Category: BREAKING NEWS

Zimbabwe Records 323 Adverse Reactions To COVID-19 Vaccines

Michael Gwarisa

A total 323 suspected COVID-19 Adverse Events Following Immunisation (AEFI), had been reported to the Medicines Control of Zimbabwe (MCAZ) as of July, 8 2022. By Michael Gwarisa This is out of a cumulative total of 6.3 million 1st doses and 4.6 million 2nd doses of COVID-19 vaccines that have been administered since the National Vaccination program was launched in February 2021. This translates to a rate of approximately 0.003% suspected adverse events (approximately 3 reactions for every 10 000 doses administered). 70% of these 323 AEFI reports were received…

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Medicinal Cannabis License Applications Galore

Michael Gwarisa

VARIOUS players and individuals in the pharmaceutical as well as complimentary medicines sector have already submitted applications seeking approval to dispense hemp-based canabidiol products as complementary medicines. By Michael Gwarisa The Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ) recently put out a call to submit applications for registration in the form of a dossier as required by complementary medicines guidelines. In an interview with HealthTimes, MCAZ Acting Director General, Mr Richard Rukwata said the response to their call has been overwhelming of late. Quite a number of individuals have expressed interest…

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Botswana reaches 95-95-95 HIV target

Healthtimes

Botswana becomes the second nation in the world, after Eswatini, to reach a landmark UN goal towards eradicating AIDS, researchers said Wednesday, in what health experts hailed as “stellar results”. By Staff Reporter The country according to a study published ahead of the 24th International AIDS Conference has met the so-called “95-95-95” target on HIV diagnosis, treatment and viral suppression several years early. About one in five people in Botswana live with the virus — one of the highest rates in the world — according to the UN AIDS agency…

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World Population To Hit 8 Billion Mark In November 2022

Michael Gwarisa

The United Nations announced that the world’s population is expected to reach 8 billion on 15 November 2022  – a milestone for humanity – and in 2023 India is projected to become the most populous country, surpassing China. But perhaps the even bigger headline is that fertility rates are at a historic low: Two thirds of people are now living in a country or area with a lifetime fertility below the replacement rate of 2.1 births per woman. By Own Correspondent These new data arrive at a time of dizzying…

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Media critical in ending TB in the mining sector

Healthtimes

A third of tuberculosis (TB) infections in Southern Africa are linked to mining activities and recent studies estimate that 3 to 7 percent of miners are becoming ill with TB each year (TIMS Epidemiological Study,2012). Health Times Reporter in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania To address these challenges, media practitioners are from 11 SADC member countries converged yesterday, 27 July 2022 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania for a two-days sensitisation workshop to enhance informed reporting on TB-related issues including TB in the mining sector at the invitation of the East, Central…

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Millions of lives at risk as progress against AIDS falters

Michael Gwarisa

MONTREAL/GENEVA- New data from UNAIDS on the global HIV response reveals that during the last two years of COVID-19 and other global crises, progress against the HIV pandemic has faltered, resources have shrunk, and millions of lives are at risk as a result. The new report, In Danger, is being launched ahead of the International AIDS Conference in Montreal, Canada. Globally the number of new infections dropped only 3.6% between 2020 and 2021, the smallest annual decline in new HIV infections since 2016. Eastern Europe and central Asia, Middle East…

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Fourth person likely cured of HIV with fifth ‘in remission’

Healthtimes

For the fourth time since the global epidemic began, a person appears to have been “cured” of HIV. The 66-year-old man, named the “City of Hope patient” after the Californian centre he was treated in, has been in remission from HIV for 17 months. Having lived with the virus since the 1980s, the patient underwent a risky treatment for his leukaemia that coincidentally eradicated HIV from his body. He no longer takes HIV drugs and is “beyond grateful” to not only be cured of cancer but HIV too. Researchers made…

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PSMI West End Hospital Employees Now Sleeping At Work To Avoid Landlords and Debts Collectors

Healthtimes

THE salary and labor dispute unfolding at the Premier Service Medical Investments (PSMI) has disintegrated into a socio-economic crises as some employees at PSMI West End Hospital have reportedly spent the past two nights without going to their homes owing to delays in payment of salaries. By HealthTimes Correspondent To date PSMI employees’ salaries are still in arrears and majority are yet to receive their June salaries and some employees who spoke to this publication yesterday indicated that they are yet to pay their June rentals as well as meet…

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Zim Medicines Authority Invites Applicants For Medical Marijuana License

Healthtimes

ZIMBABWE’S medicinal products regulator, the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ) has approved the selling of Hemp based Cannabidiol (CBD) products in Zimbabwe. By Kuda Pembere CBD, or cannabidiol, is non-intoxicating and one of the more than 540 phytochemicals found in the Cannabis sativa (C. sativa) plant. According to Medical News Today, public interest in and the availability of CBD have grown due to its promising health benefits. People use CBD to help with a wide variety of physical and mental issues, including pain, nausea, addiction, and depression. In a circular, MCAZ Acting Director General Mr…

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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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