A major funding crisis is looming in Zimbabwe's public health sector after the Ministry of Health and Child Care was directed by Treasury to cut its 2026 national budget bid, further threatening already-strained health services.
Presenting the ministry's 2025 budget performance, priorities, and 2026 bids to a joint sitting of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health and the Thematic Committee on Health, Permanent Secretary for Health, Aspect Maunganidze, revealed that Treasury had capped the 2026 allocation at just ZWL$24.19 billion, representing only 28% of the ministry's initial request.
"We have been advised that our cap for allocation will be ZWL$24.19 billion. This speaks to about only 28%. If you recall our 2025 figures, we requested about ZWL$94 billion and got around ZWL$28 billion, roughly 30%. So, this year's allocation is actually lower than that of 2025," Maunganidze said.
Out of the ministry's four major programmes: Policy and Administration, Public Health, Curative Services and Biomedical Engineering, Science, Pharmaceuticals and Biopharmaceutical Protection, the total budget bid for 2026 stands at ZWL$85.3 billion.
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Maunganidze explained that the ministry made a ZWL$94.9 billion bid in 2024, but only received ZWL$28.3 billion, or 30% of its needs. This allocation, he said, remained well below the Abuja Declaration target, which recommends that at least 15% of national budgets be allocated to health.
"Over the years, our health budget allocation has ranged from as low as 9.82% in 2024 to between 12% and 25% in 2021-2023. The 2025 allocation of 13.01% was actually the highest in the last five years," said Maunganidze.
Of the ZWL$27.2 billion allocated for 2025, the ministry had received ZWL$11.4 billion by September, just 41% of the total expected.
"This is what we have received up to the end of September 2025. The question has always been, even though we received little, are we utilising it? Of that $11.4 billion, we have spent about $10.5 billion, representing 92% utilisation," the permanent secretary added.
Maunganidze also warned that the country's health financing landscape has worsened since 2020, partly due to reduced donor support.
"This has resulted in the need for much more robust resource mobilisation. It's a challenge that has always been looming, but for sustainable health interventions, we must invest locally," he said.
Despite the financial challenges, Maunganidze highlighted notable improvements, including increased life expectancy, achievement of HIV/AIDS targets and progress in human resource development.
"We have seen a marked improvement in several health indicators despite the challenges. Our life expectancy has gone up; women still live longer than men, as usual. Our HIV/AIDS targets have been achieved, and we are continuing to upskill our health workforce," he said.
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However, the situation has been further compounded by significant cuts in U.S. funding, particularly from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). These programmes have historically supported Zimbabwe's HIV, tuberculosis, and maternal health efforts.
The reduction in donor financing has widened the country's health funding gap, putting essential services such as drug procurement, HIV prevention, and maternal care at greater risk.
