Health News |

5 000 Zimbabwean babies infected with HIV in 2021…As mothers shun PMTCT

November 2, 2022November 4, 2022 Kuda Pembere

Close to 5000 babies got infected with HIV in 2021 due the mothers’ reluctancy to get antiretroviral therapy during pregnancy and breastfeeding. By Kudakwashe Pembere Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) Deputy PMTCT and Paediatric HIV Care and Treatment Coordinator, Dr Precious Andifasi last Friday told journalists at a National Aids Council media training workshop in Chinhoyi that 4 750 babies got infected during pregnancy and breastfeeding. As a program, we collect some data every year just to try and see where the new infections are coming from. So,…

Media Trained On Improved Attitudes Towards Safe Abortion

November 2, 2022 Healthtimes

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists together with the Population Services Zimbabwe (PSZ) held a three day media training workshop to improve the knowledge and attitude towards safe abortion in Zimbabwe. By Patricia Mashiri The training termed the Value Clarification Attitudes Transformation (VCAT) was also centred on discussions around religious and cultural beliefs around abortion, the legal framework that guide abortion in Zimbabwe and how to report sensitively on the issue so as to change the attitudes of the society . Mrs Edna Masiyiwa, the Women’s Action Group (WAG)…

A fairer tax system, the answer to health funding gap

November 2, 2022 Healthtimes

EASTERN and Southern Africa (ESA) countries continue to face critical health budget deficits while sources of income to fund the sector remain subdued, experts have said. By Nyasha Chingono While there is agreement that universal coverage of health is a human right, countries still fall short of the Abuja Declaration which calls on states to spend 15% of the total domestic budget on health services. The Covid-19 pandemic, which caught many countries unprepared, exposed lack of investment in health sectors across the region while widening the gap between the “haves…

Turning a Dump-Site into a fountain Of Hope: How MSF’s Sanitary Seals Are Purifying Underground Water in Harare’s Cholera Hotspots

November 2, 2022November 2, 2022 Michael Gwarisa

Mrs Netsai Manthenga (46), a resident of Mbare National, recalls how they used to wake up as early as 4:00 in the morning to queue for water at Stoddard Hall in Mbare only to return home around mid-day. Elderly residents who failed to cope with the shoving and pushing at the water points would at times get their water from a nearby stream where raw sewage and dirty water that is usually drained from the Swimming pool nearby flows. By Michael Gwarisa It wasn’t easy,” she says, “Imagine spending eight…

Zim Gvt Approves Human-Wildlife Conflict Relief Fund For Victims

November 1, 2022 Michael Gwarisa

INFORMATION, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister, Senator Monica Mutsvangwa has announced the approval of a Human-Wildlife Conflict Fund for victims to compensate families and survivors of human wildlife conflict. By Michael Gwarisa The fund will also be extended to include preventative measures such as providing water in the game parks and enhancing grazing pastures as well as look at associated impacts such as livestock loss and control of wildlife and livestock movements to curtail the spread of diseases such as foot and mouth. Sources of funding will also include Treasury,…

Government wraps up MCAZ’s legal instruments

November 1, 2022 Kuda Pembere

Government says it is winding up the validation of legislations meant to bring the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ) closer to its desired target of achieving the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Global Benchmarking Tool (GBT) Maturity Level 3. By Kudakwashe Pembere The WHO’s assessment of regulatory authorities is based on the ‘ Global Benchmarking Tool’ – an evaluation tool that checks regulatory functions against a set of more than 260 indicators – covering core regulatory functions such as product authorization, testing of products, market surveillance and the ability to…

Climate Actions need to be Child-Centered

November 1, 2022October 18, 2025 Michael Gwarisa

Ahead of the COP27, Government of Zimbabwe and UNICEF hosted a high-level dialogue to take stock of the climate change challenges and concluded with a strong call for children to be at the heart of climate change strategies and actions. Harare, 31 October 2022 – Ahead of the (27th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change UNFCCC) COP27, which will be held from 6 to 18 November 2022 in Sharm El Sheikh (Egypt), the Ministry of Environment, Tourism, Climate & Hospitality Industry and UNICEF…

HIV advocate Cathy Murombedzi upbeat about HIV cure

October 31, 2022November 1, 2022 Kuda Pembere

A bullish veteran journalist and Health Communicators Forum (HCF) vice chairperson Catherine Murombedzi is among the hopefuls who live to tell this tale. By Kudakwashe Pembere Seeing her feels like reliving the biblical times when Jews waited for the Messiah. Having kept her faith, Cathy is upbeat she will see the HIV cure in her lifetime. I am certain an HIV Cure is possible. There was no treatment at the onset of HIV in the early 1980s up to the 90s, but here we are today, there is anti-retroviral therapy,…

Sleeping Alone Could Be The Reason You Are Battling Insomnia and Sleep Disorders- New Study

October 31, 2022 Healthtimes

Adults who share a bed with a partner or spouse sleep better than those who sleep alone, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Arizona. Results show that those who shared a bed with a partner most nights reported less severe insomnia, less fatigue, and more time asleep than those who said they never share a bed with a partner. Those sleeping with a partner also fell asleep faster, stayed asleep longer after falling asleep, and had less risk of sleep apnea. However, those who slept…

Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Health On Course To Fully Deploy Paperless System By December 2023

October 31, 2022October 31, 2022 Michael Gwarisa

Impilo, an Electronic Health Records (EHR) system which is currently being rolled out in Zimbabwe’s health facilities, is set to improve efficiency in the health sector through enhancing data collection, management, patients’ care as well as improving communication between health practitioners and patients. By Michael Gwarisa Briefing Journalists in Kadoma during a Results Based Financing (RBF) model for healthcare media sensitization meeting, Dr Robert Gongora, the National EHR Coordinator in the Ministry of Health and Child Care said their priority as is to accelerate the rollout/coverage and usage of electronic…