U.S. Embassy in Zimbabwe

In 2019, the United States Government provided US$370 million in assistance to the people of Zimbabwe, predominantly in the areas of health and food security/emergency assistance. This includes $177.7 million in health ($150 million of which is for HIV and AIDS, under the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR), $168.3 million in food security (including $101.9 million in emergency assistance, $10.6 million to families affected by Cyclone Idai, $10.4 million in other disaster assistance, and $45.4 million for longer term food security activities), and other programs valued at $24 million. In total, the U.S. Government has provided Zimbabwe over $3.2 billion in assistance since 1980.

Health

The United States of America contributes significantly to improving the health of the people of Zimbabwe. Assistance concentrates on the prevention and treatment of the top three causes of death in Zimbabwe—HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria—to help Zimbabweans live longer and healthier lives. The U.S. Government helps to reduce illness and deaths caused by these diseases, especially among women and children. The U.S. Government also focuses on maternal, newborn, and child health activities that seek to reduce maternal, infant, and child illness and deaths.

• The U.S. Government, under PEPFAR, provided lifesaving antiretroviral medicines to nearly one million HIV positive Zimbabweans.
• With PEPFAR support, approximately 98 percent of all antenatal care sites in Zimbabwe provide services for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV.
• The U.S. Government supports the distribution of more than 150,000 HIV self-test kits in Zimbabwe, so that an increasing number of Zimbabweans know their HIV status.
• S. Government programs provide voluntary medical male circumcision for more than 300,000 men each year to help reduce the risk of contracting and transmitting HIV.
• With PEPFAR support, over 560,000 people living with HIV received viral load testing over the past year. By achieving viral suppression, these individuals live normal, healthy lives and are significantly less likely to transmit HIV to others.
• Programs to support adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) through the DREAMS Initiative reached over 123,200 AGYW with services to help them prevent HIV, more than 89,000 of these received essential health services and over 10,700 received additional economic strengthening interventions.
• More than 16,000 AGYW age 12-19 in six DREAMS districts received educational subsidies for either formal or part-time continuing education and about 4,700 received pre-exposure prophylaxis in seven districts helping them prevent HIV.
• Support for orphans and vulnerable children provided more than 65,000 children aged 15 to 17 years and over 1,600 children between the ages of 18-20 still in school with HIV prevention, care and treatment, education support, psychosocial services, and economic strengthening across 20 districts in Zimbabwe. Activities also provided family-centered care to over 47,000 adolescents and youth living with HIV age 15-24. 

• The United States purchased and distributed 1.4 million insecticide treated mosquito nets help Zimbabweans prevent malaria. The U.S. Government conducted mass distribution of long-lasting insecticide treated nets in June and July of 2019 and covered almost a million Zimbabweans.
• The U. S. Government procured over 811,000 artemisinin-based combination therapy medicines, a million rapid diagnostic tests, and more than 530,000 tablets for malaria prevention during pregnancy.
• The U.S. Government supported a robust tuberculosis sample transport system, which serves more than 900 of the 1,500 health facilities nationwide, drastically reducing turn-around time so that those affected can get the treatment they need.
• From October 2018 to June 2019, the U.S. Government supported specimen transport system transported over 205,000 TB samples and more than 247,000 non-TB samples. U.S. Government support contributed to making it possible to relay real time data on tests conducted to different management levels within the National TB Control Program.
• The U.S. Government provided nearly 95,000 children under the age of five with nutrition-specific interventions so that they live longer, healthier lives.
• In response to recurrent outbreaks of cholera and typhoid, the U.S. government has provided the Ministry of Health and Child Care extensive technical assistance to strengthen clinical management, water quality monitoring, and vaccination in areas where water-borne disease is rampant.

Food Security

To build the resilience and self-reliance of Zimbabweans, the U.S. Government targets the underlying causes of chronic food insecurity and poverty. The U.S. Government’s activities help improve incomes, agricultural and nutritional knowledge, and food and nutrition security of thousands of Zimbabweans. The map below showcases the breadth of U.S. food assistance programs across Zimbabwe.

• The map above shows where USAID/Food for Peace’s Productive Asset Creation program has rehabilitated or created over 1,600 community resources like dams, dip tanks, and irrigation systems so that smallholder farmers can increase their livelihoods and food security.
• In 2019, U.S. Government assistance enhanced over 88,000 hectares of farmland in Zimbabwe with improved technologies or management practices.
• Annual sales of producers and firms receiving U.S. Government assistance exceeded $16 million.
• Over 42,000 smallholder farmers received U.S. Government supported agricultural sector or food security training.
• In the Farmer to Farmer program, the U.S. Government will partner with over 1,500 Zimbabwean farmers to increase their yields and incomes. The U.S. Government will bring almost 90 highly qualified American farmers to Zimbabwe to facilitate the training of smallholder farmers in areas such as financial literacy and agribusiness over the next five years.
• Over 72,000 U.S. Government supported smallholder farmers on about 90,927 hectares of land benefitted from water management and technologies, which included 19 solar powered irrigation systems as well as gravity irrigation systems.
• Nearly 1,500 farmers received loans worth US$545,000 to small and medium enterprises in the agricultural sector, of which 16 percent went to farmers.
• The U.S. Government assisted over 34,000 smallholder farmers to access business development services including market linkages and training on farming as a family business, as a result, these farmers generated over US$16.4 million in sales.
• Food security programs linked over 35,000 smallholder farmers to small, medium, and large-scale buyers, input suppliers, financiers, and other private-sector actors to stimulate demand and increase competition for crops and livestock products.
• The U.S. Government supported women to increase their access to economic resources like livestock, and assets such as gardens, loans, and income generating activities. Of the 13,672 farmers trained in livestock management, over 10,300 (76 percent) were women and of the 6,233 people trained on horticultural production about 5,282 (84 percent) were women.
• Over 46,600 men were reached with health, nutrition, and gender messages as part of the ‘‘man among men’’ campaign; thus, giving men skills to assist their spouses in childcare and other chores. About 75 percent of surveyed women reported that their spouses were helping them with a variety of household chores.

Emergency Assistance

Due to prolonged periods of drought, extreme weather conditions, and a deteriorating economic context, the U.S. Government supported the people of Zimbabwe with emergency assistance in 2019.

• At the end of the 2018-2019 lean season, the United States provided life-saving food assistance for over 600,000 vulnerable people.
• Over the 2019-2020 lean season the U.S. Government will provide food assistance for over one million food insecure Zimbabweans.
• In the aftermath of Tropical Cyclone Idai, the U.S. Government works to provide thousands of cyclone-affected families with access to clean water and hygiene supplies, shelter, agricultural early recovery services, and immediate food assistance.

Other U.S. Government Support

Other U.S. Government funding to the people of Zimbabwe includes support for good governance, parliamentary strengthening; cultural outreach; environment; demining; and small grants. Cultural and educational exchange programs strengthen the U.S.-Zimbabwe relationship. The Ambassador’s Special Self-Help program benefits communities and demonstrates the U.S. Government’s commitment to the welfare and social development of Zimbabwe.

• Together with the Southern African Parliamentary Support Trust (SAPST), the U.S. Government has increased citizen interaction with their elected leaders in parliament and supported Parliamentary Committees’ to increase their capacity to conduct budget analysis, oversight activities, consultative debate, as well as enhanced leadership skills for Members of Parliament.
• The Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation has funded a preservation project for the Great Zimbabwe National Monument valued at $475,000, which will aid in protecting Zimbabwe’s rich cultural heritage for future generations.
• The U.S. Government supports the Limpopo River Basin to build more resilient and water-secure communities and ecosystems through improved management of natural resources and increased access to safe drinking water and sanitation services.
• To combat wildlife crime, the U.S. Government collaborates with communities to increase cross-border cooperation and strengthen awareness and knowledge of the importance of protecting Zimbabwe’s wildlife, including the current rhino populations, estimated at approximately 430 black rhinos and 290 white rhinos.
• Since 2013, the United States’ support to demining efforts in Zimbabwe has returned over 5 million square meters (1,247 acres) of land to productive use and destroyed over 28,000 landmines to the direct benefit of over 40,000 people. In 2019 alone, 4,600 mines destroyed and over 1 million square meters of land returned to productive use.
• More than 2,300 Zimbabweans have participated in professional, educational and cultural exchanges since 1980. In 2019, 135 Zimbabweans took part in exchanges and locally funded programs, including in the prestigious Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) and the International Visitor Leadership Programs
• In 2019, more than 1,300 Zimbabwean students are enrolled at U.S. colleges and universities, with the majority receiving scholarships.
• In 2019 the U.S. Government had active small development grants for nearly 15,000 Zimbabweans. These grants focused on improving livelihoods, human rights, and civil liberties. Grant recipients live and work in Midlands, Masvingo, Manicaland, Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West, Matabeleland North, Bulawayo, and Harare.Updated: January 16, 2020