By Zachary Gava
Harare, (New Ziana) – Zimbabwe has mobilized approximately US$155 million to strengthen its capacity to prevent, detect and respond to disease outbreaks, with the Government committing US$91.8 million towards building a resilient health security system capable of withstanding future pandemics.
The funding, comprising a US$40.3 million national grant from The Pandemic Fund, US$49 million in partner co-financing and Government’s domestic investment, is expected to strengthen disease surveillance, laboratory services, emergency response systems and community preparedness through 2029.
Speaking at the launch of the national grant and a separate regional programme in Harare on Monday, Health and Child Care Minister Dr. Douglas Mombeshora said pandemic preparedness was critical not only to protecting lives but also to safeguarding Zimbabwe’s broader development ambitions.
“As we pursue Vision 2030 and implement the National Development Strategy 2, we must recognize that protecting public health is fundamental to national development,” he said.
“Disease outbreaks can disrupt livelihoods, trade, agriculture, education and professional services. Preparedness is therefore not strictly a health sector priority, but a national development imperative.”
The investments come as Zimbabwe seeks to strengthen its defences against recurring public health threats, including cholera and climate-sensitive diseases, while enhancing its readiness to respond to emerging infections.
Dr. Mombeshora said the country’s experience with cholera outbreaks had demonstrated the importance of early detection and rapid intervention in preventing localized health threats from escalating into wider emergencies.
Although Zimbabwe had no confirmed Ebola cases, he said Government had approved an Ebola preparedness contingency fund and strengthened surveillance measures to guard against potential threats.
“Preparedness is not about creating a plan. It is about ensuring that when a threat emerges, our institutions are ready to respond before it escalates into a wider emergency,” he said.
The national programme will adopt the One Health approach, which recognizes the close links between human, animal and environmental health and promotes coordinated action across government ministries, local authorities, research institutions, communities and development partners.
Dr. Mombeshora said diseases did not respect administrative or national boundaries, making cooperation between sectors and countries indispensable.
He urged implementing institutions to ensure that the funding translated into tangible improvements in health security, warning that success should not be measured merely by the number of workshops held or activities undertaken.
“Our responsibility is to ensure that commitments made here translate into action on the ground, from our national institutions to the most remote communities,” he said.
The Pandemic Fund Executive Head, Priya Basu, speaking virtually, said the financing model demonstrated how targeted grant support could unlock substantially greater investment by bringing governments and development partners together around shared priorities.
“The Pandemic Fund is providing a grant of over US$14 million. That grant has helped mobilize US$49 million in co-financing from multilateral, philanthropic and civil society partners, alongside almost US$92 million in co-investment from the Government of Zimbabwe,” she said.
“Together, that represents approximately US$155 million in financing for Zimbabwe’s pandemic preparedness.”
Basu said the programme would strengthen digital and community-based surveillance, environmental monitoring and cross-border collaboration, while establishing five public health emergency operations centres to improve coordination during health emergencies.
The project also aims to upgrade five national and 20 sub-national laboratories, train more than 10 000 professionals across the public and community health workforce, and reach up to two million people through community engagement, multilingual awareness campaigns and digital learning.
She said the initiative was designed to build capabilities that would protect communities against both future pandemics and health emergencies already affecting them.
“This project is about more than preparing for the next pandemic. It’s about building a stronger, more resilient system that protects people every day,” Basu said.
She added that the ultimate measure of success would be whether Zimbabwe could identify emerging threats sooner, respond more effectively and save more lives.
Addressing the same gathering, Local Government and Public Works Minister, Daniel Garwe said local authorities would be central to translating national preparedness strategies into practical interventions at community level.
He said councils were critical to environmental health, water and sanitation, community surveillance and the dissemination of public health information, particularly in vulnerable and hard-to-reach areas.
“Early warning without early action is of little value,” Garwe said, emphasizing the need to connect surveillance systems with clearly defined responsibilities, adequately resourced response plans and timely communication to communities.
He said the grants presented an opportunity to strengthen coordination between health institutions, local authorities and disaster management structures, while ensuring that pandemic preparedness became part of local development planning and budgeting.
The regional grant, valued at approximately US$358 million, will support eight Southern African countries in strengthening disease surveillance and response, particularly against climate-related health threats. Zimbabwe’s allocation under the regional programme is approximately US$2.49 million.
The launch reinforces Zimbabwe’s broader efforts to build resilient institutions and communities as it pursues its national development objectives, with the Government and its partners expected to ensure that the investments deliver lasting improvements beyond the funding period.
New Ziana
