Author: Healthtimes

Experts Rename African Linked Monkeypox Variants To End Stereotypes

Healthtimes

A group of global experts convened by WHO has agreed on new names for monkeypox virus variants, as part of ongoing efforts to align the names of the monkeypox disease, virus and variants—or clades—with current best practices. The experts agreed to name the clades using Roman numerals. By Staff Reporter The monkeypox virus was named upon first discovery in 1958, before current best practices in naming diseases and viruses were adopted. Similarly for the name of the disease it causes. Major variants were identified by the geographic regions where they…

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Mat North and Masvingo Provinces Have Largest Number Of People Practicing Open Defecation

Healthtimes

THE number of households still using the bush as toilets have remained high in Matabelenand North and Masvingo provinces. Staff Reporter According to data from a Housing Characteristics and Living Conditions Survey that has been released by the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency(ZIMSTAT), 50.0 percent of households in Mat North province still practice open defecation while followed by Masvingo where 35 percent of the households are also using the bush to relieve themselves. Mat South and Midlands province both had 31.5% followed by Mashonaland West which had 23.6 percent, Mashonaland Central…

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Respect welfare of journalists: ZUJ

Healthtimes

The newly elected executive of the Zimbabwe Union of journalist (ZUJ) said lack of the National Employment Council (NEC) for the Media Industry has played a role in impoverishing journalists as well as expose them to abuse by their employers and powerful people. By Staff Reporter ZUJ officer responsible for Training and Welfare of journalists, Zororai Nkomo said journalists  in Zimbabwe are subjected to a harsh and abusive working environment punctuated by poor salaries and harassment. Journalism is a sacred profession, but for many decades our member’s dignity and decorum…

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Restrictive Termination Of Pregnancy Laws Won’t Stop Unsafe Abortions

Healthtimes

As part of my work as Executive Director of Women’s Action Group, I have been conducting Value Clarification and Attitude Transformation (VCAT) workshops on abortion. Through them, I have interacted with more than 500 young people, policy makers and service providers. It is amazing how each and every one of the participants has an abortion story to tell. This shows the extent to which women are having abortions, and mostly unsafe ones. The fact that women are having unsafe abortions was confirmed by a study by Guttmacher Institute (2016) in…

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Botswana Removes Mask Wearing Mandates

Healthtimes

WEARING of masks is now optional in Botswana especially when outdoors. By Kuda Pembere In a statement, Botswana’s Health and Wellness Ministry’s Permanent Secretary Dr Christopher Nyanga said they arrived at this decision after noticing many of their citizens getting vaccinated. By Kuda Pembere “The Ministry of Health informs members of the public that effective today, wearing of masks in outdoor areas will no longer be mandatory. Having reviewed the disease burden in the country and globally and most importantly, the high numbers of people vaccinated against COVID-19 in Botswana,…

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No Monkeypox In Zimbabwe As Yet- Health Ministry

Healthtimes

The Ministry of Health and Child Care has reassured the Zimbabwean public that there has not been any Monkeypox case in Zimbabwe. Health Reporter In a statement, the Ministry of Health urged people to report any suspected cases of Monkeypox to the country’s health emergency number, 2019. The Ministry of Health and Child Care would like to warn the public and its stakeholders of an on-going outbreak of monkeypox in non-endemic countries including neighboring South Africa. Currently no cases have been reported in Zimbabwe and is monitoring the evolving situation…

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ZCLDN Calls For Decriminalizing of Drug Use

Healthtimes

THE Zimbabwe Civil Liberties and Drug Network (ZCLDN) say they welcome the move by MCAZ of issuing licences to all companies and individuals who are in the production and selling of medicinal cannabis but have reservations with the part where the authority warned that those caught selling cannabis without licences will be prosecuted for selling unapproved medicines. By Staff Reporter In a statement, ZCLDN said the approavl of medicinal cannabis will go a long way in assisting people with chronic illnesses such as cancer and arthritis, among others. As an…

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“The HIV response is in danger—the promise of ending AIDS is under threat “

Healthtimes

Data just released in the new UNAIDS global AIDS report, In Danger, reveals that the world is not on course to end AIDS by 2030. For Zimbabwe the hard-won progress against HIV is threatened by deteriorating humanitarian situation and the country’s worsening economic circumstances, including currency volatility which are adding to an already difficult situation for Zimbabwe’s 1.3 million people living with HIV. Inequities are widening. Household food insecurity and limited access to hygiene, sanitation and water have a disproportionate impact on people living with HIV. HIV medication should not…

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Botswana reaches 95-95-95 HIV target

Healthtimes

Botswana becomes the second nation in the world, after Eswatini, to reach a landmark UN goal towards eradicating AIDS, researchers said Wednesday, in what health experts hailed as “stellar results”. By Staff Reporter The country according to a study published ahead of the 24th International AIDS Conference has met the so-called “95-95-95” target on HIV diagnosis, treatment and viral suppression several years early. About one in five people in Botswana live with the virus — one of the highest rates in the world — according to the UN AIDS agency…

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Media critical in ending TB in the mining sector

Healthtimes

A third of tuberculosis (TB) infections in Southern Africa are linked to mining activities and recent studies estimate that 3 to 7 percent of miners are becoming ill with TB each year (TIMS Epidemiological Study,2012). Health Times Reporter in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania To address these challenges, media practitioners are from 11 SADC member countries converged yesterday, 27 July 2022 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania for a two-days sensitisation workshop to enhance informed reporting on TB-related issues including TB in the mining sector at the invitation of the East, Central…

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