Medical Aid Companies Urged To Be Innovative

By Michael Gwarisa Health and Child Care Minister, Dr Douglass Mombeshora has called Medical Aid and Health Insurance companies to provide services that respond directly to the ever-changing health landscape And emerging challenges. He said this while officially opening the 15th edition of the Association for Healthcare Funders of Zimbabwe (AHFoZ) Annual All Stakeholders Conference on Health IN Victoria Falls. The conference is running under the theme “Zooming in on Health Outcomes – “Making the Main Thing the Main Thing.” As you  gather at this year’s AHFoZ conference,  whose agenda…

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United States Government Invests Over US$100,000 to Improve Access to Safe Water In Harare

By Michael Gwarisa In a move that is set to improve access to safe water among Harare residents, the U.S. government has invested US$150,000 through the American Center for Diseases Control (CDC) in partnership with UNICEF to support water quality monitoring in Harare. The support is part of the CDC’s support to the City of Harare in the cholera emergency response in areas cholera-affected urban areas. The investment involves the insulation of Chlorine boosters at water reservoirs to help in the disinfection of water before it is pumped into households.…

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Gvt Bans Long Distance Traveling For Kombis to Curb Road Accidents

By Michael Gwarisa Commuter Omnibuses or Kombis will no longer be allowed to ferry passengers beyond 60 Kilometres as part of efforts to reduce the growing scourge and burden of road traffic accidents. Under the new radius-based restrictions being implemented by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Development, Kombis’ travel distance has been reduced from 120 km to 60 km. In a statement, the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development, Honorable Felix Mhona, said the new restrictions were effective immediately. As the Ministry endeavors to mitigate against road traffic crashes…

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Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Health Issues Mpox Alert

By Staff Reporter With Mpox cases currently on an upward trend in Africa, Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) has issued an alert warning citizens to be vigilant and exercise extreme caution in the face of an impending crises. The number of Africa countries that have reported the Mpox outbreak have risen to 14 with the last being Guinea in West Africa. M-Pox (formerly known as Monkey Pox) in non-endemic countries, has also bee reported in  neighbouring South Africa. M-Pox is a rare viral infection endemic to Central…

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Fresh Calls to Amend Zimbabwe’s 47-Year-Old Abortion Law Gather Momentum

By Ntokozo Gudu Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) championing women and girls’ rights in Zimbabwe have called for the urgent amendment of the Termination of Pregnancy Act (TOP), in order to reduce the high maternal deaths associated with unsafe abortions in the country. Zimbabwe is using a Termination of Pregnancy (ToP) Act that was enacted in 1977 which many Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) believe no longer serves the prevailing challenges faced by women and girls. According to the 1977 law, abortion is allowed under the restricted circumstances of rape,…

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UNICEF Issues Emergency Tender To Secure Mpox Vaccines For Crisis-hit African Countries

By Staff Reporter UNICEF has announced that it has issued an emergency tender for the procurement of mpox vaccines. Vaccines can play a critical role in containing the mpox outbreak which was declared a public health emergency by both the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO). The UNICEF tender is issued to help secure mpox vaccines for the hardest hit countries in collaboration with Africa CDC, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, WHO, the Pan American Health Organization and other partners. This collaboration…

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Africa CDC Develops Mpox Surveillance Reporting Protocol for African Union Member States

By Michael Gwarisa In a bid to enhance existing mpox surveillance in Africa, identify at risk populations as well as understand the epidemiology, natural history and risk factors associated with mpox, the Africa Centre for Diseases Control (Africa CDC) has developed an Mpox surveillance protocol for member states. The new protocol recommends enhancing surveillance within communities and health facilities and, at the point of entries, linking these efforts to national and regional laboratories for confirmation. Countries are encouraged to share the case-based data with the African CDC and the WHO…

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CIMAS Acquires Mobile Clinic

By Michael Gwairsa In a groundbreaking development, Cimas has acquired a mobile clinic, a customised motor vehicle that will be staffed by a combination of health experts to bring essential healthcare services on wheels directly to communities in need. The Cimas mobile clinic was being showcased at the just ended Zimbabwe Agricultural Society (ZAS) in Harare, an internationally recognised exhibition where industrial and agricultural trends, ideas, and innovative products are unveiled. This year’s theme was “Cultivating Prosperity: Growing Business. Innovating for Change. Nurturing our Future”. Cimas Health Group Chief Executive…

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Junk and processed Foods Driving Non-Communicable Diseases in Zimbabwe’s Young People

By Michael Gwarisa Zimbabwe is experiencing a surge in Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) linked to poor lifestyles and consumption of unhealthy diets, the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) has warned. Recent data from the annual Obesity Atlas shows that 2.9 million Zimbabwean children will be having high Body Mass Index (BMI) by year 2035 and the number of children who had high BMI in 2020 was 1,155,173. This according to the report will likely trigger an increase in stroke related health complications, diabetes linked to BMI among other conditions.…

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OPHID Hosts Workshop To Address Healthcare Infodemic in Zimbabwe

By Michael Gwarisa in Kadoma In a bid to capacitate health communicators from the government, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), local authorities and health media, the Organisation for Public Health Interventions and Development (OPHID), is holding a three-day Infodemic Management capacity-building workshop. The infodemic management workshop is happening in Kadoma in collaboration with Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) and project partner organisations, JFKapnek, and ZNNP+ – with technical support from USAID. An infodemic by definition is an excessive amount of information about a problem that is typically unreliable, spreads rapidly,…

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