Health News |

One In Every Four Children Not Registered- UNICEF

January 8, 2020January 8, 2020 Michael Gwarisa

DATA released by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) indicate that one in four children under the age 5 (166 million), on average, are not registered in the world today. By Michael Gwarisa According to a publication by UNICEF called “Birth Registration for Every Child by 2030: Are we on track?” children under five fail to get registration owing to a plethora of barriers which range from poverty, long distance to health facilities among others. And even when they are, they may not have proof of registration. The reasons are…

Machete Gangs Killed 105 People Since August 2019

January 8, 2020January 8, 2020 Healthtimes

A total of 105 people have died at the hands of Machete wielding gangs between August and October 2019, a civil society organization has said. In a statement, Heal Zimbabwe Trust (HZT) said its was gravely concerned by the escalation of cases of violence involving machete killings by artisan miners across the country. “During the festive season, there were reports of one police officer who was hacked to death by the machete-wielding gangs at Good Hope Mine in Battlefields. On Christmas eve, a gold buyer suffered the same fate in…

Enhanced Counselling Improves ART Uptake In Rural Chivi

January 8, 2020January 8, 2020 Healthtimes

WITH only a staff establishment of four primary care nurses, a nutritionist, a data entry clerk, an environmental health technician alongside the general hand, Madzivadondo Clinic serves 5 376 people. The clinic offers HIV services which include counselling and ART initiation with the aid of Direct Service Delivery models. The clinic’s Sister in Charge Assyria Zizhou says they employ various strategies to encourage ART uptake. “On the HIV services offered here at this clinic, we first offer pre and post-test counselling. If one opts in, we test him or her.…

Zim Human Development Index Rankings Improve

January 8, 2020 Healthtimes

ZIMBABWE according to the latest Human Development Index report moved six places up into having medium human development from low human development due to progress in health service delivery. By Kudakwashe Pembere Countries with very high human development are ranked from number 1 to 62. From 63 to 116 are countries having high human development while those ranked between 117 and 153 are in the medium human development group. The HDI is a summary measure for assessing long-term progress in three basic dimensions of human development: a long and healthy…

Mental Illness Is The Most Neglected Health Problem In The Developing World

January 8, 2020 Healthtimes

WHEN we think of international aid, we usually picture packages of food, vaccines, and water sanitation systems. Evidently, these are all fundamental needs for a healthy society. SOURCE: FORBES However, there’s another, equally fundamental, component that is too often overlooked: mental health. Mental health is an underserved cause in international aid for the same reasons it is still a taboo topic in most countries. First off, it has a stigma attached to it. If you suffer from a mental illness, the common conception is that there’s something wrong with you, as…

Medical aid fees increases challenged

January 8, 2020January 8, 2020 Michael Gwarisa

SOURCE: THE HERALD AS private hospitals, doctors and laboratories continue pushing up their fees faster than inflation, medical aid societies are following suit forcing many out of private health care and private health insurance as they can no longer afford the fees and subscriptions. The Association of Healthcare Funders of Zimbabwe (AHFoZ) issued new pricing guidelines in November last year to cushion members against huge co-payments and shortfalls. The adjusted rates have prompted members to either downgrade packages or drop health insurance completely. AHFoZ chief executive officer Ms Shylet Sanyanga…

Frontline AIDS Booklet Tackles HIV Status Disclosure

January 7, 2020January 8, 2020 Michael Gwarisa

FRONTLINE AIDS has developed a pamphlet which seeks to address the issue of HIV status disclosure amongst children and caregivers in a bid to increase relations between the two groups. By Michael Gwarisa According to Frontline AIDS, the booklet has been developed from the stories of young people and families in the READY+ programme. Stories have been gathered from eSwatini, Tanzania and Zimbabwe to share the experiences of caregivers caring for children and young people living with HIV. “We hope it provides parents and caregivers with information and ideas to…

Children Nutrition Status Improves In Zim: MICS

January 7, 2020January 7, 2020 Healthtimes

ZIMBABWE made great strides between 2014 and 2019 in improving the nutritional status of children which saw reduction in stunting, wasting, underweight and overweight, the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2019 states. By Kudakwashe Pembere The MICS was designed by UNICEF in the 1990s to assist countries in filling data gaps on children’s and women’s wellbeing for tracking progress toward World Summit for Children Goals, in 1995 and 2000. Giving the findings, Zimbabwe Statistical Agency technical committee co-lead of this survey Mr Handrick Chigiji said there was a reduction in…

2020: The International Year of the Nurse and Midwife

January 7, 2020 Healthtimes

THE World Health Organization has declared that 2020, the 200th anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth, will be the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife. The year represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to celebrate and thank nurses and midwives for all that they do, and to make clear the critical contribution that our professions can make in achieving universal health coverage. It is urgent that we make the most of 2020. By Barbara Stilwell, PhD, RN, FRCN, executive director, Nursing Now, a three-year global campaign seeking to raise the profile of…

EMA Moves To Ban Diapers

January 6, 2020January 7, 2020 Michael Gwarisa

SOURCE: THE HERALD Disposable diapers could soon be banned for posing a serious hazard to the environment as they create enormous amounts of toxic trash that takes 500 years to decompose in landfills while their improper disposal allows excrement to be washed into rivers. While many Zimbabweans who have stopped using traditional washable cloth nappies are against the proposed ban, as they say disposables provide convenience and save on time, soap and water, the Environment Management Agency (EMA) is already lobbying Government to ban them. EMA argues that disposable…