US Embassy Challenges Zimbabwe’s Account of Rejected Health Assistance Deal
By Michael Gwarisa The United States Embassy has challenged the Zimbabwean government’s account of why it rejected a proposed multi-million-dollar health assistance agreement, marking the latest development in an ongoing dispute over a deal that would have supported HIV, tuberculosis, malaria and other public health programmes. The Embassy’s response follows remarks made in Parliament last
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Will African Countries That Rejected Trump’s Health Deals Be Forced Back to the Negotiating Table?
By Michael Gwarisa African countries that rejected the United States’ proposed “America First” health agreements did so in defence of sovereignty, arguing that some of the conditions attached to the deals were unacceptable. However, as PEPFAR funding transitions continue and concerns grow over the sustainability of HIV programmes, governments may soon face difficult choices between
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600,000 People Set to Receive Twice-Yearly HIV Prevention Injection by End of 2026 as Global Access Drive Accelerates
By Michael Gwarisa in RIO DE JANEIRO An estimated 600,000 people are expected to be receiving the groundbreaking twice-yearly HIV prevention injection lenacapavir by the end of 2026, with the number projected to surpass one million early next year, as global efforts to rapidly expand access to long-acting HIV prevention gather pace. The milestone was
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Undetectable Isn’t the Whole Story: Study Finds Signs of HIV Immune Activity in the Brain
By Michael Gwarisa For millions of people living with HIV, achieving an undetectable viral load is the ultimate treatment milestone, a sign that antiretroviral therapy is working and that the virus is under control. But scientists are increasingly discovering that what happens in the blood may not tell the whole story. New research unveiled during
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Zimbabwe Advances Community Pharmacy Model to Expand Access to PrEP, Including Lenacapavir
By Michael Gwarisa RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Zimbabwe is testing an innovative public-private partnership that could transform HIV prevention by integrating community pharmacies into the delivery of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), including long-acting lenacapavir, as the country seeks to make HIV prevention services more accessible and convenient for communities. Presenting the initiative at the 26th
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Zimbabwe Faces Funding Cliff as U.S. Ends Support for HIV, TB and Malaria Programmes
By Kuda Pembere Zimbabwe must urgently strengthen domestic resource mobilisation if it is to sustain gains made in the fight against HIV, tuberculosis (TB), malaria, and in maternal and child health, as the United States Government prepares to end funding for the programmes in September. The call came during a Health Sector Working Group meeting
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Zimbabwe Drops National Health Insurance Name, Unveils Tax-Funded Healthcare Provision Programme
By Michael Gwarisa HARARE – Zimbabwe has abandoned plans to establish a National Health Insurance Scheme, opting instead for a National Healthcare Provision Programme, a new tax-funded model aimed at providing free healthcare services at public health institutions, Health and Child Care Minister Dr Douglas Mombeshora has announced. Speaking while responding to questions during the
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Zimbabwe Among Hardest Hit as New PEPFAR Data Shows Over 6,000 Children Lose HIV Treatment Support
By Michael Gwarisa Zimbabwe is among the countries hardest hit by recent disruptions to the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), with new data released ahead of the International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference on HIV Science (AIDS 2026) showing that more than 6,000 fewer children were receiving PEPFAR-supported HIV treatment by the
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Teen Pregnancy, Low ANC Uptake Threaten Zimbabwe’s Triple Elimination Goal
By Michael Gwarisa Zimbabwe’s ambition to eliminate mother-to-child transmission (EMTCT) of HIV, syphilis and hepatitis B is under growing threat as rising adolescent pregnancies and declining antenatal care (ANC) attendance undermine progress towards meeting World Health Organisation (WHO) validation targets. Although the country has made remarkable gains in preventing babies from acquiring HIV and congenital
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Once-Weekly HIV Pill Matches Daily Treatment in Landmark Phase III Trials Ahead of AIDS 2026
By Michael Gwarisa A once-weekly pill for HIV treatment has performed as well as standard daily therapy in two landmark Phase III clinical trials, bringing researchers a step closer to offering people living with HIV the world’s first complete once-weekly oral treatment regimen. The findings from the ISLEND-1 and ISLEND-2 studies will be presented at
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