Thousands of sex workers are struggling to protect themselves against HIV after the United States abruptly cut foreign health aid earlier this year, leaving clinics that once provided free condoms, antiretrovirals, and basic care underfunded or shuttered.
Sharon Mukakanhanga, 43, recalls the desperate measures she had to take when her regular clinic ran out of supplies.
She showed AFP a pair of baby socks she had once used as a makeshift barrier for protection.
“These little socks served as condoms when I became so desperate after the American government withdrew its support from my all-time go-to safe haven,” she said.
The US-backed programmes, including PEPFAR the world’s largest HIV initiative have been a critical lifeline for Zimbabwe’s fragile health system for nearly two decades.
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Government figures show that the first half of 2025 saw 5,932 AIDS-related deaths, up from 5,712 in the same period last year.
According to a report by NewZimbabwe, the sudden withdrawal of funds has left clinics overwhelmed, and sex workers are among the most affected.
“They don’t know where to go. They don’t know where to seek services,” said Charlotte Pignon, project lead at medical charity Doctors Without Borders, which runs independent clinics in Harare suburbs such as Epworth and Mbare.
For HIV-positive sex worker Cecilia Ruzvidzo, 47, the impact was immediate.
“It was a very difficult period. I literally lost my mind,” said the mother of four.
She described leaving her most recent clinic visit with only ten days’ worth of antiretrovirals and no access to condoms, putting herself and her clients at risk.
Wonder Mufunda, chief executive of the Harare-based think-tank Centre for Humanitarian Analytics, said the US had previously provided roughly $522 million in support, with $90 million directed specifically to HIV programmes.
“You wake up and you have lost such funding, there were serious disruptions,” he told AFP, warning that deaths could rise further.
The economic crisis is also pushing more women into sex work, with an estimated 40,500 engaged nationwide.
Young workers, like 20-year-old Cleopatra Katsande, said the intense competition made it difficult to insist on safer sex, with some charging as little as 50 US cents per client far less than the cost of a box of condoms.
For veterans like Ruzvidzo, survival left no other choice.
“We knew it wasn’t safe,” she said of using baby socks as condoms. “But I had to feed my children.”
