testing initiatives.

Bore emphasised that key and vulnerable populations (KVPs), including sex workers, adolescent girls and young women (AGYW), and people living with HIV (PLHIV), remain at the heart of ZAN’s advocacy. “We are pushing for policies that protect the rights of KVPs, fighting stigma, and ensuring equitable service delivery,” he said. “From peer-led HIV testing for sex workers to DREAMS-style empowerment programmes for young women, and community ART refill groups for PLHIV, these interventions must not be allowed to collapse.”

ZAN also uses community-led monitoring and HIV accountability scorecards to track service delivery gaps, while working with legal aid partners to protect KVPs from police harassment and healthcare discrimination. Despite these efforts, the organisation admits that donor dependency, stigma, criminalisation of sex work, and underinvestment in youth-focused digital health initiatives remain major hurdles.

“Innovative financing, such as social impact bonds and HIV trust funds, could be game changers,” Bore said. “But we need urgent action to avoid losing ground in the fight against HIV.”

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