TOXIC ALARM: Zimbabwe farmers feed ARVs to chickens in bid to boost growth

In a drive to maximise profits, Zimbabwean chicken farmers regularly buy antiretroviral drugs (ARVs), intended for HIV patients in the country, on the black market to mix into chicken feed. Farmers believe the drugs protect their stock from diseases and act as growth stimulants. This means fewer deaths and quicker turnaround of chickens for slaughter. But, the practice is unlawful and harmful to the health of unsuspecting human consumers of the meat.The Southern Africa Accountability Journalism Project (SA AJP) interviewed two people operating on the frontlines of broiler chicken farming in the Harare area, both of whom illuminated the practice.Zimbabwe has a high incidence of HIV. Experts say there are concerns that repeated exposure to antiretroviral residues could interfere with HIV treatment or contribute to drug resistance, although direct evidence for this in humans is limited.The use of ARVs in chicken feed has been documented in other African countries, notably in studies conducted in Tanzania and Uganda. But, the practice as it occurs in Zimbabwean chicken farms has not been widely known or exposed.A farmer’s admissionJane (not her real name) is a broiler chicken farmer operating in the Waterfalls neighbourhood of Harare. She agreed to be interviewed at her farm on condition of anonymity, because she was admitting to doing something illegal. She admitted that she covertly mixed ARVs – illegally bought from a health worker at a local hospital – into the feed for her chickens.Jane’s operation sits hidden in a backyard, disguised as an ordinary residential property. From the street, nothing suggests poultry. The main house fronts the property, while a high wall shields what lies behind. At the centre of her property, the chicken houses are out of sight, accessible only through a narrow gate. Staff cottages line the rear, another rear gate leads directly into the pens and CCTV cameras watch over the compound.“I get my monthly supply from the health official who has a network of peddlers who handle the business on his behalf,” she said. She held up a small, empty, blue bottle which once had contained the ARVs bought from the official.“My first interaction with the official was when a fellow farmer introduced me to him. I paid a deposit to show that I was serious about making a purchase from him,” she added.“He then directed me to his peddler found at Copacabana, a local bus terminus in the Harare CBD, who requested a code which I supplied, and I was given my stash of ARVs.”A woman holds an empty bottle of ARVs that camefrom a poultry farm in Harare on 17 July 2026. Some poultry farmers are allegedly mixing ARVs with chicken feed. (Photo: Aaron Ufumeli / SAAJP) This empty bottle of ARVs came from a poultry farm in Harare, photographed on 13 July 2026. (Photo: Aaron Ufumeli / SAAJP) Drug peddlers often use coded words or phrases when communicating with their buyers, she explained. These codes can be random names, letters or numbers which are relayed at drug collection points and they are frequently changed to avoid detection.Jane explained that it was not, at first, the desire to stimulate unnatural growth in her chickens that led her to consider ARVs. She merely wanted to bring down the rate at which her stock was dying from common poultry diseases.“Mortality was eating my profits,” she said.“Newcastle disease would sweep through, and I was losing half my birds in some cycles. There was no money left for school fees.”After hearing about her challenges at a poultry workshop held in Harare, a fellow poultry farmer came to her farm in Waterfalls. For a fee – $100 paid in two instalments – this confidant offered to help.What she offered was TLD, a combination of antiretroviral drugs consisting of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, lamivudine and dolutegravir. It is a once-daily fixed-dose tablet recommended for adults and adolescents, according to Zvandiri, an HIV support programme. In Zimbabwe, this triple-therapy regimen is the preferred first-line treatment for adults and adolescents living with HIV.She began mixing the crushed tablets into her chicken’s feed and water.“The mortality rate plummeted, and my broiler chickens grew faster. I have since expanded my operation from 200 to 10,000 birds per cycle (over about two years). And, instead of waiting six weeks, I could sell them (for slaughter) at just four weeks,” she added.Unauthorised ARV use in chickens farming is prohibited and harmful to human consumersAccording to Zimbabwe’s Medicines and Allied Substances Control Act, medicines intended for human use are regulated separately from veterinary medicines, and using human medicines in food-producing animals without appropriate authorisation is prohibited.One-week-old broiler chicks feed at a poultry farm just outside Harare on 17 July 2026. (Photo: Aaron Ufumeli / SAAJP) A worker pours chicken feed for one-week-old chicksat the poultry farm outside. (Photo: Aaron Ufumeli / SAAJP) Daniel Zulu is the former head of the Toxicology and Clinical Department at the Government Analyst Laboratory in Zimbabwe and now runs his own pharmacy business. He said that feeding ARVs to broiler chickens is harmful to human consumers who buy and consume the meat. Repeated exposure to antiretroviral drug residues, he explained, could pose risks for people living with HIV.Although the extent of those risks has not been well studied, he was of the strong opinion that HIV-positive patients, who consume poultry exposed to ARVs could potentially see a reduction in the effectiveness of antiretroviral treatment.Zimbabwe currently has 1.3 million people living with HIV, with 1.2 million of them currently on ARVs, according to statistics from the Zimbabwean Ministry of Health and Child Care.The loss of USAID funding disrupted HIV service delivery in Zimbabwe, affecting medicine distribution, patient management and clinic staffing. Although the government and other donors have sought to maintain access to antiretroviral treatment, the diversion of ARVs by corrupt officials into the black market could further affect the availability of the drug for those most critically in need.Other consumers who don’t have HIV may also be exposed to these drugs through contaminated meat. Zulu said this raises concerns about potential long-term health effects, including possible toxicity and other risks that warrant further research.Farmers believe ARVs stimulate growth and drive profitsCommercial broiler chickens normally follow a five- to six-week growth cycle, reaching 2kg to 2.5kg by market age under standard management.In a 2019 study, Ugandan farmers told researchers they fed antiretroviral drugs to broiler chickens because they believed the drugs promoted rapid weight gain. Researchers confirmed the presence of ARV residues in feed and poultry. (In spite of this widespread belief, no controlled study has demonstrated that ARVs themselves accelerate broiler growth.)Farmers reported obtaining ARVs within their communities, either for cash or in‑kind payment. Laboratory screening confirmed ARV residues across chicken and pig feed samples.A Tanzanian study found residues of the antiretroviral drug lamivudine in broiler chicken muscle and blood, pig muscle and blood, and animal feed, providing evidence that human-designated ARVs were being used in animal production.Still, little research has been done on the practice in Zimbabwe.An agricultural business advisory officer’s accountJane’s accounts of feeding her chickens ARVs were confirmed by experiences of an agricultural business advisory officer who works at the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development in Harare. His job entails working directly with farmers to improve productivity, profitability and resilience in the sector. He also agreed to be interviewed on condition of anonymity, because he is a government official and did not have clearance to speak to the media.“I have been on site visits to different farms across the country,” he explained, adding that he regularly interacted with farmers who used ARVs as medication and growth hormones for their stock. The practice appeared to be widespread, he said.“The farmers admitted that they were using ARVs mixed with their chicken feed to accelerate broiler growth for financial gain.”On these site visits, the officer said he often sought to educate poultry farmers on the dangers of using unprescribed human medication when feeding and treating their broiler chickens.One-week-old broiler chicks feed at a poultry farm just outside Harare on 17 July 2026.(Photo: Aaron Ufumeli / SAAJP) In his account, the advisory officer described what he considered to be unusual characteristics in the meat of broiler chickens fed with ARVs.“When slaughtered, the chickens have a reddish abnormal colour that is not found in free-range broiler chicken,” he said.“The taste of the chicken when cooked is bland and differs from the natural flavour of free-range broiler chickens.”Other medicines used in cocktailIn Zimbabwe, ARVs are actually just one ingredient in a cocktail of human medications mixed into chicken feed by farmers, said Brian Fungai Chikodze, a registrar for the Council of Veterinary Surgeons of Zimbabwe. ARVs are most often mixed with other antimicrobial agents.Antimicrobial agents are medicines used to prevent and treat infectious diseases. They include antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals and antiparasitic drugs.According to the World Health Organization, the misuse and overuse of antimicrobials in humans and animals, including poultry, accelerates the development of antimicrobial resistance, in which bacteria and other microorganisms evolve and no longer respond to medicines that would normally kill or inhibit them. This makes infections harder to treat in both people and animals.Antimicrobial resistance is one of the world’s leading public health threats.In February 2026, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) said antibiotic-resistant bacteria are becoming a growing challenge in Zimbabwe’s poultry sector as the country works to reduce antimicrobial use in poultry and dairy production.“In Zimbabwe, easy access to medicine through informal markets, limited laboratory facilities for testing and misuse of antibiotics contribute to the growing risk of antibiotic resistance in humans,” the report stated.The FAO says antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global health threat that disproportionately affects sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. More than 1.2 million deaths were directly attributable to bacterial antimicrobial resistance in 2019, with children under the age of five among the most affected.In Zimbabwe, the FAO has identified the broiler production value chain as a considerable user of antimicrobials, driven in part by production practices and demand for affordable poultry products.“Whatever antimicrobial is used in the animals is going to be passed to the human consumers and simple infections become harder to treat, and people will be sicker for longer and in cases die from infections that were previously curable,” Chikodze added.Jane, the poultry farmer in Waterfalls understands this risk.“I don’t eat the ARV-fed chickens,” she said.“I have my own coop behind my house where I raise free-range chickens for me and my children.”Government does not respondMedia queries were submitted to the Ministry of Health and Child Care about the likely health implications associated with the allegations that the practice is widespread in Zimbabwe. Spokesperson Donald Mujiri acknowledged receipt of the query, and committed to respond. At time of publication, no such response was forthcoming.The Department of Veterinary Services, which falls under the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, did not respond to emails or follow-up calls. DMThis report has been produced by the Southern Africa Accountability Journalism Project (SA | AJP), an initiative of the Henry Nxumalo Foundation with the financial assistance of the European Union. It can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union.