In
a
cramped
room
with
blistered
walls
on
the
edge
of
Harare,
three
sex
workers
sat
pressed
together
on
a
frayed
mattress
spread
across
bare
concrete.
This
was
the
work
station
for
the
women,
who
say
their
trade
turned
perilous
after
US
President
Donald
Trump
abruptly
cut
foreign
health
aid
earlier
this
year.
One
of
them,
Sharon
Mukakanhanga,
reached
into
her
bag
and
pulled
out
a
pair
of
baby
socks
she
used
when
there
was
nothing
else
between
her
and
risk.
“These
little
socks
served
as
condoms
when
I
became
so
desperate
after
the
American
government
withdrew
its
support
from
my
all-time
go-to
safe
haven,”
the
43-year-old
told
AFP,
referring
to
her
preferred
clinic.
Mukakanhanga
is
among
thousands
of
sex
workers
in
Zimbabwe
who
have
struggled
to
access
HIV
prevention
tools
since
the
US
cuts
gutted
centres
that
once
provided
free
condoms,
antiretrovirals
and
basic
care.
For
nearly
two
decades,
the
US
programmes
including
PEPFAR,
the
world’s
largest
HIV
initiative,
formed
a
critical
safety
net
for
Zimbabwe’s
fragile
health
system.
The
first
half
of
2025
has
seen
5,932
AIDS-related
deaths,
a
rise
from
5,712
in
the
same
period
last
year,
according
to
official
government
figures.
–
‘Lost
my
mind’
–
The
impact
of
the
withdrawals
was
immediate,
said
47-year-old
HIV-positive
sex
worker
Cecilia
Ruzvidzo.
“It
was
a
very
difficult
period.
I
literally
lost
my
mind,”
said
the
mother
of
four
who
has
been
in
the
trade
for
nearly
two
decades.
She
recalled
leaving
her
most
recent
visit
to
the
clinic
with
only
10
days’
worth
of
antiretrovirals.
“I
could
not
get
condoms,
which
are
a
necessity
for
my
work.
I
was
at
risk
of
contracting
more
infections.
My
clients
were
also
exposed,”
she
said
quickly.
With
US-funded
facilities
shuttered
or
empty,
the
few
remaining
providers
say
they
are
buckling
under
the
pressure.
Medical
charity
Doctors
Without
Borders
(MSF),
which
operates
independently
of
US
government
funding,
said
its
clinics
in
Harare
suburbs
like
Epworth
and
Mbare
were
stretched
thin.
“They
don’t
know
where
to
go.
They
don’t
know
where
to
seek
services,”
said
project
lead
Charlotte
Pignon,
referring
to
patients
and
especially
sex
workers.
While
she
did
not
directly
link
the
rising
deaths
to
the
funding
cuts,
she
said
the
impact
of
the
withdrawal
could
not
be
ignored.
“It
is
difficult
to
know
all
the
factors
that
are
impacting
those
numbers
but
it’s
impossible
to
say
that
it’s
not
impacted
by
the
US
cuts
either,”
she
said.
–
‘Serious
disruption’
–
The
scale
of
the
fallout
was
still
coming
into
focus,
said
Wonder
Mufunda,
chief
executive
of
the
Harare-headquartered
think-tank
Centre
for
Humanitarian
Analytics
(CHA).
Mufunda
said
US
support
had
previously
amounted
to
about
$522
million,
with
roughly
$90
million
directed
to
HIV
programmes.
“You
wake
up
and
you
have
lost
such
funding,
there
were
serious
disruptions,”
he
said,
warning
that
deaths
could
rise.
“It’s
quite
a
big
blow
we
are
talking
about,”
he
told
AFP.
Beyond
overstretched
clinics,
Zimbabwe’s
economic
freefall
is
pushing
more
people
into
sex
work
with
an
estimated
40,500
women
already
engaged
in
sex
work
nationwide,
according
to
CHA.
Competition
had
eroded
the
power
to
insist
on
safer
sex,
said
20-year-old
Cleopatra
Katsande. Some
workers
were
charging
as
little
as
50
US
cents
per
client,
far
less
than
the
cost
of
a
box
of
condoms,
she
said.
For
veteran
Ruzvidzo,
there
was
no
real
choice.
“We
knew
it
wasn’t
safe,”
she
said
of
using
baby
socks
as
condoms.
“But
I
had
to
feed
my
children.”
The
clients
did
not
seem
to
mind,
she
said.
“When
it
comes
to
this
moment,
men
don’t
think
straight.”
Source:
US
cuts
leave
Zimbabwe
sex
workers
scrambling
for
alternatives
|
National
|
purdueexponent.org