aidsmap | Without US funding, Zimbabwe could see over 75,000 new HIV infections in a year

The US has recently ended all health funding to Zimbabwe after the two countries failed to reach consensus regarding the terms of a bilateral agreement.

The consequences for HIV prevention will likely be dire, according to a new modelling study: 75,440 new infections within a year, over half from disruptions to antiretroviral treatment (ART) programmes, and a quarter from lack of access to prevention programmes, such as PrEP and voluntary medical male circumcision.

“The effects may take months to show,” Professor Chris Beyrer, one of the study’s authors, said in a recent op-ed. “People with medication at home can keep taking it for now. But if clinics lose staff, lab tests stop, or refills become harder to get, people will begin falling out of care. By the time the numbers show it, the damage will already be done.”

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