Harare – President Donald Trump’s sweeping executive order halting US foreign aid funding for 90 days has sent shockwaves through Zimbabwe’s humanitarian landscape, leaving clinics scrambling, NGOs reeling, and vulnerable populations facing potential catastrophe.
The immediate freeze, effective 20 January 2025, affects approximately US$300 million in funding earmarked for Zimbabwe in 2024, a significant portion of the US$800 million in development partner funding projected in the 2025 national budget. Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube’s budget pronouncements highlighted the US as one of Zimbabwe’s largest aid donors, with USAID’s contributions playing a crucial role in various sectors.
The abrupt cessation of funding has created a crisis across multiple areas. The US President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR), a cornerstone of HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment globally, is directly impacted. This programme provides antiretrovirals to 20 million people worldwide and funds testing kits and preventive medicine for millions more.
The halt in funding means clinics worldwide, including those in Zimbabwe, are facing immediate shortages of vital supplies. Beatriz Grinsztejn, president of the International Aids Society, aptly summarised the situation: “This is a matter of life or death… If that happens, people are going to die and HIV will resurge.”
Brian Aliganyira, who runs a health clinic for the LGBT+ community in Kampala, Uganda, (though reflective of the wider situation) echoed these concerns, describing the situation as “crazy” and highlighting the immediate challenges in securing alternative supplies and maintaining operations.
He stated: “Today is crazy… We are worried. As I’m chatting with you now, I’m amid lots of emails and trying to find who can stock up our supplies and drugs. Supply chains [are] all affected.”
Asia Russell, executive director of Health Gap, an advocacy group for HIV patients, confirmed that clinics globally are facing similar crises, emphasising the devastating impact of such an abrupt halt in funding.
She stated: “This was a deliberate decision to sow chaos and confusion, no matter the human cost.” She further highlighted the long-term consequences: “This is wasteful, inefficient and doesn’t keep America safe or make it more prosperous or secure – whereas Pepfar actually does all of those things. This was a deliberate decision to sow chaos and confusion, no matter the human cost.”
The resulting “halting service delivery, firing staff, shutting down clinics, rolling back outreach” will have long-lasting repercussions.
The impact extends beyond HIV/AIDS. The freeze affects a broad portfolio of USAID programmes in Zimbabwe, including those focused on global health, agriculture and food security, democracy, rights, governance, environmental protection, gender equality, women’s empowerment, and youth projects. In 2024 alone, USAID allocated US$55.1 million to the Global Health Supply Chain, HIV and AIDS Prevention and Treatment (US$21.8 million), Target, Accelerate and Sustain Quality Care (US$21.2 million), Food Security (US$20.5 million), and Protection, Assistance and Solutions (US$20 million).
Further funding was allocated to humanitarian assistance (US$18.8 million), health assistance (US$17 million), development food aid and food security activities (US$14 million), and humanitarian health assistance (US$12.9 million). Top sectors receiving funding included HIV and AIDS programmes (US$182 million), emergency response (US$60 million), development food aid and food security (US$37 million), basic health (US$19.8 million), governance and civil society (US$16.2 million), and agriculture (US$6.7 million).
The Zimbabwean government, through the Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare ministry permanent secretary Simon Masanga, acknowledged the reliance on implementing partners for USAID funding. He stated: “We do not work directly with USAid because their funding goes to implementing partners, who are engaged in various ongoing projects across the country… We will, however, engage USAid to understand the impact of the suspension on their programmes, which are at various levels of implementation across the country.”
USAID itself highlighted the breadth of its programmes in Zimbabwe, emphasising its role in combating HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria, improving access to maternal and child healthcare, and supporting agricultural productivity and food security.
The agency stated: “Through the US President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR), we help to reduce illness and deaths caused by the HIV epidemic, especially among women and children. In addition, the US President’s Malaria Initiative supports Zimbabwe’s national malaria programme by providing bed nets, spraying to eliminate mosquitoes and assistance in diagnosis and treatment to combat malaria in 45 districts.”
The agency also highlighted its role as the largest donor of humanitarian assistance through Food for Peace and its support for smallholder farmers through the Feed the Future programme.
The executive order itself cites concerns about the alignment of US foreign aid with American interests and values, stating: “They serve to destabilise world peace by promoting ideas in foreign countries that are directly inverse to harmonious and stable relations internal to and among countries… It is the policy of United States that no further United States foreign assistance shall be disbursed in a manner that is not fully aligned with the foreign policy of the President of the United States.”
The order mandates a 90-day review period, during which new obligations and disbursements are paused. The review will determine whether programmes will continue, be modified, or cease entirely. The order also states that resumption of funding may occur before the 90-day period concludes.
The sudden halt has sparked widespread concern among international aid organisations. Abby Maxman, president of Oxfam America, painted a grim picture: “We will see life or death consequences for millions around the globe, as programmes that depend on this funding grind to a halt without any plan or safety net. Aid experts are unable to operate or plan if they don’t know when funding will arrive, or how much… Funding for emergency food has been carved out as one exception, but funding for clean water, sanitation, healthcare and more has not been and are just as vital to survival for people living through crisis. We need to see these programmes allowed to proceed.”
The One Campaign estimated that nearly 3 million children could be at higher risk of malaria if the President’s Malaria Initiative is paused for 90 days. Thomas Byrnes, a humanitarian sector consultant, highlighted the far-reaching impact of the abrupt stop-work orders, given the US’s significant role in global aid funding (42.3% according to the UN, and as much as 54% of the World Food Programme’s funding). He noted the “unprecedented” nature of the freeze and its consequences: “They are so abrupt, there’s no cool-down period – it’s not in 30 days or 60 days. You have to stop now.”
The suspension of USAID’s grant agreement with a Zimbabwean partner, effective 24 January 2025, further underscores the immediate impact of the executive order. The implementing partner has been instructed to cease all activities and minimise costs, with a specific directive to immediately halt all Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA)-related activities.
USAID’s supervisory agreement officer, Andrea M. Plucknett, has called for recipients to certify compliance with these directives. This action reflects broader shifts in US foreign aid priorities, with further guidance expected in the coming weeks. The situation remains fluid, but the immediate consequences for Zimbabwe’s vulnerable populations are undeniably severe.
