Features |

Delivering As One Post Cyclone Idai Devastation…The Road To Recovery For Cyclone Idai Survivors

January 5, 2022May 3, 2022 Michael Gwarisa

PETER Mutisi, a Cyclone Idai survivor from Kopa, Chimanimani lost his wife, house and entire business empire to the disaster. For the past two years, he has been struggling to cope with the fact that all he had worked for and the person he loved the most disappeared right in front of his eyes and he couldn’t do anything about it. By Michael Gwarisa recently in Chimanimani “Everything happened so fast, we receive plenty of rainfall every year in these parts and on the fateful night, that is March 15,…

AMR In The Midst Of COVID-19: Are We In A Fix?

December 18, 2021December 18, 2021 Michael Gwarisa

ACCORDING to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Antimicrobial resistance (AMR ) occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death. Antimicrobial resistance threatens the effective prevention and treatment of an ever-increasing range of infections caused by bacteria, parasites, viruses and fungi. By Michael Gwarisa As a result, the medicines become ineffective and infections persist in the body, increasing the risk of spread to others. However, over the…

Honoring 2021 COVID-19 Information Champions

December 11, 2021December 12, 2021 Healthtimes

EVERY battle has its heroes and for Zimbabwe’s COVID-19 raging war, we owe everything to our dedicated health personal, government, community health players, media and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) for joining hands in fighting this unwelcome visitor called COVID-19. In every battle, information plays a key role in equipping fighters with strategies and ways to either evade the enemy or take him on head-on. Misinformation and the propagation of wrong and false information however could lead soldiers and innocent civilians right into the hands of the enemy, hence the need…

When Elephants Buy Sanitary Pads

December 4, 2021March 20, 2023 Michael Gwarisa

IF looked after properly, wildlife can turn the fortunes of poor communities living adjacent to national parks and wildlife sanctuaries into stories of success and development. However, in most cases, communities around game reserves experience extreme poverty due to a myriad of factors chief among them being the lack of employment opportunities, lack of exposure among other factors. Some end up resorting poaching the wildlife from the parks just to make ends meet. By Michael Gwarisa Not only do communities living around game reserves, wildlife conservancies and national parks fail…

What We Know About The Omicron Variant So Far

November 29, 2021 Healthtimes

On 26 November 2021, WHO designated the variant B.1.1.529 a variant of concern, named Omicron, on the advice of WHO’s Technical Advisory Group on Virus Evolution (TAG-VE). This decision was based on the evidence presented to the TAG-VE that Omicron has several mutations that may have an impact on how it behaves, for example, on how easily it spreads or the severity of illness it causes. Here is a summary of what is currently known. Current knowledge about Omicron Researchers in South Africa and around the world are conducting studies to better understand many aspects of Omicron…

Teen Pregnancies and Early Marriages Rear Ugly Head in Zim’s Farming Communities

November 17, 2021October 10, 2022 Michael Gwarisa

IT’S a normal day inside Sable Ranch, a farming community at least 6 kilometers outside Marondera town in Mashonaland East province. Since its tobacco planting season, majority of labourers have been sent on a two-week long leave to give the tobacco plant enough time to grow. Just like their parents, school children at Ranch Farm and other surrounding farming communities are attending school just twice every week to adhere to government set COVID-19 prevention protocols. By Michael Gwarisa recently in Marondera, Mashonaland East While the adults have capitalized on the…

The Mazondo/Amanqgina Aphrodisiac Legend Demystified

November 2, 2021November 2, 2021 Michael Gwarisa

THROUGHOUT Zimbabwe, men grow up being told or taught that their sole purpose on this earth besides making money is to make sure that women are satisfied in bed. According to some men, Sex is more important than food, in fact, it’s more important than water. You may fail in other departments in life, but never ever fail when it comes to the bedroom department. By Michael Gwarisa The Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs places Sex at the uttermost level of importance and falls in the same category as food, water,…

Dreading To Go Home: The Plight Of Transgender People In Zimbabwe

November 1, 2021October 1, 2022 Michael Gwarisa

IN a few weeks’ time, the festive season will be upon us and for many families, it’s a time to meet and catch up on almost everything that would have happened throughout the course of the year. For some college and university students, holidays such as the festive season brings some sort of relief and therapy away from the hectic academic schedule. By Michael Gwarisa However, the same cannot be said for the Transgender and Intersex community in Zimbabwe who in most cases have to think twice and deeply before…

Time To Treat Mental Health As An Emergency Of National Concern

October 19, 2021 Healthtimes

OVER the past few days, Zimbabwe was gripped with horrendous tales of how one Thubelithe Khoshow (26), a businessman based in Kwekwe went on a rampage, murdering six people and injuring five others on October, 9 2021. A police report revealed that when Thubelithe became mentally disturbed and acted violently, he was taken to a church’s shrine by her aunt for prayers. By Patricia Mashiri Unfortunately for his family, they found it noble to take Thubelithe to a shrine instead of a mental health facility or health institution for that…

Community Health Workers Go Digital

October 5, 2021October 5, 2021 Healthtimes

WHEN Nelson Mwanawenyu, a nurse at a plantation estate clinic in Manicaland province applied for a position with a private health institution in the city of Mutare, he was told the interview would be conducted through the Skype social media platform. By Caiphas Chimhete, CWGH He innocently asked the secretary who had phoned him to give exact directions to Skype, which he thought were some magnificent building in the mountainous city. Mwanawenyu’s enquiry sent the secretary into a bout of laughter. She however later explained to him that Skype was…