Author: Michael Gwarisa

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

Tablets and Tenacity: How Young HIV Peer Supporters Are Transforming Treatment Adherence in Rural Zimbabwe

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa in Gutu Every morning, 20-year-old Christin Madombi wakes up with a mission. From her modest home in Gutu’s Mutero area, she powers up her tablet and scans through a list of peers—young people just like her, living with HIV. She has 24 peers assigned to her under the Community Adolescent Treatment Supporter (CATS) program. With each missed alert comes a sense of urgency. The tablet, loaded with a digital tracking tool, shows her who needs a follow-up. Without hesitation, Christin sets out on foot, trekking through the…

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U.S. Embassy Warns Against Using Pregnancy to Secure U.S. Visas Through Birth Citizenship

Michael Gwarisa

By HealthTimes Breifs   The U.S. Embassy has issued a stern warning to visa applicants, cautioning against using travel visas primarily to give birth in the United States for the purpose of obtaining U.S. citizenship for their child. In a message shared on its official X (formerly Twitter) account, the embassy stated that consular officers would deny visa applications if they suspect such intent. The statement also highlighted that visa misuse, particularly when it involves accessing public funds, could lead to denial or long-term bans from entering the United States. “Don’t…

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The Hidden Health Toll of Urban Heat: Africa’s Concrete Jungles and the Rise of Climate-Sensitive Diseases

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa Africa is battling a number of adverse climatic catastrophes, and over the past five years, climate change is no longer a distant threat across the continent. In African cities, it has become an everyday reality, intensifying urban heat and deepening public health risks. Rising temperatures, prolonged heatwaves, and shrinking green spaces are combining to create “concrete jungles,” densely built environments where heat becomes trapped and air pollution festers. According to experts, this urban heat effect, worsened by poor ventilation and limited vegetation, is now driving a rise…

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Zimbabwe Among Countries Where Women Still Locked Out of Public Health Leadership

Michael Gwarisa

By Kuda Pembere A new regional report has flagged Zimbabwe as one of the countries where women remain largely excluded from senior leadership positions in the public health sector, despite national commitments to gender equality. The Stakeholder Analysis Report released by WomenLift Health examines ten Southern African countries, including Zimbabwe, revealing that while gender equity policies exist on paper, they are rarely reflected in real-world leadership structures. The study describes this as a “glass ceiling in disguise,” where institutional culture, biased promotion systems and traditional caregiving roles continue to hold…

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EMF Medical Aid Society Reinforces Commitment to Quality Healthcare with Digital Innovation and Expanded Wellness Benefits

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa EMF Medical Aid Society has reaffirmed its dedication to delivering accessible, innovative, and member-centric healthcare at its Annual General Meeting (AGM). The Society unveiled a forward-thinking strategy designed to meet the evolving health needs of Zimbabweans. Against the backdrop of a turbulent economic climate in 2024, EMF showcased resilience and innovation in service delivery, with the launch of new digital tools, expanded wellness services, and plans to extend coverage to the informal sector. One of the flagship developments of the past year was the successful introduction of…

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Spain and Luxembourg Make Increased Pledges Toward the Global Fund’s Eighth Replenishment

Michael Gwarisa

SEVILLE – The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the Global Fund) warmly welcomes the renewed and increased commitments from Spain and Luxembourg to end the three epidemics as public health threats, strengthen health and community systems, and bolster global health security. Spain and Luxembourg came together at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development in Seville, Spain, to jointly announce increased commitments to the Global Fund’s Eighth Replenishment. Spain pledged €145 million, and Luxembourg pledged €13.8 million – both marking an increase over their respective commitments at the…

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Chirembawangu: Zimbabwe’s New Health App Promising To Revolutionize Chronic Illness Care

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa A group of young Zimbabwean innovators is gearing up to transform how people manage chronic illnesses, not in hospitals, but right from their mobile phones. At the heart of this bold digital leap is Chirembawangu, a locally built mobile application and AI-powered platform designed to help patients with diabetes, hypertension, and asthma monitor, manage, and thrive despite their diagnoses. The app is the brainchild of Dr. Webster Alubi, a medical intern at Sally Mugabe Central Hospital, and his team at Apexphere Holdings, a budding software company on…

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The hidden health crisis: how to recognize if you’re in burnout

Michael Gwarisa

We’ve recently started to talk more about burnout, yet it remains a hidden health problem. That’s because people experiencing burnout often feel ashamed to speak about it. I know this firsthand, as I felt that same shame, in my professional life before becoming a psychologist. I suffered from burnout while working as a media entrepreneur for over 10 years, and it burned me out. But few people knew about my burnout crises back then. At the time, I didn’t fully understand what was happening to me, mainly because no one…

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Combustible Cigarettes Don’t Belong to the 21st Century – Gontkovičová

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa recently in Cape Town As the world intensifies efforts to reduce tobacco-related disease and death, the call to phase out combustible cigarettes is growing louder, and now, one of the most senior voices in the tobacco industry has declared that these products no longer belong in the modern age. Speaking at the 2025 Technovation Summit in Cape Town, Andrea Gontkovičová, Vice President of External Affairs for Philip Morris International (PMI), made a bold declaration. It looks like Africa is really missing out on this opportunity, on the…

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Africa’s Cholera Crisis Demands Continental Action

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa Africa is currently battling five major infectious disease outbreaks: Mpox, Measles, Dengue, Lassa Fever, and Cholera. Among these, Cholera has emerged as the deadliest, quietly eclipsing the rest in scale and lethality. Yet, despite its heavy toll, it remains under-prioritized. In 2024, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) declared Mpox a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security (PHECS), a bold step triggered by its rapid transmission across the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Sierra Leone, and Uganda. That response was swift and strategic,…

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