Author: Michael Gwarisa

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

Zimbabwe Population Grows By 1.5 Percent

Michael Gwarisa

THE Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT), has released preliminary results to the 2022 Population and Housing census which indicate a 1.5% grown rate in the country’s population. By Michael Gwarisa According to the Preliminary Results report, Zimbabwe witnessed a population change of 16.2% from 13.1 million in 2012 to 15,178 979 as at April 20, 2022. From the population size, (52%) were female, giving a sex ratio of 92 males for every 100 females. Given the 2012 population size of 13,061,329, this gives an annual population growth rate of 1.5…

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PSMI Boss Earns More Than French President Emmanuel Macron And Boris Johnson

Michael Gwarisa

STATE controlled daily newspaper, The Herald has published an article in which they revealed that Premier Service Medical Investments’ (PSMI) boss , Dr Tafadzwa Gutu is living large with a lucrative contract that sees him pocket US$23 000 a month in salary and allowances. By Michael Gwarisa PSMI is the investment arm of the Premier Service Medical Aid Society (PSMAS) which was established after PSMAS set up PSMI to own its hospitals, clinics and pharmacies so as to offer clinical and curative services to their members at government subsidized rates.…

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Old Mutual Zimbabwe launches an end to end Funeral Services Company

Michael Gwarisa

Old Mutual, the leading financial services group in Zimbabwe, has launched a fully-fledged funeral services business at a colourful event held in Harare on Friday 22 July 2022. By Own Correspondent was launched in response to customers’ call for tangible funeral services over and above the cash benefit that Old Mutual offers. Old Mutual offers premium standard of funeral service that includes services like water bowser, nationwide bus service, and family courtesy vehicle. The family courtesy vehicle is the first of its kind in the funeral services sector, now when…

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#BREAKING: World Health Organisation Declares Monkeypox Public health emergency of international concern

Michael Gwarisa

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern. The decision was announced Saturday morning after WHO convened its second emergency committee on the issue on Thursday. Monkeypox spreading in ‘cluster events,’ but vaccines can help stop it, local health officials say, “I have decided that the global monkeypox outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced on Saturday morning. Tedros said while the committee was unable to reach a consensus, he came to the…

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Where Are The Mobile TB X-Ray Trucks?

Michael Gwarisa

THE Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC), has come under fire from Tuberculosis (TB) activists and advocates for delaying to release nine new mobile X-Ray vehicles that are meant for screening Tuberculosis (TB) in communities. By Michael Gwarisa According to initial plans, the nine trucks were supposed to be commissioned at an official ceremony on World TB Day on March 24, 2022 where the Vice President and Minister of Health, Dr Constantino Chiwenga was supposed to be the guest of honour. However, the event did not happen as planned…

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Historic funding to expand roll-out of first-ever malaria vaccine in Africa

Michael Gwarisa

The World Health Organization (WHO) welcomes the launch by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, of the landmark opportunity for countries to apply for funding to introduce, or further roll-out, the RTS,S/AS01 (RTS,S) malaria vaccine. This international support of nearly US$ 160 million from 2022-2025 will facilitate increased vaccine access to children at high risk of illness and death from malaria, starting with Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, the three African countries that began pilot introduction of the vaccine in 2019, and then expanding to other eligible endemic countries. Malaria remains a primary…

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Zimbabwe To Start Testing Childhood TB Using Stool Samples

Michael Gwarisa

THE Ministry of Health and Child (MoHCC) will soon be commence training of healthcare workers across the country’s 62 districts to test for Tuberculosis (TB) in children using stools, as the country intensifies efforts to reduce the growing burden of Childhood TB. By Michael Gwarisa The development comes in the midst of indications that the country’s Childhood TB cases have been on an upward trend over the years while some have been missed largely due to failure by healthcare workers to detect TB children as children detecting TB in children…

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25 Million Infants Missing Out On Lifesaving Vaccines

Michael Gwarisa

THE World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF have sounded the alarm as new data shows global vaccination coverage continued to decline in 2021, with 25 million infants missing out on lifesaving vaccines The largest sustained decline in childhood vaccinations in approximately 30 years has been recorded in official data published today by WHO and UNICEF. The percentage of children who received three doses of the vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP3) – a marker for immunization coverage within and across countries – fell 5 percentage points between 2019 and…

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University Of Zimbabwe Psychology Graduate On Trailblazing Mental Health Advocacy Journey

Michael Gwarisa

WHAT merely started as a blog has since evolved into becoming one of the organisations leading in mental advocacy in Zimbabwe. Mental health comes in various forms and in Zimbabwe, some of the most common types of mental health include Psychotic disorders, Depression, Anxiety disorder, Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among others. By Michael Gwarisa Drug use has also huge cause for mental health disorders in the country and statistics indicate an increase in the number of admissions in mental health institutions due to illicit substance use. The country’s health institutions…

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To Deduct Or Not to Deduct AIDS Levy from VAT in Zimbabwe

Michael Gwarisa

Rabson Mandizha* (45) is a carpenter and an entrepreneur from Kuwadzana, Home Industries in Harare. In 2012, he tested positive for HIV and was initiated on Antiretroviral Therapy (ART). Every month, he gets his ART supply consistently from Kuwadzana Polyclinic and for this, he says is grateful to the government of Zimbabwe and partners for giving him a chance to live a healthy life. By Michael Gwarisa He has four Children with his wife who is also HIV positive and thanks to the national Prevention of Mother Transmission of HIV…

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