By Kuda Pembere
With several donors pulling out of tuberculosis (TB) programs, Zimbabwe’s dwindling funding base has renewed calls for sustainable domestic financing to keep the disease under control.
Officiating the three-day National TB Conference in Harare, Minister of Health and Child Care Dr. Douglas Mombeshora commended healthcare workers for their efforts in helping Zimbabwe exit the World Health Organization (WHO) list of the top 30 high-burden TB countries.
“We meet at a moment when we can reflect with confidence on how far we have come. In 2021, Zimbabwe reached a milestone many countries envied when we were removed from the WHO list of the top 30 high-burden TB countries,” he said. “It felt a bit like finally being removed from a WhatsApp group you never wanted to be in — a relief, a victory, and certainly something worth celebrating. And that achievement was not accidental. It was earned through the dedication of our healthcare workers, the support of our partners, and the strength and resilience of our communities.”
Dr. Mombeshora noted that Zimbabwe’s TB response has made significant progress in detection, treatment, and integration with other health programs.
“Our TB response has made real progress. We have expanded early detection, using digital X-ray technology enhanced with artificial intelligence, bringing services closer to the people who need them most. Diagnostic capacity has increased across the country, with GeneXpert and Truenat now more accessible in our districts. We have strengthened the integration of TB with HIV and other conditions, so people are screened and treated much earlier,” he said.
He added, “Treatment outcomes continue to improve as we adopt shorter, more patient-friendly regimens and support patients in their communities. And perhaps most encouraging of all, TB survivors and communities are no longer just beneficiaries of services — they are helping to shape solutions, placing people firmly at the centre of the response.”
However, the Minister said challenges such as shifting global financing, poverty, and malnutrition continue to hinder progress.
“These successes prove what can happen when innovation, political will and community action pull in the same direction. But as we celebrate progress, we must also be honest about the road ahead,” he said. “TB remains a serious public health challenge, and the shifting landscape of global health financing is creating uncertainty for critical programmes. We are also reminded that TB thrives where poverty, malnutrition, overcrowding, and occupational exposure persist, which means the fight against TB cannot be won by the health sector alone. It demands a whole-of-society approach.”
He urged delegates to use the conference to develop actionable solutions.
“This conference comes at the perfect time for us to pause, reflect and re-energise. Over the next three days, I encourage us to share openly, learn from one another, and think boldly about the future we want. Let us build on what is working, explore new ways of financing sustainable TB responses, and strengthen the partnerships that brought us this far. And let us continue to listen to and amplify the voices of TB survivors, because ending TB must be about people first — their dignity, their health, and their future,” said Dr. Mombeshora.
The conference is running under the theme “From Commitment to Action: Innovation, Sustainable Financing and Person-Centred Care to End TB.”
“Our theme this year — ‘From Commitment to Action: Innovation, Sustainable Financing and Person-Centred Care to End TB’ — should be a call to make sure our promises translate into real change in real communities. Commitment alone is no longer enough. Action, impact and accountability must define the next phase of our journey,” said the Minister. “Ending TB should not simply be a target. It is a matter of justice and humanity. No one should suffer or lose their life to a disease that is preventable and curable. We owe it to every Zimbabwean to keep pushing until TB is a thing of the past.”
Providing a national overview, Director of AIDS and TB Programmes in the Health and Child Care Ministry Dr. Owen Mugurungi said Zimbabwe recorded a rise in TB case notifications between 2023 and 2024.
