Category: Health News

Shot In The Arm For Pensioners As NSSA Unveils Health Centre

Michael Gwarisa

It is a Thursday afternoon and Simon Kanenga (75) a pensioner from Masvingo,smiles to himself in anticipation of a new lease of life from the National Social Security Authority (NSSA). By Edward Makuzva The authority has announced that it is in the process of setting up pensioners’ mobile clinics in its six regions which include Kanengas’ area. However, Kanengas’ smile is shortlived when he remembers that he had just buried his childhood friend from diabetes. Again,its been years since he has also been diagnosed with the same disease and has…

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Zim Health facilities beef-up security As thieves ransack solar systems

Michael Gwarisa

Some hospitals and clinics across the country have been left counting their losses following a spate of vandalism of solar components by daring thieves. By Michael Gwarisa The thieves are targeting mainly solar panels, inverters, gel and lithium batteries that were installed across 1045 health facilities in Zimbabwe, through a Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) Solar for Health project being supported by the UNDP-Global Fund initiative. The solar systems are 5kW, 7kW, 10kW or 40kW, depending on the size of the facility and energy requirements to power specific…

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Leading Medical Aid discontinues ZimDollar payments

Michael Gwarisa

Masca Medical Aid Society has informed its members of the discontinuation of direct payments to Pharmacies for members with Zimbabwean Dollar Schemes. By Staff Reporter In the communique, the Masca said this move was necessitated by the prevailing economic environment. Due to the persistently high volatility of the ZWL exchange rate, we regret to inform you that we will be discontinuing the direct Zimbabwe dollar payments to pharmacies for drug claims effective 15 June 2023 till further notice. This decision has been made after careful consideration of the current economic…

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Rehabilitation dilemma for Zim’s poor Drug and Substance Addicts

Michael Gwarisa

Zimbabwe is struggling to offer proper drug abuse rehabilitation services with majority of patients currently being admitted in psychiatric units in public health institutions which in most cases, are ill equipped to provide drug abuse rehabilitation services. By Michael Gwarisa In 2022, data from the Ministry of Health and Child Care indicated that 75 percent to 85 percent of bed occupancy in mental health institutions was due to substance use. Information gathered by this publication recently reveals that public health facilities are struggling to deal with the swelling numbers of…

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Public Health Practitioners Association of Zim launched

Kuda Pembere

THE Public Health Practitioners Association of Zimbabwe (PHPAZ) was on Friday launched following a resolution from the Public Health Symposium held last year to influence agenda setting on public health priorities in the country. By Kuda Pembere The association comprises of members from various fields such as environmental health, nutrition, law, pharmaceutical development, social science amongst other disciplines and intends to bond all stakeholders in the healthcare industry towards the common goal of improving health in the communities. One of the primary objectives of this association is to promote disease…

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UNESCO launches second phase of flagship Our Rights, Our Lives, Our Future Programme across sub-Saharan Africa

Michael Gwarisa

UNESCO in collaboration with ministries of education and health from 33 Sub-Saharan African countries, is launching the second phase of the landmark Our Rights, Our Lives, Our Future (O 3) Programme. As the largest school-based programme on education for health and well-being in Africa, the ambitious O3 Programme plans to equip 44 million adolescents and young people with good quality, accurate, and rights-based sexuality education, and school violence prevention programmes. The programme aims to build adolescents and young people’s agency to make healthier and informed decisions about their health and…

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Frequent Sex Increases Conception Chances In Couples Battling Infertility-Dr Mocanu

Michael Gwarisa

PROLONGED exposure to the sperm or male sex cell, reduces chances of infertility, in the process increasing a woman’s chances of conceiving, a top fertility expert has said. By Michael Gwarisa This comes amidst indications that couples mainly from Sub Saharan Africa, Zimbabwe included, are increasingly experiencing infertility challenges with global data showing that approximately 48.5 million couples globally are affected by infertility. Infertility is defined clinically as failure to conceive after 12 months or more of regular unprotected sexual intercourse. Speaking during a virtual press conference to mark World Infertility…

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CHWs boost trachoma prevention programme in Chiwundura

Healthtimes

Villagers in Chiwundura district in Midlands province have finally embraced a trachoma prevention programme after a massive awareness campaign by community health workers (CHWs) and local traditional leaders. By Caiphas Chimhete & Mandy Mathias The villagers had initially being suspicious of the government-driven programme following rumours and misinformation that trachoma prevention tablets caused serious side-effects. Trachoma is a preventable disease that affect the eyes, cause loss of vision and blindness and is most common in poor rural communities. Rumours were awash in the midlands district that the tablets caused blindness…

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Zimbabwe’s Health Sector Goes Green with Solar Powered Electronic Health Records

Michael Gwarisa

THE Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC), is rolling out “Impilo,” an Electronic Health Records (EHR) system, which is meant to improve efficiency in the health sector through enhancing data collection, management, patients’ care as well as improve communication between health practitioners and patients. By Michael Gwarisa According to the Ministry of Health, they intend to have fully deployed the system in the entire healthcare sector by December 2023. The roll-out of the Impilo is being supported by key specialized systems like the Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS), the…

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Over 4 000 Malnourished Zim children Admitted In Hospital

Kuda Pembere

INCREASING poverty levels coupled with shortages of Ready To Use Therapeutic Foods (RTUFs) like ‘Plumpy-Nut,’ has resulted in 4 300 children being admitted in hospital for wasting, a scenario which threatens to derail the gains made in reducing wasting amongst children under five years. By Kuda Pembere The World Health Organisation (WHO) describes wasting as acute malnutrition. It is a sign that a child has experienced short periods of undernutrition, resulting in significant wastage of muscle and fat tissue. This means their weight is very low for their height. In…

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