BREAKING NEWS |

Zimbabwe Observes Week Long Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Campaign

November 19, 2020November 20, 2020 Michael Gwarisa

ZIMBABWE has joined the rest of the world in commemorating the World Antibiotic week which is meant to increase awareness and educate communities on the dangers associated with Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in a bid to influence behavior change and attitudes towards antibiotics use, consumption and disposal. By Michael Gwarisa The Antibiotic awareness week is running from 18 to 24 November, 2020 and as part of the awareness raising efforts, the country has also come up with a Jingle that will be played on various radio stations as well as poems…

“We Need To Get Serious About Eliminating Mother To Child Transmission of HIV”- Dr Mushavi

November 19, 2020November 19, 2020 Healthtimes

NATIONAL Prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) and Pediatric HIV Care and Treatment Coordinator in the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC), Dr Angela Mushavi says transmission of HIV from mother to child was preventable hence the need for increased efforts in order to reduce the number of children with HIV. By Patson Gumbo recently in Macheke Speaking at a media sensitisation workshop that was hosted by the National Aids Council (NAC) in Mucheke, Dr Mushavi said even though the country had brilliant Elimination of Mother to Child Transmission of…

Zimbabwe Sets-Up National Task force To Monitor ICPD@25 Commitments

November 18, 2020 Michael Gwarisa

ZIMBABWE has commenced the process of setting up a National Task-force (NTF) for monitoring the implementation of commitments the country made at the 25th International Conference on Population Development (ICPD@25) that was held in Nairobi, Kenya in 2019. By Michael Gwarisa Through support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Partners in Population Development (PPD) have selected Zimbabwe and nine other countries namely Bangladesh, Morocco, Thailand, Nigeria, South Africa, Indonesia, India, Benin, and Uganda to take further initiatives to continued national consultations through National Task Forces (NTF) for South…

UNITED STATES PROVIDES ADDITIONAL US$ 3 MILLION FOR HUMANITARIAN DEMINING IN ZIMBABWE

November 18, 2020 Michael Gwarisa

THE United States government is pleased to announce an additional USD $3 million for humanitarian demining projects in Zimbabwe. Since 1998, the United States has invested more than $23.9 million in Zimbabwe to protect people from landmines and promote economic opportunities through safe access to land. The United States supports the Government of Zimbabwe’s goal to safely clear all minefields in the country by 2025. As Ambassador Nichols stated, “Longstanding U.S. support for humanitarian demining in Zimbabwe has destroyed more than 38,000 landmines, returned 8.1 square kilometers of land to…

Gvt Orders Schools With Poor COVID-19 Management Capacities To Close As Coronavirus Infects 100 Pupils In Matabeleland

November 17, 2020November 17, 2020 Michael Gwarisa

CABINET has resolved to close schools without proper COVID-19 management equipment and capacity as well as those where COVID-19 is suspected as a means to avoid spread of the virus into communities. By Michael Gwarisa The call comes hot on the heels of a resurgence of COVID-19 in the country with Bulawayo emerging as the new epicenter for the virus amidst indications that not less than 100 pupils at John Tallach Secondary School in Ntabazinduna, Matabeleland North province have so far tested positive for the virus. Briefing Journalists during a…

2020 Top 15 Outstanding Health Champions

November 17, 2020November 18, 2020 Healthtimes

THE Year 2020 has not been an easy one for the global health sector at the back of a global health pandemic, the COVID-19. In Zimbabwe, even though the virus has not been as severe as other countries in the developed world, some lives were lost while a sizable number also got infected. To worsen Zimbabwe’s health crisis in the midst of COVID-19, a nationwide healthcare industrial action also ensued which saw numerous negative public health outcomes being recorded. In the midst of all this misery and loss, a number…

Communities and Midwives Should Collaborate To Reduce Unintended Pregnancies and Unsafe Abortions – Dr Magure

November 17, 2020November 17, 2020 Michael Gwarisa

PARIRENYATWA Group of Hospitals Clinical Director, Dr Tsitsi Magure has called for increased partnership between women pressure groups, communities and midwives amidst indications of increased admissions of young teenage girls into health facilities as a result of teenage pregnancies and post labor or abortion related complications. By Michael Gwarisa The call also comes at a time the country is debating the adoption of the Age of Consent which seeks to reduce age restrictions towards accessing Sexual and Reproductive Health Services (SRH) including contraceptives to 12 years, inorder to reduce Early…

Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine ‘Very Promising’ But Cold Chain Issues: WHO

November 12, 2020 Healthtimes

THE World Health Organization’s (WHO) chief said on Tuesday it hopes to have a COVID-19 vaccine by year-end and that Pfizer’s experimental remedy is “a very promising one”, with more expected. SOURCE: Reuters But the vaccine, based on a novel technology that uses synthetic mRNA to activate the immune system against the virus, comes with special challenges as it needs to be stored at minus 70 degrees Celsius (-94 F) or below – equivalent to an Antarctic winter. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reiterated the United Nations agency’s call for…

One year after Nairobi, the march continues towards rights and choices for all

November 12, 2020November 12, 2020 Michael Gwarisa

Despite global COVID-19 crisis, governments uphold support for women’s and girls’ health and rights, one year after historic summit on ICPD25 AS the COVID-19 pandemic continues to take a heavy toll on the health and economies of countries around the world, governments, non-governmental organizations, international financial institutions and the private sector are stepping up political, financial and in-kind support for programmes that protect the health and rights of women and girls in developing countries. A year ago, at the landmark Nairobi Summit on ICPD25, the world came together to commit…

Governments Must Demand Pharma Make All COVID-19 Vaccine Licensing Deals Public Says MSF

November 11, 2020 Michael Gwarisa

AFTER the worrying terms of a deal struck between pharmaceutical corporation AstraZeneca and Brazilian public research body Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz) were disclosed recently, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) called on governments to urgently demand transparency from pharmaceutical corporations on all COVID-19 vaccine licensing agreements, as well as clinical trial costs and data, especially considering the billions of dollars of public, taxpayer money that have gone towards the development of these potential vaccines. Fiocruz took an important step towards more transparency by publishing online the license agreement with AstraZeneca to produce…