The government is considering converting the country’s long-standing 3% AIDS levy into a broader health levy to address shifting public health priorities and a rising burden of non-communicable diseases.

Speaking during a mid-term budget review breakfast meeting hosted by the Daily News, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance George Guvamatanga said internal government consultations are underway to revamp the funding model as HIV/AIDS yields ground to other life-threatening conditions.

Guvamatanga noted that while HIV/AIDS remains a critical public health issue, recent medical statistics show that Zimbabwe’s national disease profile has fundamentally transformed, with conditions such as cancer, hypertension, and diabetes now driving mortality rates higher across the population.

“This is a conversation that we are having within the government, which is still under consideration. We were asking the Minister of Health to say, is AIDS still the main concern from a health perspective for our nation?

“Is it now cancer or is it high blood pressure? Is it the diabetic situation? So we were then saying that possibly we need to convert this AIDS levy into a health levy, which will cater not only for AIDS. Because people are dying a lot more from other diseases,” Guvamatanga said.

Under the proposed reform, the existing 3% levy deducted from formal sector earnings would be phased out in favour of the new health levy.

The restructured fund is expected to finance the treatment of non-communicable diseases while providing dedicated financial resources to support the implementation of the newly introduced Medical Services Amendment Act.

Guvamatanga said restructuring the existing tax mechanism would prevent the need to introduce additional health levies or seek alternative funding sources to back healthcare obligations under the new legal framework.

“The health statistics do not indicate that AIDS is the major concern. So, we are saying maybe we should consider converting this to a health levy, which will then address the key health concerns of our nation.

“From that perspective, if we convert this into a health levy, there will be money to pay for the new medical bills that have been introduced. We don’t even need to look for money elsewhere. The money will be there,” Guvamatanga said.

He added that the revamped fund would establish a formal payout line to reimburse healthcare providers who deliver care to patients in compliance with the updated health legislation, ensuring public health facilities remain financially sustainable while broadening treatment coverage nationwide.