Zimbabwe Govt Fires Back At Doctors Over Rejected US$367M US Health Aid Package

Zimbabwe Govt Responds After Doctors Urge Re-Engagement With US Over Rejected US$367M Health Aid Package

A furious Zimbabwean government has accused the country’s top public health physicians of being “out of order” for intervening in an explosive diplomatic standoff with the United States over a rejected US$367 million (approximately R6.8 billion) health aid package.

The blistering attack comes after the Zimbabwe College of Public Health Physicians (ZCPHP) urged President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration to return to the negotiating table with Washington, warning that the collapse of the deal could spell disaster for millions reliant on HIV treatment.

Government Hits Back

Deputy Chief Secretary for Presidential Communications, George Charamba, did not hold back when he unloaded on the medical experts, accusing them of sticking their noses into business they know nothing about.

“What they have done is to injudiciously pronounce themselves in respect of a matter which is beyond their knowledge base. The issue at hand involves many other factors beyond just the physician’s skills that they wield.”

Charamba also took a swipe at the doctors for choosing to air their grievances on X, questioning whose attention they were really trying to catch.

“Whose attention do they want to catch? Do they want us to then conclude that they were in fact beneficiaries of American funding through USAID?”

The senior official made it crystal clear that this was never a simple health matter, pointing out that the file landed on the desk of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, not the Ministry of Health.

“This was because the matter relates to the very sovereignty of this nation. If we wanted to name a technical matter, we would have done so through their parent ministry. That should have given them a cue in terms of the scope of the matter.”

He advised the physicians to stay in their hospital wards and channel any concerns through the proper government channels.

“If they have anything constructive to give, they must do it through their parent ministry. Unfortunately, they have gone against the rules of propriety.”

Doctors Sound Alarm

The ZCPHP had earlier this week pleaded with the government to reconsider its hardline stance, warning that walking away from the US funding could trigger a full-blown health crisis.

The United States embassy in Harare confirmed it was starting the painful process of winding down health assistance after Mnangagwa ordered officials to pull the plug on negotiations.

The ZCPHP warned that the timing could not be worse for a nation still heavily dependent on foreign cash to keep its health system breathing.

“An abrupt discontinuation of such support could risk treatment interruption, increased transmission, the emergence of drug resistance, and additional strain on the health system.”

The doctors pointed out that critical pillars of Zimbabwe’s HIV response, including antiretroviral medicines, laboratory commodities, and disease surveillance systems, remain heavily dependent on US government programmes such as PEPFAR.

“These gains reflect strong national leadership, sustained domestic commitment and years of effective collaboration with development partners. Dismantling the funding architecture without a managed transition risks reversing hard-won advances.”

The doctors urged both governments to re-engage constructively, arguing that many of the contentious issues were technical rather than ideological.

“Concerns around data governance and implementation frameworks can often be addressed through technical clarification and negotiated safeguards. Health financing transitions are most effective when they are predictable, phased and technically supported.”

Why Zimbabwe Walked Away

The proposed MoU would have seen Washington pump US$367 million into Zimbabwe’s health sector over five years. But Harare cried foul, claiming the Americans wanted unrestricted access to sensitive health data, including pathogen samples, without any guarantee that the country would benefit from vaccines developed from that data.

Government spokesman Ndavaningi Mangwana laid it on the line.

“At its core, the arrangement was asymmetrical. Zimbabwe was being asked to share its biological resources and sensitive health data with no corresponding guarantee of access to medical innovations such as vaccines, diagnostics or treatments that might result from that data.

“This is not a rejection of partnership, but an insistence that partnership be genuine.”

The government remains adamant that while health delivery is a priority, it will not trade off the nation’s independence or allow external actors to use aid as a tool for interference.