Author: Michael Gwarisa

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

United States Launches Two Projects Worth US$78 Million to Provide Critical HIV Healthcare Services

Michael Gwarisa

DEMONSTRATING its commitment to the people of Zimbabwe, the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), launched two projects worth a combined US$78 million to provide critical HIV healthcare services for over half a million Zimbabweans. HealthTimes Reporter “The United States is proud to stand with the people of Zimbabwe to address HIV,” stated USAID/Zimbabwe Mission Director, Mr. Art Brown. Together with our partners, USAID is ensuring that people living with HIV can start treatment early, adhere to treatment, reach…

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Stunting Remains Zimbabwe’s Leading Form Of Malnutrition In Children- ZimVAC 2020

Michael Gwarisa

CHILD Stunting continues to slow efforts to address malnutrition in Zimbabwe amidst indications that stunting remains high at 29.4% for the children under the age of five according to the 2020 Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee (ZimVAC) survey. By Michael Gwarisa According to the ZimVAC, the national stunting prevalence was reported to be 29.4% among children6-59 months. The Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) rate was 3.7% and below the WHO threshold for emergency. Children identified as underweight was 9.45 and comparable with other assessments Stunting remains high (29.4%) and the leading form…

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Women Cant Rape Men According to Zimbabwean Law

Michael Gwarisa

DO you all still remember those days a few years back when newspapers would be flooded with stories of women who would target drunk unsuspecting men, have sex with them without their consent for the purposes of harvesting sperms? Almost every headline screamed “Women Rapists On The Loose.” But do you know what the Zimbabwean law says about rape and the procedures one should take reporting a rape case? By Michael Gwarisa According to Zimbabwe’s Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act, it is impossible for a woman to rape a…

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More Zim Women Withdraw Rape and SGBV Cases from Police and Courts

Michael Gwarisa

IN a rather disturbing trend, numbers of women withdrawing rape and Sexual Gender Based Violence (SGBV) cases they would have filed with the police or courts have been increasing over the past few years. By Michael Gwarisa Even though the reasons behind the huge withdrawals are yet to be ascertained, it is largely believed that societal and family pressures could be the reason behind the huge spike in case being withdrawn by survivors. Presenting at a Media Sensitisation Workshop on reporting on SGBV in Zimbabwe that was organised by UNICEF,…

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Universities Contribution to COVID-19 Cuts Zim Import Bill By US$4 Million- NatPharm

Michael Gwarisa

LOCAL manufacturing of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), hand sanitisers, face masks and other essential equipment needed in the fight against COVID-19 by Zimbabwean Universities has manged to cut the import bill by  US$4 Million, HealthTimes has learnt. By Michael Gwarisa In an interview, NatPharm Acting Operations Manager, Mr Zealous Nyabadza said the contribution by tertiary institutions towards the COVID-19 fight had marked the beginning of a greater partnership between the organisation and tertiary institutions The partnership between NatPharm and Universities has drastically reduced the import bill by over USD4 Million…

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Zim Government Announces Phased Reopening Of Boarders

Michael Gwarisa

CABINET has announced a phased reopening of its land boarders to be effective December, 1 2020. By Michael Gwarisa Briefing a post cabinet media briefing, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister, Senator Monica Mutsvangwa said the phased opening of the boarders will be done while further assessment is being undertaken with regard to preparations for handling public passenger transport. Cabinet resolved that the opening of border posts be phased, beginning with Beitbridge, Plumtree, Victoria Falls, Chirundu, Nyamapanda and Forbes. The borders will open first to private passenger vehicles and pedestrian…

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COVID-19 Fatigue Is Real, Lets Just Hold On A little Longer Says Dr Tedros

Michael Gwarisa

WORLD Health Organisation (WHO) Director General, Dr  Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has implored countries the world over to continue adhering to WHO set COVID-19 prevention guidelines until a vaccine and medication has been approved. By Michael Gwarisa In a media statement, Dr Tedros said cases of COVID-19 were souring in other nations and last week saw the highest number of COVID-19 cases reported so far. Many countries in the northern hemisphere are seeing a concerning rise in cases and hospitalisations. And intensive care units are filling up to capacity in some…

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Say It Louder’ Webinar Series addresses the Impact of COVID-19 on Early and Unintended Pregnancy in the Eastern and Southern Africa Region

Michael Gwarisa

THE COVID-19 pandemic has impacted issues such as access to health and education services, including contraception, gender-based violence and teenage pregnancy, highlighting the critical need for targeted messaging, information and resources for young people. The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) released data showing that the pandemic could result in a projected seven million unintended pregnancies. Since July of 2019, UNESCO, SAfAIDS, UNFPA and Save the Children Sweden with support from PCI Media have been running the Let’s Talk campaign in the Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) region. The program aims to reduce early…

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VP Chiwenga Receives Three Ambulances From Redan

Michael Gwarisa

VICE President and Minister for Health and Child Care General (Rtd) Dr Constatntino Chiwenga has recieved a donation of three ambulances from Redan Coupons. The three units will service Masvingo, Gwanda and Marondera and they come with world class hospital standard life support medical equipment. By Michael Gwarisa The ambulances come with a thousand litres worth of dfi fuel coupons and cards each. …Details to follow

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The World Health Organization and Wikimedia Foundation expand access to trusted information about COVID-19 on Wikipedia

Michael Gwarisa

The collaboration is part of a shared commitment from both organizations to ensure everyone has access to critical public health information surrounding the global coronavirus pandemic. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit that administers Wikipedia, announced today a collaboration to expand the public’s access to the latest and most reliable information about COVID-19.  The collaboration will make trusted, public health information available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license at a time when countries face continuing resurgences of COVID-19 and social stability increasingly depends on the…

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