The country director of an international aid organization working on malaria in Zimbabwe said of the U.S. aid cuts: “These were projects focused on the total elimination of malaria from certain regions. It takes a while to reduce numbers but once the malaria parasite numbers start to dwindle in a community, it has a knock-on effect — fewer places for them to grow and breed means increasingly smaller numbers until you reach zero. However, when you stop this work, it has the opposite impact — numbers start to rapidly increase. We have seen a complete reversal, with the gains that were made now reversed.”
Date: 4/26
Region: Africa
Country: Zimbabwe
Topic: Health
Policy Lens: Global Health Security
Entry Type: Field Observation
Additional Context: This quote is attributed to Bhekimpilo Khanye, country director for Save the Children in Zimbabwe and Malawi. Save the Children notes that sustained international investment had been a key factor in the success of Zimbabwe's malaria response. From 2023 to 2024, Zimbabwe reduced cases by 76.6%, with the country on track to reach a more than 70% reduction and up to zero incidence in 2025. Cuts to the Zimbabwe Assistance Program in Malaria are held partially responsible for renewed outbreaks that have set back this reponse.
Devex Researcher Note: The Zimbabwe Assistance Program in Malaria, or ZAPIM II, was a cooperative agreement between an implementing consortium, of which Save the Children was a part, and Zimbabwe's Ministry of Health and Child Care and National Malaria Control Programme. The program aimed to reduce malaria morbidity and mortality through improved case management, mosquito net distribution, behavior change, community capacity, and surveillance. The second iteration of ZAPIM II was scheduled to run until March 31, 2026, but was cancelled in late February, 2025. According to allAfrica, the Zimbabwean national authorities reported a shortage of 600,000 bed-nets by May 2025. Damage to these prevention, control, and surveillance systems, has, according to them, played a big role in the 180% surge in cumulative malaria cases and 218% surge in Malaria deaths in this period.
Source: Save the Children