Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube expressed concern on Wednesday that a US withdrawal from the World Health Organisation could lead to aid cuts for countries like Zimbabwe, which are heavily affected by HIV/AIDS.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order for the US withdrawal after his second-term inauguration on Monday.
During an online briefing from Davos, where he was attending the World Economic Forum, Ncube said the withdrawal could signal cuts in health aid to countries like Zimbabwe. He said:
<blockquote>
Any country with an HIV/Aids challenge will be impacted. This is a concern, a fear we are expressing.
</blockquote>
According to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/zimbabwe-fears-us-withdrawal-who-will-hit-hivaids-programmes-2025-01-22/">Reuters</a>, Zimbabwe receives over US$200 million annually from the US President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR).
Since 2006, the US government has given Zimbabwe over US$1.7 billion to strengthen health systems and support people living with HIV, according to the US embassy in Harare.
PEPFAR contributes nearly US$90 million annually to support salaries and incentives for healthcare workers, as well as funding HIV and viral load testing, prevention, cervical cancer screening, and tuberculosis treatment.
Zimbabwe is struggling to fund its public health system. The government introduced a sugar tax on beverages last year to raise funds for cancer treatment. This year, they introduced another tax on fast food. Said Ncube:
<blockquote>
We need to scale up our funding for health. The earmarked taxes should be directed towards health as we build our capacity to fill the gap should any funding recede.
</blockquote>

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The Minister of Finance in Zimbabwe is worried that the US leaving the World Health Organization might stop funding for HIV/AIDS programs in Zimbabwe. President Trump signed an order to withdraw the US from the WHO. Zimbabwe gets a lot of money from the US to help with HIV/AIDS. Since 2006, they got over $1.7 billion. They use the money for healthcare workers and testing for diseases. Zimbabwe has some taxes to help with healthcare, but they might need more money if the US stops giving them help. They are trying to find ways to fill the gap in funding.

Mthuli Warns U.S. Withdrawal From WHO Could Hurt Zimbabwe's HIV/AIDS Programmes

President Donald Trump announced on Monday that the U.S. is withdrawing from the World Health Organization (WHO).
Trump has long criticized the United Nations health agency. During his first term, his administration began the withdrawal from the WHO in July 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic spread.
However, four years ago, then-President Joe Biden halted the exit in one of his first actions after taking office.
Trump cited WHO’s alleged mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic, its failure to adopt needed reforms, and its inability to demonstrate independence from political influence as reasons for the withdrawal.
He believes the U.S. was paying too much money to the organization compared to other countries.
In 2020, Trump accused the WHO of aiding China in allegedly covering up the origins of COVID-19 and allowing its spread.
In an interview with <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2025/01/21/politics/trump-executive-action-world-health-organization-withdrawal/index.html">CNN</a> on Monday, Dr Ashish Jha, who served as White House COVID-19 response coordinator during the Biden administration, called Trump’s decision to withdraw from the WHO in his second term a “strategic error.” He said:
<blockquote>
WHO is a pretty essential organization — and with America’s withdrawal, it creates a political vacuum that only one country can fill — and that is China.
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Jha predicted that China will step up for the organization in the absence of U.S. funding and leadership, which could give China more political influence globally.
He warned that withdrawing from the WHO weakens the organization, as it relies heavily on U.S. staff and expertise, particularly in tracking global influenza.
Trump’s executive action calls on the secretary of state and the director of the Office of Management and Budget to “pause the future transfer of any United States Government funds, support, or resources” for the WHO.
However, it takes a year to fully withdraw from the body, and the U.S. should continue funding it for that period.

President Trump decided that the U.S. will stop being part of the World Health Organization. He was not happy with how the organization handled the COVID-19 pandemic. Trump thinks the U.S. was paying too much money to the WHO compared to other countries. Some people are worried that this decision will give China more power in the organization. It will take a year for the U.S. to completely leave the WHO, so they still need to give money for a while.

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