Michael Gwarisa |

UN Agencies, Partners Hold GBV, HIV Training For Interfaith Organisations

September 28, 2021September 28, 2021 Michael Gwarisa

THE Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) together with the UN Women, UNESCO and the National Aids Council (NAC) are hosting a tow day Virtual Capacity Training for Interfaith Network Members and Faith Based Organizations on Male Engagement for Training on Gender Based Violence and HIV. By Michael Gwarisa The training marks the third such event the organizations have jointly hosted in 2021 in a move meant to equip leaders from various religious and interfaith groups with knowledge around GBV and HIV issues so as to reduce…

Protect Corruption Whistleblowers- UN Urges Zim Gvt

September 27, 2021September 28, 2021 Michael Gwarisa

THE United Nations (UN) Zimbabwe country representative, Ms. Maria Ribeiro’s has on called government and all organisations dealing with corruption to ensure the safety and protection of whistle blowers so as to encourage the culture of reporting corruption in the country. By Michael Gwarisa Speaking at the opening event of a two day National Workshop on Whistleblower protection in Harare, Ms Ribeiro said whistleblowers play a pivotal in the exposing of corrupt activities in the public and private sector. We all need to acknowledge that information about acts of corruption…

Ignore Zoonotic Diseases At Own Peril- Dr Marume

September 27, 2021 Michael Gwarisa

ONE of Zimbabwe’s leading Veterinary Pharmacist, Dr Amos Marume has called on government and the health sector at large to invest heavily towards Zoonotic disease surveillance and early detection in order to avoid and contain future diseases outbreaks. By Michael Gwarisa Zoonotic Diseases are disease transmitted from animals to humans and Dr Marume’s call comes in the midst of a COVID-19 pandemic that is also believed to have originated from bats and other wild animals. Addressing delegates at the just ended Retail Pharmacists Association conference in Harare, Dr Marume said…

2021 SRHR Activism Awards Winners Honored

September 26, 2021 Michael Gwarisa

THE Sexual Reproductive Health and Right Africa Trust (SAT), has awarded young people who excelled in advancing work around SRHR in communities throughout the year 2021 despite challenges that were brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. By Michael Gwarisa The SRHR Activism awards are amongst other reasons aimed at motivating young people to advocate for their Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) in their respective communities. Officiating at the awards event, Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) Zimbabwe Country Director, Ms Sophia Mukasa Monico said young people have a…

Zim’s Forex Auction System Backlog Chokes Pharmaceutical Operations

September 26, 2021September 26, 2021 Michael Gwarisa

DELAYS in the disbursement of foreign currency by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) foreign exchange auction system is threatening the existence of Zimbabwe’s pharmaceutical sector amidst indications that pharmaceutical operators are in some instances going for two and half months without getting any disbursement from the auction system. By Michael Gwarisa Zimbabwe adopted the Dutch Foreign Exchange System in June 2020 whereby business can access foreign currency at an RBZ set exchange rate in a move that was meant to stabilize and tame the peripatetic parallel market rate. Speaking…

Lockdown Sees Spike In Unsafe Abortions In Guruve

September 25, 2021September 25, 2021 Michael Gwarisa

RECURRING COVID-19 lockdown measures and a prolonged period outside learning institutions has resulted in increased Early Unintended Pregnancies (EUPs) in young adolescent girls, leading to a record spike in unsafe abortions amongst the 12- to 24-year-old age groups in Guruve, Mashonaland Central. By Michael Gwarisa recently in Guruve In Zimbabwe, abortion or termination of pregnancy is only permissible if the pregnancy poses a risk or threat to the life and health of the mother and child and also if the pregnancy is as a result of rape or incest. However,…

MSF Turns Heat On Global Leaders To Ensure Equitable Vaccines Distribution

September 22, 2021 Michael Gwarisa

THE Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is capitalising on the ongoing United Nations (UN) General Assembly to pressure leading global leaders and vaccines manufacturers to remove restrictions on vaccines access for low and middle income countries. By Michael Gwarisa Dr. Maria Guevara, the MSF International Medical Secretary who is attending the UN general assembly highlighted the urgent need for concrete actions that should be taken to turn a corner on the COVID-19 pandemic. The global response to the pandemic has failed to deliver equal and equitable access to date, with the…

Cholera kills over 2,300 in Nigeria’s Worst Outbreak In Years

September 21, 2021 Michael Gwarisa

Cholera has killed more than 2,300 people and infected thousands more, mostly children, in Nigeria since the start of the year, a senior health official said on Monday, in the nation’s worst outbreak in years. SOURCE: MEDICALEXPRESS Africa’s most populous nation suffers from a high rate of water-borne diseases as a result of dilapidated infrastructure and under-investment.` As at September 5, 2021, a total of 69,925 suspected cases, including 2,323 deaths, have been reported,” Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) head of communications, Yahya Disu, told AFP. Health sector sources…

AIDS Levy, International Financing Behind Zim’s AIDS Response Success- UNAIDS

September 20, 2021 Michael Gwarisa

THE Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) says Zimbabwe remains a leader in as far as HIV treatment on African continent at the back of a myriad of factors chief among them being a well-coordinated domestic funding mechanism for HIV/AIDS and support from international partners. By Michael Gwarisa In update on how Inequalities are at the heart of uneven progress in the AIDS response, UNAIDS said progress against HIV has been uneven with other countries struggling to contain the pandemic. The gains made through people-centred approaches within…

#BREAKING: More Than 300 Healthcare Workers Receive Land From Government

September 18, 2021September 18, 2021 Michael Gwarisa

THE Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural settlement has approved a request by the Medical and Dental Private Practitioners of Zimbabwe Association Trust (MDPPZA) to have all its 372 members drawn from doctors and other healthcare workers to be considered for land allocation. By Michael Gwarisa The development is apart of government’s move to incentivize and appreciate the role Private healthcare practitioners have played in complementing government’s efforts to combat the raging COVID-19 pandemic and other healthcare hazards that have bedeviled the country over the years. In a…