HARARE — A group of public health physicians urged Harare and Washington on Thursday to resume negotiations after the collapse of a proposed $367 million bilateral health agreement that health experts say would have strengthened Zimbabwe’s fragile health system.
The proposed package, officials and health specialists said, was aimed at bolstering priority programs including HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention, tuberculosis control, malaria response, maternal and child health services and disease outbreak preparedness. Its failure comes as a looming cut in U.S. humanitarian assistance adds pressure to already stretched services.
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- HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention
- Tuberculosis control
- Malaria response
- Maternal and child health
- Disease outbreak preparedness
Physicians who asked to remain identified only as a collective public health group called the breakdown “premature” and warned of potential service interruptions across clinics and community programs that depend on sustained external financing. They called for immediate, good-faith talks between the Zimbabwean government and U.S. officials to salvage at least parts of the deal.
The government’s decision to halt the agreement followed a report that placed Zimbabwe among seven African nations targeted by the Trump administration for cuts to all U.S. humanitarian funding. The report and the subsequent diplomatic fallout raised questions about how essential programs will be funded in the coming months.
Health experts say bilateral agreements and humanitarian aid are often intertwined with long-term program planning: multi-year budgets, drug procurement schedules and training initiatives hinge on predictable donor support. “Even temporary disruptions can cause stockouts of antiretrovirals and antibiotics, delay vaccinations and undermine outbreak response capacity,” one public health briefing for policymakers warned.
Zimbabwe has made measurable gains over the past decade in reducing HIV-related deaths, expanding maternal care and improving malaria control, but those advances have relied in part on external financing and technical assistance. Physicians stressed that a withdrawal of planned funding risks reversing progress in rural districts where government resources are most limited.
Analysts say the diplomatic dimension will be decisive. If Washington’s humanitarian cutbacks are upheld, negotiators will have to consider alternative financing sources, such as multilateral agencies, regional partners or emergency bridging funds, while also pressing for renewed bilateral engagement to protect core health services.
For now, health workers and program managers are preparing contingency plans and appealing for clarity from both governments. The physicians’ appeal frames the collapse not as an end point but as an urgent opening for renegotiation to prevent immediate harm to patients and to preserve longer-term public health gains.
There was no immediate timetable for renewed talks, and officials in Harare and Washington had not announced plans to reconvene negotiators. Observers said how quickly the two governments engage will determine whether disruptions can be minimized.
By News-room
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
