Online Reporter
Trust Freddy
Zimpapers Correspondent
THE National AIDS Council (NAC) has received over US$60 million through the AIDS Levy in the past year, as the organisation ramps up efforts to mobilise US$200 million annually in domestic resources.
This move comes in response to international funding cuts, which began in early 2025, threatening Zimbabwe’s HIV response programmes.
Speaking during a validation meeting for the Zimbabwe National HIV and AIDS Strategic Plan (ZNASP) 2026–2030 held in Harare on Tuesday, NAC chief executive officer Dr Bernard Madzima announced a new target to mobilise at least US$200 million annually in domestic resources to safeguard the nation’s HIV responses.
“So, in light of the funding cuts which have happened and since the beginning of 2025, the HIV programme in particular and the other programmes in general, they have had severe knockbacks because of these sudden funding cuts,” he said.
“So, as we move from 2026 to 2030, as we develop our Zimbabwe National AIDS Strategic Plan, these are the areas which we are looking at how to sustain the gains of the HIV program, noting that we had already achieved the 95-95-95 targets.
“So, we need to find ways to sustain that momentum. So, we need to find ways to sustain that momentum.”
Dr Madzima said the proposed US$200 million annual injection is designed to create a self-sustaining supply chain for life-saving commodities.
“And one of the areas which we are looking at is resource mobilisation at a domestic level. We know the funding gaps which have been created by these stopgap measures and we are looking at mobilising not less than US$200 million per year to ensure that we have adequate supplies of ARVs, laboratory commodities, condoms and sexual reproductive health and commodities. So, this is the gap.”
He also added that the council expects other health taxes to generate more funds for domestic mobilisation
“And as the National AIDS Council, our main source of funding really is the AIDS levy, the National AIDS Trust Fund,” he said.
“And it needs to be topped up. It needs to be topped up. Together with the Ministry of Health and Child Care, we are looking at issues of the National AIDS Insurance.
“We are also looking at the issues of the sin taxes, the health levy, which has been collected as taxes for various commodities like sugar, alcohol and cigarettes.”
Dr Madzima further disclosed that council efforts are underway to engage parliamentarians on enhancing domestic funding.
“We are also mobilising with the parliamentarians to make sure that health in general also accesses other forms of taxes,” he said.
“If we are going to fund health, whether it’s National AIDS Insurance or whether it’s also increasing the AIDS levy.
“So, the main issue is to look at local resources, domestic resources. That’s the strategy which we are going to employ.”
The AIDS Levy—a 3 percent tax on taxable income, Dr Madzima said, remains the bedrock of domestic health financing.
While collections reached US$60 million in 2025 and are projected to hit US$75 million as economic formalisation takes hold, they currently cover less than a third of the required annual budget.
“In 2025, the AIDS levy amounted to around US$60 million, and it cannot fill a gap of US$200 million, so there’s still that funding gap of 140 million. If we don’t get funding from the traditional donors, there’s that gap which needs to be filled.”
