Online Reporter
Rumbidzayi Zinyuke
Senior Health Reporter
THE National AIDS Council (NAC) has urged Parliament to support a broader domestic financing base for the HIV response as declining external funding puts pressure on the AIDS Levy and threatens the sustainability of prevention and treatment programmes.
Speaking during a sensitisation meeting with parliamentarians in Kadoma on Friday, NAC chief executive officer Dr Bernard Madzima, who was represented by monitoring and evaluation director Mr Amon Mpofu, said the country needed to reconfigure its HIV response amid major shifts in international health financing.
The AIDS Levy, he said, had helped cushion the country against funding shocks but was no longer sufficient to meet the growing demands of the response.
“The AIDS Levy, while it has been resilient over the years, remains inadequate given the demands of the response, particularly at this moment,” he said.
“We therefore need an expanded base of domestic financing to sustain the gains we have made and meet emerging needs.”
His remarks come amid reductions and withdrawals in external HIV financing, including the US government’s stop-work order, which disrupted key prevention programmes.
Dr Madzima said Zimbabwe had already developed the Zimbabwe National HIV and AIDS Strategic Plan (ZNASP V 2026-2030), which seeks to prioritise resources towards populations and areas with the greatest need.
“While the announcement has sent shockwaves across the global response, it is not the time to whine but to come together as a nation and reconfigure our response,” he said.
“We have to prioritise resources where the burden is highest and tailor interventions for populations that have historically been left behind.”
Zimbabwe has made significant progress in HIV treatment, with more than 95 percent of people living with HIV knowing their status, all diagnosed people are on antiretroviral therapy and 96 percent of those on treatment are virally suppressed.
However, Dr Madzima said adolescents and young people, particularly adolescent girls and young women aged 15 to 24, continued to face a disproportionate burden of new HIV infections, teenage pregnancies and gender-based violence.
He said parliamentarians could play a key role in addressing these challenges through legislation, resource allocation and constituency-level interventions.
Senate Thematic Committee on HIV and AIDS chairperson Senator Angeline Tongogara said the changing nature of the epidemic required Parliament to remain actively involved in sustaining the national response.
“Emerging issues such as sustaining HIV financing, ensuring continued access to medicines and prevention commodities, addressing stigma and discrimination, and strengthening HIV prevention among young people require continued parliamentary attention,” she said.
“Parliament must use its legislative, resource allocation and oversight roles to ensure these challenges are addressed.”
She said Friday’s engagement provided parliamentarians with an opportunity to reflect on how Parliament can further strengthen its contribution through legislation, resource allocation and oversight.
UNAIDS country representative Mr Trouble Chikoko, represented by Mr Jeremiah Manyika, also urged Parliament to protect and strengthen the AIDS Levy while exploring complementary domestic financing mechanisms.
“Closing the financing gap is not optional; it is essential for protecting lives, sustaining national progress and achieving the 2030 goal. Parliament has a critical role in mobilising, allocating and overseeing public resources for the HIV response,” he said.
He said financing alone will not end AIDS, but laws, policies and social norms determine whether people can access services with dignity and without fear.
Zimbabwe is targeting the end of AIDS as a public health threat by 2030, with the AIDS Levy, Government funding and support from development partners such as the Global Fund contributing to the national response.
