Author: Michael Gwarisa

Editor for HealthTimes, Zimbabwe's leading online health news publication

Operation of Hope Cleft Surgical Mission Back to Zimbabwe after two Years

Michael Gwarisa

The Operation of Hope Mission, a charity based organisation that offers free surgical operation to children and adults with cleft clip, cleft palate or other facial deformations is back in Zimbabwe this May, following two years of absence caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, raising hope for restoration for those with the condition. Staff Reporter Team leader Jennifer Trubenbach who is also the CEO and President of Operation of Hope Worldwide, said, “We are on a Mega Mission that will see us spending four weeks of free cleft surgery at Mpilo…

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“We Are Happy With Conditions Of Service.” – Nurses Associations……ZINA labels them bootlickers and opportunists out for a quick buck ……Associations position not reflective of nursing sector stance

Michael Gwarisa

THE Nurses and Midwives in Government Association (NMGA), the Zimbabwe Young Nurses Association (ZYNA) and the Zimbabwe Confederation of Midwives in Zimbabwe say they are happy with the prevailing conditions of service and incentives being offered by government to the nursing profession and the generality of the civil service. By Michael Gwarisa Their proclamation comes in the midst of one of the worst exodus of skilled personal in the history of the nursing and midwifery professions in Zimbabwe where over 2000 nurses have left for greener pastures since January 2021,…

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Parental Consent Laws Leave Adolescents Vulnerable To HIV Says UNAIDS

Michael Gwarisa

COUNTRIES with laws that forbid adolescents from accessing Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH) services without consent from their parents or guardians, tend to have higher HIV incidence and prevalence in young girls as compared to countries that have liberalized age of consent and opened up room for young people to make their own decisions. By Michael Gwarisa   Zimbabwe is among the many countries that still have age of consent laws and according to the UNAIDS weekly report, many countries have age of consent laws in relation to sexual activity that…

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Bulawayo Has Highest TB Death Rate In Zimbabwe…Overcrowding In Cowdry and Squatter Camps Fertile breeding ground for TB

Michael Gwarisa

…Parliament appeals for more funding for to end TB in Zimbabwe THE City of Bulawayo currently has the highest TB death rate of 16 percent, which is higher than the nationally set target of less than 5 percent, due to a myriad of risk factors chief among them being the high TB/HIV co-infection, delayed presentation at health facilities and rampart overcrowding in some of the city’s settlements. By Michael Gwarisa recently in Kadoma From the death audits carried out by the Bulawayo City council quarterly, the incidents of deaths are…

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Coca-Cola Foundation Partners Save the Children In Life-changing Water And Youth Empowerment Projects In Zim

Michael Gwarisa

MORE than 15,000 people including hundreds of patients and staff in five major health facilities, spanning four districts, are set to benefit from reliable, safe and clean water supply, Save the Children has said today. The organisation is also seeking to set up more young people on the path to self-reliance through vocational training, in two separate projects funded by The Coca-Cola Foundation. By Staff Reporter The water project seeks to provide the five health facilities, which also serve as COVID-19 isolation centres, with clean and safe water for their operations,…

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Buffalo Creek Spur Announces Financial Support To Kidzcan

Michael Gwarisa

… Spur to donate US$0.50 to KidzCan for every dessert purchased    Buffalo Creek Spur, one of Simbisa’s sought brands has today announced a partnership with KidzCan that will see the Simbisa owned restaurant offering financial support to vulnerable children diagnosed and living with cancer. Under the partnership, Buffalo Creek Spur will donate USD0.50 to KidzCan for every dessert purchased at Spur outlets. Funds from the partnership will assist in providing chemotherapy drugs, radiological and laboratory tests among other services. Warren Meares, the managing director of Simbisa Brands said, “As…

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‘We Found Love In a Hopeless Place:’ The tale of a Young HIV Positive Zimbabwean Couple

Michael Gwarisa

THERE was once a very dark period in HIV and AIDS when an HIV diagnosis was equivalent to a death sentence. It was during those days when many lives both young and old, were lost to the ravenous AIDS pandemic owing to the absence of effective treatment regimens, stigma and discrimination against people with HIV, ignorance and negative attitudes from healthcare workers, among other factors. By Michael Gwarisa Throughout that period, finding love as an HIV positive person especially if your status was known to the public was a Sisyphean…

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Sweet News!!! COVID-19 downgrading to an endemic stage

Michael Gwarisa

THE coronavirus pandemic is transitioning into an endemic stage where the virus will be spreading at a slower rate, making it more predictable and manageable within countries, a top World Health Organisation official has said. By Michael Gwarisa The difference between an epidemic and a pandemic isn’t in the severity of the disease, but the degree to which it spreads.A pandemic cuts across international boundaries, as opposed to regional epidemics. Speaking during a virtual press briefing, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the Regional Director of the World Health Organization Regional Office for…

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Zim Government suspends striking teachers

Michael Gwarisa

THE Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has with immediate effect suspended all teachers who have been absenting themselves from duty since the reopening of schools on February 7, 2022. By Michael Gwarisa In a statement, Education Minister, Dr Evelyn Ndlovu said, “The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education would like to inform the Nation and its valued stakeholders that all officials within the Ministry who absented themselves from duty since the official opening of schools on 7 February 2022 have been suspended without pay forthwith, for a period of…

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First Capital Bank Injects US$30,000 Towards NBSZ Solar Powered Cold Chain Initiative

Michael Gwarisa

FINANCIAL services concern, First Capital Bank Zimbabwe (FCB), has donated an amount to the tune of US$30,000 for a low cost renewable energy solution pilot project to complement the blood bank’s cold chain power system. By Michael Gwarisa The US$30,000 is part the US$180,000 that is required by be National Blood Service of Zimbabwe (NBSZ) to complete the solar project which when fully implemented, will ease the power outages induced woes the blood bank has been experiencing of late due to persistent and recurring power cuts. The NBSZ cold chain…

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