•Since the start of the COVID-19 lockdown, the Zimbabwe TB and HIV response has seen a 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 COVID-19 response at the expense of the HIV and TB response should be avoided.•There is an urgent need to protect essential HIV and TB health prevention and treatment services and to resist the ongoing verticalization of COVID-19 services. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has challenged health systems worldwide. In Zimbabwe, the COVID-19 response has seen the diversion of human capital, equipment, and other resources that were meant for the HIV and tuberculosis (TB) programmes. In a country with one of the worst HIV and TB burdens globally, the authors discuss this public health dilemma of sustained HIV and TB services in the context of a new threat – COVID-19.