Highlights
Since the start of the COVID19 lockdown the Zimbabwe TB & HIV response has seen substantial reduction in the number of clients receiving services.
In a country with one of the worst HIV and TB burdens globally, the authors argue that the diversion of resources, including financial, to the COVID19 response at the expense of HIV & TB response should be avoided.
There is an urgent need to protect essential HIV and TB health prevention and treatment services and resist the on-going verticalization of COVID-19 services.
Control of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) heavily relies on universal access to testing to identify who is infected; tracking them to make sure they do not spread the disease further; and tracing those with whom they have been in contact. The recent surge in COVID-19 cases in Zimbabwe is an urgent national public health concern and requires coordinated efforts to scale up testing using capacity already in existence in country. There is need for substantial decentralization of testing, investment in better working conditions for frontline health workers and implementation of measures to curb corruption within government structures
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