The international funding for condoms in Zimbabwe is coming to an end in 2025, a development that may reverse the gains made by the country in the fight against the prevention of HIV and AIDS.
Speaking at the second quarter HIV Prevention Partnership Forum organised by Safaids in Harare last week, the National HIV Prevention Coordinator in the Ministry of Health and Child Care Gertrude Ncube, said (via <a href="https://www.sundaynews.co.zw/international-condom-funding-coming-to-an-end-next-year/">The Sunday News</a>):
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There is actually donor fatigue for condom funding, so as a country, we are saying should we risk all the gains made through our condom programming because there is no funding.
We need to look at how best we mobilise even our domestic funding to support condom procurement.
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Ncube said that the country has been too dependent on condom support from partners such as PEPFAR through USAID for both the Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council and the public sector. She said:
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PEPFAR has already told us that from 2026, there will not be any condom funding.
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Deputy Director HIV and STI Programme Dr Tsitsi Apollo said the country has to look for alternative funding sources for programmes such as Public Private Partnerships. She said:
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Do we know what will happen from 2027 and beyond after the funding expires considering what is happening globally and the funding being given to countries?
If Zimbabwe gets to that upper-middle income bracket we are less likely to receive external funding because the Global Fund uses a certain allocation formula to fund countries based on their economies.
</blockquote>
National Aids Council (NAC) Director Programmes Raymond Yekeye said the AIDS Levy was not enough to meet the council’s requirements. He said:
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It’s the whole HIV response program that is at a critical stage on how it is going to be sustained and how it is going to be funded, there is a need to develop a sustainability roadmap for the HIV response.
The levy is probably 25 to 30 percent of our requirements for the HIV response and that is why we are discussing other financing mechanisms such as the National Health Insurance Scheme because the levy on its own will not be able to sustain.
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The AIDS Levy is a tax introduced by the government in 1999 to raise funds for the national HIV/AIDS response.
The levy is charged as a 3% tax on all income, including salaries, pensions, and investment earnings.
The funds collected from the AIDS Levy are channelled towards NAC, which is responsible for coordinating Zimbabwe’s multi-sectoral HIV/AIDS programmes and initiatives.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

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Zimbabwe Faces Potential HIV Prevention Setback As International Condom Funding Expires

The Maximizing Options to Advance Informed Choice for HIV Prevention (MOSAIC) consortium is introducing long-acting injectable cabotegravir for pre-exposure prophylaxis (CAB for PrEP) alongside oral PrEP and the PrEP ring in five African countries.
MOSAIC is a five-year (2021-2026) global project funded by the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and is led by FHI 360.
MOSAIC’s primary goal is to empower adolescent girls, young women, and other women to prevent HIV by accelerating the introduction and scale-up of new and emerging biomedical prevention products.
Proposed countries for MOSAIC’s work include Kenya, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Eswatini, Lesotho, Uganda, Namibia, and Nigeria.
As reported by <a href="https://spikedmedia.co.zw/fhi-360-and-partners-introduce-injectable-hiv-prevention-method-as-part-of-research-study/">Spiked</a>, South Africa and Zimbabwe are the first to welcome CAB for PrEP following regulatory approval and the arrival of the donated product on site.
The rollout is part of Catalyzing Access to New Prevention Products to Stop HIV (CATALYST), a three-year, multi-country implementation study that aims to assess the delivery of multiple PrEP methods to an estimated 11,000 HIV-negative participants.
The study is taking place across 28 public health service delivery sites supported by PEPFAR in Kenya, Lesotho, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe. As of March 31, nearly 4,000 participants have been enrolled.
Dr. Atul Gawande, assistant administrator for global health at USAID, said:
<blockquote>
USAID’s commitment to cutting-edge research and development is advancing innovative solutions to some of the world’s greatest health challenges. We see that with CATALYST.
This study is supporting women and girls by expanding their options of methods for HIV prevention and by producing findings that will guide the scale-up of these prevention methods across the African continent.
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Dr Kristine Torjesen, director of science facilitation at FHI 360, said:
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CATALYST is the largest study of its kind and represents a locally-led, youth-focused implementation project in which participants have the opportunity to be among the first to learn about and try new PrEP methods.
They will also make their voices heard in how PrEP is rolled out in their communities, which is critical given that adolescent girls and young women continue to bear the brunt of the HIV epidemic in many places.
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The study is being conducted in two stages. Between May and October 2023, stage 1 launched across all sites in all five countries and includes tenofovir-based oral pills and the dapivirine ring (PrEP ring).
The second stage begins once CAB for PrEP has been approved by the national regulatory authority in each country and the donated product is available on-site.
Participants will be followed for one to three years to collect information about how they choose, use, switch between and like the offered PrEP methods.
The study results will offer valuable evidence to guide the future expansion and sustainability of HIV prevention options, ultimately contributing to a transformative impact on HIV prevention.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

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