Currently, over one third of the adult population between 15-49 years is estimated to be HIV positive, and the epidemic is worsening. Only Botswana and Swaziland have higher infection rates. Despite the great impact of HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe, and due to concerns about whether the funds would actually be used to benefit intended recipients, in the summer of 2004 the GFATM elected not to fund a $218 million Zimbabwean proposal to fight AIDS.

High unemployment (around 80 percent in mid-2004), fuel shortages, and nearly 7000 percent inflation - the world's highest - round out Zimbabwe's economic woes. While the HIV/AIDS epidemic and food shortages contribute to the bleak economic picture, political uncertainty and diplomatic isolation are important factors.

In March 2002 Mugabe and his party won elections that were widely criticized by western observers for violence, intimidation and other irregularities. Both British Prime Minister Tony Blair and US President George W. Bush have criticized Mugabe's rule, and have acted to diplomatically and economically isolate Zimbabwe. Fear that Mugabe's government will improperly spend funding has led many groups to delay or withdraw funding for HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe.

Sources: BBC country profile; Synergy Project; AllAfrica.com, Inter Press Service (Johannesburg), June 3, 2004; AllAfrica.com, Zimbabwe Standard (Harare), July 26, 2004; AllAfrica.com, Daily HIV/AIDS report, August 12, 2004.

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe acknowledged that the cost of HIV/AIDS drugs as well as other hidden treatment/diagnosis costs are a huge problem. Addressing the country's first national AIDS conference in June of 2004, he said because the majority of Zimbabweans still rely on traditional medicine, it should complement modern medicine in the fight against HIV and AIDS.

Zimbabwe is a member state and partner of the Southern Africa Malaria Control Program. Zimbabwe has developed and revised national guidelines for malaria chemotherapy and chemoprophylaxis, and has drafted a national strategic plan for vector control.

TB treatment in Zimbabwe is provided by the public health sector without charge. DOTS population coverage is at 100% The DOTS detection rate in 2002 was 46 percent, and the treatment success rate for the 2001 cohort of DOTS TB patients was 81 percent. TB is grouped with HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe's national health budget and an estimated two-thirs of adult TB cases were infected with HIV in 2002.

Sources: Synergy Project, HSRC report, Southern Africa Malaria Control Program, WHO Report 2004: Global Tuberculosis Control

Demographic data contained in this section was obtained from the following sources: The Population Reference Bureau’s 2009 World Population Data Sheet was used for total population, life expectancy at birth, infant mortality, fertility, birth rate, death rate, % of married women 15-49 using modern methods of contraception, % of population 15-49 with HIV/AIDS in 2007/2008, and the GNI PPP per capita (2008). Literacy rates were found in the Population Reference Bureau’s publication 2005 Women of Our World. HIV prevalence data for 2001 and 2003 was obtained from the UNAIDS Barcelona 2002 report; HIV prevalence and orphan data for 2005 was obtained from the UNAIDS Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic 2006. Data on the % women who have discussed AIDS prevention with their husband or partner can be found in ORC Macro and USAID’s Women’s Lives and Experiences: Changes in the Past Ten Years (Research Findings from the Demographic and Health Surveys). Childhood malaria mortality data was accessed in 2003 from the United Nations Statistics Divisions’ Millennium Indicators. Tuberculosis data was obtained from the United Nations Statistics Division’s Millennium Indicators: MDGInfo 2006. In some cases information was unavailable.

In 1995 the WHO estimated that Zimbabwe had about 14 physicians and 129 nurses per 100,000 population. The economic and political situation in Zimbabwe has contributed to an exodus of trained medical personnel. Beginning in 2002 close to 200 Cuban health professionals began arriving in Zimbabwe in response to the resulting shortages, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo also sent about 80 health professionals. Zimbabwe has also taken the step of bonding nurses who have been trained in the country, requiring them to stay in the country.

Sources: AllAfrica.com, The Herald (Harare), November 13, 2003; AllAfrica.com, Zimbabwe Standard (Harare), January 5, 2004; AllAfrica.com, The Herald (Harare), May 31, 2004; NewAfrica.com; TravMed

Bastirai Group

Biomedical Research and Training Research Institute ( website )

Blair Research Institute, TVBU ( website )

HIV, TB and malaria research is conducted by the Transmission and Vector Biology Unit (TVBU), directed by Dr. M. Chimbari. Currently the TVBU has 7 research officers, 22 support staff, and is conducting 9 research projects.

Chitungwiza Hospital

The Medical Research Council of Zimbabwe ( website )

Functions of the council include:

• Reviewing research proposals
• Establishing institutional review boards at major research centers
• Organising workshops and specialised seminars that set priorities, and
• Acting as a network connecting researchers, program directors and policy-makers.

Training and Research Support Center (TARSC) ( website )

University of Zimbabwe, Faculty of Medicine

University of Zimbabwe-Bulawayo College of Health Sciences