By Draxon Maloya
MZUZU-(MaraviPost)-A shift in priorities by major donor countries toward wars in Ukraine, Iran, and parts of Africa—coupled with punitive legal frameworks—continues to undermine global efforts against the deadly HIV/AIDS epidemic.
United States President Donald Trump implemented a policy that reduced foreign aid by 75%, cut the State Department’s budget by 50%, and eliminated funding for the United Nations and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
As a result, major donors are now allocating more resources to defense while reducing HIV funding, citing the Russia–Ukraine conflict and the financial strain on more than 20 international organizations.
Locally, the central government’s failure to adequately fund HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention initiatives at town and district council levels has nearly crippled outreach programs targeting both ordinary citizens and key populations at risk.
On Friday in Mzuzu, the Mzuzu City Executive Committee approved the commencement of the 17‑month Powerful Prevention Project, a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) funded initiative implemented by the Community Health Rights Advocacy (CHeRA).
Stakeholders at the meeting lamented the chronic shortage of resources for HIV/AIDS interventions.
CHeRA Programmes Manager Alex Dalitso Kaomba underscored Malawi’s persistent struggle with high HIV prevalence, particularly among key populations—men who have sex with men (12.9%), female sex workers (49.9%), transgender people, and people who use drugs.
He warned that the recent taxation on condoms poses “a huge setback in the prevention of the deadly virus,” adding:
“It is no longer a secret, many projects have failed following the suspension of UNAIDS‑funded initiatives both at national and district levels, necessitating the need to improvise sustainable HIV‑AIDS prevention measures.”
Kaomba praised the consortium of 40 civil society organizations under the Mzuzu City Society Network (MCSN) for supporting CHeRA’s transparent and inclusive implementation of the UNDP‑funded project.
Echoing his concerns, CHeRA Technical Assistant Dingani Mithi called for the repeal of outdated punitive legal provisions that criminalize the existence of key populations, noting that such laws only fuel stigmatization.
“Indeed some of the legal provisions need to be revisited as they do not conform with technologies in the fight against the deadly global epidemic. It is tricky at the moment to operate in an environment where interventions conflict with the law,” Mithi said.
Mzuzu City Council’s Principal Nutrition and HIV‑AIDS Officer Augustin Gama lamented the withdrawal of U.S. government funding, stressing the urgent need for sustainable interventions.
“We need sustainable interventions in the fight against the deadly HIV‑AIDS pandemic following the withdrawal of funding by UNAIDS. The CHeRA project must be commended as it tackles the hard‑to‑reach key populations,” Gama said.
Mzuzu City, within Mzimba North District, has identified HIV/AIDS hotspot areas at Zolozolo Health Clinic, Mzuzu Urban Health Centre, and Mzuzu University Health Clinic, where alarming transmission rates continue to concern health officials.
Despite these challenges, Council Chairperson Gama reaffirmed the city’s commitment to achieving the global 95‑95‑95 targets aimed at ending the pandemic by 2030.
However, in early 2025, the U.S. government paused foreign assistance, severely disrupting PEPFAR‑funded HIV/AIDS programs across Africa.
The suspension affected services for more than 20 million people, leading to immediate shortages of antiretroviral (ART) medicines, clinic closures, and the halting of prevention outreach—particularly in countries such as Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Malawi, and South Africa.
For Malawi, the impact was especially dire. HIV/AIDS has long acted as a drag on economic development, reducing annual GDP growth by an estimated 1.2% to 1.5%.
While expanded access to ART has helped mitigate some of these effects, the epidemic continues to impose heavy indirect costs on labour productivity, household income, and the public sector.
In response, initiatives like the CHeRA project have stepped in to strengthen prevention and treatment. With a budget of MK66,690,000, the project covers Blantyre, Lilongwe, Mangochi, and Mzimba North, targeting 500 key populations on antiretroviral therapy.
It forms part of the global Powerful Prevention campaign supported by UNDP, underscoring the importance of sustained international cooperation in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
