Aid Cuts Threaten Zimbabwe’s Malaria Progress as Cases and Deaths Rise – Save the Children

Hard-won progress toward eliminating malaria in Zimbabwe is being reversed following cuts to foreign aid, with malaria cases and deaths surging across the country, according to Save the Children. As of mid-April 2026, Zimbabwe had recorded over 65,000 malaria cases in 2026, nearly double the number recorded during the same period in 2025. The organization reported 174 malaria-related deaths by mid-April 2026, nearly double the number for the same period in 2025.

By contrast, between January and April 2024 — before the aid cuts — Zimbabwe recorded only around 17,000 malaria cases and 34 deaths, which is just about half of the cases and deaths reported over the same period in 2025 after the global aid cuts began. Save the Children, one of four partners implementing the country’s largest malaria programme, stated that the closure of the Zimbabwe Assistance Program in Malaria has led to shortages of insecticide-treated mosquito nets, delays in vector control operations, and weakened disease surveillance.

Heavy rainfall and fluctuating weather patterns have further promoted the spread of the disease, compounding the impact of reduced intervention efforts. Malaria remains the single largest killer of children over one month of age globally, accounting for 17 percent of deaths in this age group, with most fatalities occurring in endemic areas of sub-Saharan Africa, according to a recent World Health Organization report.

The aid cuts followed the premature ending of the second phase of Zimbabwe’s largest malaria programme, which had been on track toward eliminating the deadly disease. The disruption in funding has compromised critical malaria control measures, including the distribution of mosquito nets and indoor residual spraying, leaving hundreds of thousands of people increasingly exposed to mosquito bites.

These developments align with broader trends observed in other countries facing similar funding reductions. In neighboring Zambia, health officials have reported increasing malaria hospitalizations due to the inability to continue indoor residual spraying, a key prevention method. Analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 80 percent of USAID’s malaria awards were terminated following policy shifts, with 83 percent of its programs canceled overall.

The U.S. Agency for International Development had been the world’s largest funding agency for humanitarian aid, and its withdrawal has disrupted supply chains and case management efforts in multiple high-burden countries. As governments negotiate new bilateral health agreements under the America First Global Health Strategy, concerns persist that the loss of sustained funding will exacerbate rising global malaria fatality rates, which have been increasing since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Save the Children emphasized that the reversal in Zimbabwe underscores the fragility of public health gains when dependent on fluctuating international support. Without sustained investment in prevention, treatment, and surveillance systems, hard-won progress against malaria can quickly erode, putting vulnerable populations — especially young children — at renewed risk.