Author: Healthtimes

Multi-stakeholder approach key in NTD elimination

Healthtimes

By Dr Kennedy Mubaiwa, Higherlife Foundation CEO Tadiwa, an 11-year-old Grade six student in rural Zimbabwe has missed school for more than a week. She has a distended stomach, nausea, pain, and dizziness. Tadiwa is well known for playing in a nearby stream, the only water source for her village. Today Tadiwa visited the clinic, where she was diagnosed with intestinal worms otherwise known as soil-transmitted helminths (STH) and treatment was started immediately. Intestinal worms are one of the Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) affecting more than 1 billion children worldwide.…

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Four Neglected Tropical Diseases That Shouldn’t Be

Healthtimes

How USAID is leading the charge against elephantiasis, scabies, intestinal worms, and yaws in the Pacific Islands Did you know that 1 billion people worldwide are affected by neglected tropical diseases? Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are parasitic and bacterial conditions predominantly found in tropical regions of the world that plague many low-income and marginalized populations. In the Pacific Islands, USAID works with national and local governments, development partners, and communities to build awareness, conduct screenings, and deliver medicine to help combat the following four most prevalent neglected tropical diseases affecting…

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Unpacking Zimbabwe’s post abortion care responsibility and gaps

Healthtimes

By Memory Pamela Kadau Across the world, abortion related complications constitute part of the major reasons women seek emergency obstetric care. According to the Post Abortion Care Consortium, Post abortion care (PAC) consists of emergency treatment for complications related to spontaneous or induced abortions. It also includes family planning and birth spacing counseling, and provision of family planning methods for the prevention of further mistimed or unplanned pregnancies that may result in repeat induced abortions. Comprehensive PAC also includes services such as medical assessment for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS.…

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COVID-19 still a global health emergency, says WHO

Healthtimes

The verdict is in: The COVID-19 pandemic is still a global health emergency, the World Health Organization has concluded. But it might not be for much longer. The decision from the WHO — exactly three years after COVID-19 was first declared a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) — comes after a meeting of the COVID-19 emergency committee on January 27. WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus concurred with the committee’s advice that there is a continued risk posed by COVID-19. The news comes as countries increasingly deliberate how…

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Dominican Convent Expels Eight Girls For Drug Use

Healthtimes

HARARE stationed Private Catholic girls high school, Dominican Convent  has expelled eight students for partaking in illicit drugs and substances at a recent trip in Nyanga. By Staff Reporter In a letter written to parents by the Head of Upper School at Domincan Convent, Sr Kudzai Mutsure, she said they had exhausted all disciplinary channels and expulsion was in the best interest of both the school and the affected pupils. I write on a sad note to notify you that the 8 girls we had put on suspension pending investigations…

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#BREAKING: Mr Richard Rukwata Appointed MCAZ Substantive Director General

Healthtimes

THE Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ) board has announced the appointment of Mr Richard Rukwata as the organization’s substantative boss. By Staff Reporter He headed the medicines and medical devices regulator as interim director general since 2020. In a statement, the MCAZ Board Chair, Dr Misheck Chiware said Mr Rukwata was deserving of the appointment. The Board of the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Richard Tendayi Rukwata as the substantive Director-General of the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe. The appointment…

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Botswana Receives Medications Consignment

Healthtimes

THE government of Botswana has procured an assortment of medications to scale up diseases control and treating various ailments. By Botswana Correspondent In a statement, Botswana Ministry of Health and Wellness Permanent Secretary, Dr Christopher Nyanga confirmed the development. Following the press briefing conducted by the Minister of Health Hon. Dr Edwin G. Dikoloti on 16 January 2023, where he assured Botswana that more medications were expected in the country, the Ministry of Health has received two consignments of medications procured. “Just yesterday (23 January 2023), the ministry received medications…

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Zimbabwe’s Primary School Enrollment Ratio Among The Highest In Africa-UNICEF

Healthtimes

AS Zimbabwe joins the world to commemorate the International Day of Education, UNICEF Zimbabwe Country Representative, Dr. Tajudeen Oyewale has applauded the country for having one of the highest net enrollment ratio in primary school on the African continent. By Staff Reporter  According to UNICEF data, nine out of ten children of primary school age in Zimbabwe are in school and the figure has remained stable in the last decade, which is a remarkable accomplishment. He however said while the country’s enrollment levels are impressive, there is still need to…

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Large-scale HIV vaccine efficacy study stopped

Healthtimes

AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition (AVAC) reports that the Mosaico study, a large-scale HIV vaccine efficacy study also known as HVTN 706/HPX3002, was stopped early for non-efficacy. By Staff Reporter The study took place in several countries in North and South America and Europe to test the safety and efficacy of the adenovirus26-based vaccine regimen among 3,900 cis-gender men and transgender individuals who have sex with cis-gender men and/or transgender individuals. An independent data and safety monitoring board, at a scheduled review of the trial data, found the regimen to be…

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Men who use Viagra are 25% less likely to suffer early death: USC study

Healthtimes

Viagra apparently can help men with more than just erectile dysfunction. By Brooke Steinberg A new study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine found that Viagra lowers the risk of heart disease in men by up to 39% — and it even helps reduce the risk of early death. Researchers from the University of Southern California studied 70,000 adult men with an average age of 52 who’d been diagnosed with erectile dysfunction at some point between 2006 and 2020. They looked at the participants’ medical records to see who…

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