HARARE - The US is suspending all health funding to the country. At the heart of it all is Zimbabwe's refusal to sign a health for minerals deal.
It said the US is making unfair and unreasonable demands.
The Zimbabwean government accuses the US of demanding sensitive health data of its population.
And that's why it has pulled out of talks to sign a $367 million funding deal.
But public health experts warn of severe consequences for the country's healthcare sector.
It's going to be a disaster if the US pulls out, because you know general US under its PEPFAR (U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief)program it was the largest contributor .So if they pull out and PEPFAR is also closed I think it's a disaster which likely to happen. Zimbabwe is just contributing just 20 percent of the ART. So where are we going to get the 80 percent?
What it means is that Zimbabwe has to urgently consider using its own resources towards financing that gap which is very huge."
Some believe the health crisis can be avoided if both countries return to the negotiating table.
"From a health perspective I believe the Zimbabwean government and the United States government should have sat down more and renegotiated the deal rather than rejecting it outright. Why am I saying so, in Zimbabwe right now we actually have over 1.2 million people who are living with HIV who are taking antiretroviral drugs that are directly funded by the US.
"So by rejecting it outright we stand a chance of creating a health crisis whereby people with HIV no longer have access to treatment.
So the thing is people living with HIV can't afford to go for a long period without taking antiretroviral therapy and also mind you it's not just HIV affected. There is also the issue of malaria and TB, the US was funding all these programs."
This setback comes just a few days after the new US funded HIV prevention drug lenacapavir was launched in Harare.