The top three health threats facing the people of Zimbabwe are HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria (PDF 84 KB). According to the Zimbabwe Demographic Health Survey for 2010-11, adult HIV prevalence is currently at 15 percent, compared to 18 percent in 2005-06 and 25 percent in 1997. Despite the decline, HIV and AIDS continues to be the leading cause of death among Zimbabwean adults.
TB is the second leading cause of death, and the number of drug resistant cases is rising. Three-fourths of all TB patients are co-infected with HIV and AIDS, a significant contributing factor to the TB caseload. Malaria is the third leading cause of illness and death in Zimbabwe, with about half the country’s population living in malaria-prone areas.
HIV and AIDS, TB, and malaria, all contribute significantly to maternal deaths, which have more than tripled over the past twenty years, while other countries in the region have seen a steady decline. Consequently, USAID focuses on strengthening maternal and child health by increasing access to voluntary family planning services, reducing the transmission of HIV and AIDS, controlling tuberculosis through better case detection and management, and providing medication to pregnant mothers to prevent malaria. USAID assistance also enhances community level interventions that care for orphans and vulnerable children, improving the well-being of over 130,000 children in 2013.