Zimbabwe: America Says Zimbabwean Government’s Decision to Refuse U.S.$367 Million Health Fund Is Regrettable
UNITED States Ambassador to Zimbabwe Pamela Tremont, has described as regrettable, government’s decision to refuse a US$367 million purse to support health programmes that include fighting HIV/AIDS.
With over a million Zimbabweans on hard-to-source antiretroviral drugs (ARVs), an economy that has been constantly battered since the early 2000s, the aid would have brought extraordinary benefits Tremont said in a statement released by her embassy.
Having been given the greenlight to engage the US Embassy by Health Minister Douglas Mombeshora and Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube, President Emmerson Mnangagwa then demanded that negotiations be discontinued.
No further details or reasons were given by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which was tasked with delivering Mnangagwa’s response late last year, according to a letter leaked to the media recently.
Permanent Secretary in the ministry of foreign affairs Albert Chimbindi just said the intended Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was lopsided, compromised and undermined Zimbabwe’s sovereignty and announced an end to all negotiations.
Tremont revealed that this marked an end to America’s health assistance programmes.
“This MoU would have provided $367 million over five years to support Zimbabwe’s priority health programs, including HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention, tuberculosis, malaria, maternal and child health, and disease outbreak preparedness,” said Tremont.
“We believe this collaboration would have delivered extraordinary benefits for Zimbabwean communities-especially the 1.2 million men, women, and children currently receiving HIV treatment through US-supported programmes.
“We will now turn to the difficult and regrettable task of winding down our health assistance in Zimbabwe.”
TB is one of Zimbabwe’s main challenges, accounting for 204 of every 100,000 people according to the World Health Organisation.
According to the US Embassy, the MoU had sought to pull resources and ensure the largest health investment in Zimbabwe while building capacity for its own systems.
Added Tremont: “The proposed MoU represented the largest potential health investment in Zimbabwe by any international funder and was built on a co-funding model designed to ensure sustainability and a path toward self-reliance.
“The MoU asked Zimbabwe to gradually increase its own health funding alongside US support, building on more than $1.9 billion in US health support to Zimbabwe since 2006 that is directly responsible for Zimbabwe reaching the UNAIDS 95-95-95 goals.”
Over US$20 billion has been poured into 16 countries on the African continent in the same fashion.
The US, through USAID, has donated over US$3.5 billion to Zimbabwe through various initiatives since independence.
“These MoUs set a higher standard for bilateral health cooperation one that prioritizes sustainability, measurable outcomes, and shared ownership of results.
“The Government of Zimbabwe has assured us it is prepared to sustain the fight against HIV/AIDS, and we wish them well,” Tremotn said.
By New Zimbabwe.
