Responding to
inquiries from NewsDay yesterday, a US government official said they were
continuing with their support for life-saving programmes, with the provision of
ART and support for more than 1,2 million people affected by HIV remaining a
priority.
The official
said US$223 million was earmarked for aid, excluding centrally funded
programmes to the country for this year.
“We are amid a
realignment of our policies where we are reviewing projects to make sure they
are in line with US policies on funding. In Zimbabwe, most of the projects have
been successful,” the US official said on condition of anonymity.
The official
said the US government had fulfilled all its commitments to ART up to the end
of 2025 while expressing shock over media reports that nothing is being funded
in that regard.
“We see reports
attributing shortages of ART to our aid cut. That is not the case. At the
moment, we have been asked to continue with the life-saving and humanitarian
projects so that people do not die,” the official said.
“We have made
tremendous progress with HIV and that has allowed the Zimbabwean government to
focus on funding other areas. We think in the long run, the government will
make it.
“We need to put
responsibility where it belongs. The issue of people not getting their ART is
not on us. Our aid is not only focused on HIV, but is interlinked with other
programmes. Most of the technical support is continuing, save for prevention
activities like the DREAMS [Determined, Resilient, Empowered, Aids-Free,
Mentored and Safe] programme.” Newsday
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