Category: Health News

Another Devastating Blow to HIV Funding as US Congress Advances $2 Billion in Cuts

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa The future of the United States’ HIV response hangs in the balance after the House Appropriations Committee advanced a spending bill that would slash nearly $2 billion from federal HIV programs. Advocates and public health leaders are warning that if enacted, the cuts could dismantle decades of progress in the fight against HIV and put millions of lives at risk. The proposed Fiscal Year 2026 Labor-HHS appropriations bill eliminates all Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) HIV prevention funding, amounting to roughly $1 billion. It also…

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Childhood Obesity Emerging as a Global Public Health Crisis

Michael Gwarisa

By Staff Reporter  Childhood obesity is rapidly becoming one of the most pressing public health challenges worldwide, with millions of children now overweight or obese, according to a new global nutrition report. The report reveals that between 1990 and 2022, the number of children living with obesity soared from 31 million to 58 million, while the number of overweight children rose from 61 million to 104 million. Together, this means more than 160 million children globally are either overweight or obese, a staggering rise that health experts warn poses serious…

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Africa Lags Behind in Mental Health Spending, Allocating Less Than 10 Cents Per Person

Kuda Pembere

By Kuda Pembere At a time when African Governments are seized with the scourge of drug and substance misuse, Zimbabwe included, they are spending less than US$0.10 per capita on mental health, compared to more than US$50 in other regions of the world. Government expenditure per capita refers to the total government spending divided by the total population, representing the average amount of public money spent per person in a country. This stark underinvestment was highlighted in the World Mental Health Atlas 2024, released earlier this month by the World…

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Dust, Gold, and Infection: Midlands Province Grapples with Mining-Driven HIV Epidemic

Michael Gwarisa
A young artisanal miner operates a lever at a mine shaft in Gokwe, Zimbabwe, highlighting the risks faced by children working in unsafe mining environments.

By Michael Gwarisa in Midlands Province As one descends the winding Boterekwa curves in Shurugwi in the Midlands province, the scale of mining activity becomes impossible to ignore. The landscape has transformed dramatically since the turn of the millennium. In the distance, rocks are blasted from the earth, sending thick clouds of dust into the sky. Just past the curves, Musasa Shopping Centre is a hive of activity. Evidence of the night’s revelry litters the open space, with empty beer bottles and used condoms scattered near Chirasha Bar, one of…

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Sperm Cells May Carry Traces of Childhood Stress, Study Finds

Michael Gwarisa

By Staff Reporter  New research suggests that fathers who experienced high levels of stress during childhood may carry traces of that trauma in their sperm, potentially influencing their offspring — though scientists caution that more research is needed before drawing firm conclusions. The study, published on January 3, 2025, in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, examined the epigenetics of sperm cells from men exposed to significant childhood stress. Epigenetics refers to chemical or molecular modifications that affect how DNA is read, without altering the underlying genetic code. These changes can influence…

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UNAIDS Welcomes US Move to Expand HIV Prevention Access

Michael Gwarisa

By Staff Reporter  UNAIDS welcomes the announcement by the US State Department that the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) will be supporting an initiative by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria to provide lenacapavir to up to 2 million people in countries with high burdens of HIV. Lenacapavir, an American-based innovation, is one of the most promising new HIV prevention tools that has emerged in the HIV response, offering protection against HIV with just twice-yearly injections. The breakthrough medicine will save thousands of lives if…

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External Experts Assess Zimbabwe’s Health Security Progress Since 2019

Kuda Pembere

By Kuda Pembere in Kadoma The final phase of Zimbabwe’s Joint External Evaluation (JEE) is underway in Kadoma to assess gaps in the country’s health security systems while reflecting on progress made since the initial evaluation in 2019. The first phase, which involved an internal self-assessment, was completed in July. The current external evaluation runs until Friday. Evaluators from Uganda, Kenya, Zambia, South Sudan, and Tanzania, along with experts from the World Health Organization (WHO), Africa CDC, and other partner organizations, are in the country to review Zimbabwe’s self-assessment. A…

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Donor Funding Cuts Deal Major Blow To Male Circumcision Programs In Midlands Province

Michael Gwarisa
Dr. Mary Muchekeza, Provincial Medical Director for Midlands, addressing journalists in Gweru on the impact of donor funding cuts on voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) programs.

By Michael Gwarisa in Gweru The Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) has warned of a decline in the coverage of Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC) in the Midlands province owing to major disruptions in donor funding earlier this year. For more than a decade, Zimbabwe’s VMMC program has relied heavily on external financing, particularly from the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as well as grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. However, following the freeze…

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Nutrition Sector Seeks Slice of Fast Food and Sugar Taxes in Upcoming Fiscal Plan

Kuda Pembere

By Kuda Pembere With the 2026 National Budget public consultations beckoning, legislators have pledged that the nutrition sector will receive a dedicated portion of revenue generated from the sugar and fast-food taxes. In an interview with HealthTimes after a Nutrition Training Workshop for Members of Parliament and Senate organized by the Zimbabwe Civil Society Organizations Scaling Up Nutrition Alliance (ZCSOSUNA) with financial and technical support from UNICEF, Gender and Development Committee acting chair Senator Eleven Kambizi commended the interface acknowledging that women carry the burden of nutriviely feeding the family.…

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Village Delivery Turns Deadly: How Home Births in Gokwe Are Fueling New HIV Infections

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa in Gokwe South When Sister Farisai Mlambo, the nurse in charge at Katema Clinic in rural Gokwe South, spoke in an interview with HealthTimes on the sidelines of a Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) dialogue, she revealed a chilling case that has unsettled health workers and traditional leaders in the area. “We had an unusual case here, a baby delivered to HIV-negative parents tested HIV positive. Upon further investigation, we discovered that the delivery had been conducted in the village by a traditional birth attendant. The baby…

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