HARARE
—
The
United
States
has
announced
it
will
begin
winding
down
health
assistance
to
Zimbabwe
after
President
Emmerson
Mnangagwa
walked
away
from
negotiations
over
a
proposed
bilateral
health
agreement.
The
diplomatic
rupture
puts
1.2
million
HIV
patients
at
immediate
risk,
unless
the
Zimbabwe
government
steps
up
to
fill
the
funding
gap.
In
a
press
statement
issued
after
ZimLive
on
Monday
revealed
the
breakdown
in
talks,
US
Ambassador
Pamela
Tremont
confirmed
the
consequences
would
be
swift
and
sweeping.
“We
will
now
turn
to
the
difficult
and
regrettable
task
of
winding
down
our
health
assistance
in
Zimbabwe,”
she
said.
Tremont,
who
met
Zimbabwe’s
foreign
minister
Amon
Murwira
last
week,
said
the
Zimbabwe
government
had
“assured
us
it
is
prepared
to
sustain
the
fight
against
HIV/AIDS.”
“We
wish
them
well,”
she
added
in
a
comment
that
read
less
as
a
pleasantry
than
a
pointed
transfer
of
responsibility.
The
memorandum
of
understanding
(MoU)
was
being
promoted
by
Washington
as
the
future
framework
for
US
health
support
to
Zimbabwe
under
its
America
First
Global
Health
Strategy
(AFGHS).
But
Harare
found
its
conditions
unacceptable
on
multiple
fronts.
A
letter
first
reported
by
ZimLive
dated
December
23,
2025,
and
written
by
foreign
affairs
secretary
Albert
Chimbindi
instructed
the
secretaries
for
finance
and
health
to
halt
all
discussions
immediately,
on
direct
orders
from
the
president.
“The
president
has
directed
that
Zimbabwe
must
discontinue
any
negotiation
with
the
USA
on
the
clearly
lopsided
MoU
that
blatantly
compromises
and
undermines
the
sovereignty
and
independence
of
Zimbabwe
as
a
country,”
the
letter
stated.
Diplomatic
sources
said
Mnangagwa
objected
specifically
to
US
demands
for
access
to
Zimbabwe’s
national
health
data,
which
officials
characterised
as
intelligence
overreach,
and
to
provisions
linking
the
deal
to
access
to
the
country’s
critical
mineral
resources.
The
US
pushed
back
hard
on
that
characterisation.
The
embassy
said
the
rejected
MoU
would
have
provided
$367
million
over
five
years,
slightly
more
than
the
$350
million
figure
first
reported,
covering
HIV/AIDS
treatment
and
prevention,
tuberculosis,
malaria,
maternal
and
child
health,
and
disease
outbreak
preparedness.
It
described
the
deal
as
the
largest
potential
health
investment
in
Zimbabwe
by
any
international
funder,
built
on
a
co-funding
model
intended
to
put
Zimbabwe
on
a
path
toward
self-reliance
by
gradually
increasing
its
own
health
budget
alongside
American
support.
Washington
also
pointed
to
the
broader
continental
picture
as
a
rebuttal
to
Harare’s
framing.
Sixteen
African
countries
have
now
signed
similar
agreements,
unlocking
a
combined
$18.3
billion
in
new
health
funding
–
$11.2
billion
from
the
US
and
$7.1
billion
in
co-investment
from
the
recipient
countries
themselves.
“The
United
States
has
a
responsibility
to
American
taxpayers
to
invest
their
resources
where
mutual
accountability,
transparency,
and
shared
commitment
are
assured,”
Tremont
said.
The
US
has
provided
more
than
$1.9
billion
in
health
support
to
Zimbabwe
since
2006,
and
American-funded
programmes
are
credited
with
helping
Zimbabwe
achieve
the
UNAIDS
95-95-95
targets,
the
global
benchmark
for
HIV
treatment
and
suppression.
The
1.2
million
Zimbabweans
currently
receiving
HIV
treatment
through
US-supported
programmes
now
face
an
uncertain
future
as
those
programmes
are
wound
down.
Mnangagwa’s
government
has
not
said
publicly
where
it
intends
to
source
replacement
funding,
nor
detailed
a
timeline
for
transitioning
patients
to
alternative
support.