Author: Michael Gwarisa

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

Over 69,000 Zimbabwean Girls Aged 10 to 19 Gave Birth In 2022

Michael Gwarisa
Young Preganant Women

DESPITE continued efforts to reduce early pregnancies  in Zimbabwe, data shows that adolescent girls between 10 and 15 years are falling pregnant and giving birth largely due to harmful practices that include early child marriages and sexual abuse. By Michael Gwarisa Disaggregated data on the Distribution of Births by Age of Mother released during the launch of the  Zimbabwe Statistical Agency (Zimstat) Vital Statistics Report shows that 696 girls aged 10 to 14 gave birth in 2022. A total of 69,335 adolescent females aged 10 to 19 had live births…

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WHO Predicts A 10 Million Global Shortage Of Healthcare Workers By 2030

Michael Gwarisa

THE Fifth Global Forum on Human Resources for Health which kicked yesterday in Geneva, Switzerland, amplified calls for increased investment towards developing and recruiting more healthcare workers in the face of an impending global human resource catastrophe. By Michael Gwarisa According to World Health Organization (WHO) Director General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, severe disruptions to health systems have led to excess mortality and avoidable deaths in many countries, reversing previous improvements in healthy lives and well-being and the single largest cause of disrupted health services during the pandemic was the…

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Over 3000 Sexual Violence Offenses Committed In Zimbabwe In 2022 Final Quarter

Michael Gwarisa

DATA from a Zimbabwe National Statistical Agency (Zimstat) Crime Situation Report reveal that Zimbabwe recorded a total 3,175 Sexual Violence criminal offenses between October and December 2022. By Michael Gwarisa The information contained in the Zimstat report is based on data collected from the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) Crime Report and Disposal System. According to Mr Taguma Mahonde, the Zimstat Director General, there was a 12 percent increase in recorded criminal offenses in the last quarter of 2022. The number of recorded offenses increased by 12 per cent, from 185,660…

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WHO Tells Countries To Increase Graduation Numbers Of Healthcare Personnel

Michael Gwarisa

In order to curb chronic shortages of health workers in low and middle income countries, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has advised all countries to increase graduation of health personnel to reach 8-12% of the active workforce per annum. By Michael Gwarisa The call comes a few weeks after the World Health Organization (WHO)  released an updated WHO health workforce support and safeguards list 2023, identifying 55 countries including Zimbabwe, as vulnerable for availability of health workers required to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goal target for universal health coverage…

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Harare Tells Residents To Disinfect Both Borehole And Tape Water, As Cholera Closes In On Big Cities, Eight Provinces Record Deadly Diarrhoeal disease

Michael Gwarisa

WHAT started as a single suspected Cholera case in Chegutu a month ago, could soon become a full blown epidemic in Zimbabwe, amidst indications that only two out of the 10 administrative provinces in the country are yet to record confirmed cases of Cholera. By Michael Gwarisa According to the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC), eight provinces so have recorded cases of Cholera since the beginning of 2023, with cases in the eight provinces having no epidemiological link to each other. However, only Harare and Bulawayo have no…

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WHO certifies Azerbaijan and Tajikistan as malaria-free

Michael Gwarisa

A total of 42 countries or territories have reached the malaria-free milestone The World Health Organization (WHO) has certified Azerbaijan and Tajikistan for achieving elimination of malaria in their territories. The certification follows a sustained, century-long effort to stamp out the disease by the two countries. “The people and governments of Azerbaijan and Tajikistan have worked long and hard to eliminate malaria,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “Their accomplishment is further proof that, with the right resources and political commitment, eliminating malaria is possible. I hope that other…

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New WHO Findings On Possible Links Between COVID-19 And Chinese Sea Food Market Call For Action Against Zoonotic Diseases

Michael Gwarisa

By Dingaan Mithi For many months, there has been speculation on the possible origins of Covid-19. While there is no conclusive proof or evidence as to where exactly the virus originated from, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) blamed the Chinese government, pointing to a laboratory leakage of the virus, a new report by public health experts finds that Covid-19 could have originated in raccoon dogs. On 4 March 2023, scientists discovered accessions posted publicly on the Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data (GISAID), a global science initiative…

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#BREAKING: Marburg virus disease could become global outbreak

Michael Gwarisa

THE World Health Organisation (WHO) has not ruled out the possibility of the Marburg virus disease (MVD) becoming a global health pandemic if necessary precautions are not taken on time. By Michael Gwarisa According to the Africa Center for Disease Control, MVD is a highly fatal, zoonotic haemorrhagic disease caused by the Marburg virus. Human-to-human transmission occurs through direct contact with body fluids from infected persons, or contact with equipment and other materials contaminated with infectious blood or tissues, body fluids of infected people, and contaminated surfaces or materials. Giving…

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Sweden Honors Love Shouldn’t Hurt Ambassadors

Michael Gwarisa

THE Embassy of Sweden in Harare and its partner, Population Solutions for Health (PSH), awarded several celebrities and influencers for using their voice to amplify the Love Shouldn’t Hurt (LSH) campaign, a movement  against intimate partner violence. By Michael Gwarisa The Awards Ceremony was held at the Swedish Ambassador’s residence in Harare on Friday 24, March 2023 and they were meant to applaud and recognize the champions who made the Love Shouldn’t Hurt campaign a resounding success. In her speech at the awards event, Embassy of Sweden to Zimbabwe Ambassador…

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Incapacitated DR-TB Patients Bear The Brunt of Catastrophic Costs

Michael Gwarisa

Nqobizitha Nkomo and his wife from Insiza District in Matebeleland South, were both diagnosed of Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (DR-TB) about a year ago. Even though they say they are feeling better,  Nkomo recounts how their situation almost reduced them to beggars of some sort in their quest to sustain their treatment and recovery journey. By Michael Gwarisa Drug-resistant TB (DR-TB) is a form of tuberculosis which has developed resistance to the main medicines used to treat TB. This form of TB can be resistant to one or more anti-TB medicines.…

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