Zimbabwe's health system collapsed in the late 2000s during the economic crisis under Robert Mugabe, forcing hospital closures and contributing to a cholera outbreak in 2008 to 2009 that killed more than 4,000 people. Recovery has been partial.

Why is Zimbabwe part of the ARILAC AMR programme?

Zimbabwe was selected for ARILAC, launched 6 May 2026, because its AMR laboratory capacity was severely degraded by the health system collapse of the 2000s and has only partially been rebuilt, leaving critical surveillance gaps.Source: Africa CDC

Background

Zimbabwe is a landlocked Southern African country bordered by Zambia, Mozambique, South Africa, and Botswana. Its population of roughly 16 million (2024 estimate) has been shaped by one of the most severe economic contractions in modern African history, under the long rule of Robert Mugabe, who governed from independence in 1980 until his removal in a military-assisted transition in November 2017. President Emmerson Mnangagwa succeeded him. The economy collapsed in the late 2000s, marked by hyperinflation and the effective destruction of the formal health system. Harare is the capital. Recovery has been partial and uneven; Zimbabwe still faces high poverty rates and a substantially weakened public sector, though the economy has stabilised in recent years.

Zimbabwe's health system collapse in the late 2000s — marked by the closure of hospitals and a 2008 to 2009 cholera outbreak that killed more than 4,000 people — Left permanent gaps in laboratory and surveillance infrastructure. AMR monitoring was among the capabilities lost and only partially rebuilt. Zimbabwe is one of eight AU member states selected for ARILAC (Advancing Regional Integrated Laboratory Capacity for AMR Control), launched in Addis Ababa on 6 May 2026 . The programme's four-year timeline will need to address the legacy of infrastructure loss as well as current AMR surveillance gaps.

Source Material

Zimbabwe

How the World Sees Them

African Union

Zimbabwe's inclusion acknowledges one of the most severe health system regressions on the continent and the need for structured external support to rebuild surveillance capacity.

European Union

For Team Europe, Zimbabwe represents a test of whether ARILAC can deliver in a country whose laboratory infrastructure was effectively dismantled within living memory.