Health News |

Zimbabwe’s Agriculture Ministry Receives ICT Equipment to Enhance Fodder Data Collection

May 13, 2025 Michael Gwarisa

By Kuda Pembere In a move aimed at strengthening livestock policy through data-driven insights, Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development has received a consignment of ICT equipment to enhance the collection and management of feed and fodder data nationwide. The equipment — including six laptops, two desktop computers, and a printer — was purchased by the African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) through its Resilient African Feed and Fodder Systems (RAFFS) project. It was handed over to the Zimbabwe Feed and Fodder Multistakeholder Platform…

Zimbabwe Joins Rollout of First-Ever Oral Treatment for Deadly Sleeping Sickness

May 13, 2025 Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa Zimbabwe is among five African countries that have started administering the world’s first all-oral treatment for Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense sleeping sickness—a rare but deadly disease that has long affected communities in East and Southern Africa. The development marks a turning point in the fight against this neglected tropical disease, especially in endemic regions like Zimbabwe, where tsetse fly infestations remain a concern. The new drug, Fexinidazole Winthrop, is now being offered free of charge in specialized treatment centres in Zimbabwe, Malawi, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Zambia. Its approval…

Africa CDC Denies World Bank Ordered Layoffs, Clarifies Internal Staffing Review

May 13, 2025 Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has strongly refuted claims that the World Bank directed the institution to cut dozens of staff positions, describing the assertion as factually incorrect and misleading. In an official statement issued on 12 May 2025, Africa CDC expressed concern over a recent article published by Devex, titled “Exclusive: World Bank directs Africa CDC to cut dozens of positions.” The organization said the headline and the article’s framing risk distorting internal developments that are part of a broader strategic…

Motherhood and peer education roles help Melissa to reshape her life and prepares her for the future.

May 12, 2025 Michael Gwarisa

By Own Correspondent Melissa Sibanda is a 25-year-old single mother who lives in Reuben, Epworth in the outskirts of Harare. For a year, she served as a Doctors Without Borders (MSF) peer educator in the Adolescents Sexual Reproductive Health (ASRH) project, a project that provides comprehensive SRH healthcare to adolescents and young people in Mbare and Epworth suburbs. Melissa’s first hurdle in life was falling pregnant at an early age of 19. Difficult as it was, today, she looks back at how her experiences of motherhood and being a peer…

Half of UNAIDS Employees Set to Lose Jobs Amid Major Restructuring

May 10, 2025 Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa UNAIDS is set to cut half of its workforce as the organization grapples with significant funding shortfalls and a shifting global donor landscape. According to internal communications, staff were informed during a town hall meeting on Tuesday that the number of employees will be reduced from around 600 to between 280 and 300. The move is part of a broader restructuring effort triggered by deep funding cuts from traditional donors, including the United States, Europe, and parts of Asia. In response, UNAIDS is considering relocating many positions…

US Cuts UNFPA Funding, Threatening Millions of Lives and Maternal Health Gains Globally

May 10, 2025 Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the UN’s sexual and reproductive health agency, has expressed deep regret following the United States government’s decision to halt future funding to the organization, a move that could reverse decades of progress in maternal health and reproductive rights. The US government announced its intention to cut funding by invoking the Kemp-Kasten Amendment, citing long-debunked claims about UNFPA’s alleged involvement in coercive reproductive practices in China. Multiple independent investigations, including by US government agencies, have found no evidence to support these allegations.…

Africa Accelerates Genomic Science to Tackle Epidemic Threats

May 10, 2025 Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa in Addis Ababa Africa is increasingly becoming the frontline of global disease outbreaks. According to data from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the continent recorded a 40% increase in outbreaks, from 152 in 2022 to 213 in 2024. In the past year alone, Africa has battled multiple health threats, including a deadly cholera outbreak in Southern Africa, escalating cases of Mpox in Central and East Africa, and Marburg and Ebola outbreaks in Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda respectively. While many of these outbreaks…

Health Ministry Raises Alarm Over Surge in Malaria Cases and Deaths

May 9, 2025 Michael Gwarisa

By Staff Reporter The Ministry of Health and Child Care has expressed deep concern over a sharp rise in malaria cases recorded across the country during the first 17 weeks of 2025. More than 59,000 cases have been reported, compared to 21,309 during the same period in 2024. Malaria-related deaths have also risen significantly, increasing by 218% from 45 last year to 143 this year. The ministry attributes the surge to a combination of environmental and behavioural factors. The Ministry of Health and Child Care is deeply concerned about the…

Global Fund Procures African-Made First-Line HIV Treatment

May 6, 2025 Michael Gwarisa

By HealthTimes Reporter The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the Global Fund) has reached a historic milestone by procuring – for the first time – a first-line HIV treatment manufactured in Africa. The treatment – lifesaving, quality-assured antiretroviral medicines (ARVs) called TLD (tenofovir, lamivudine and dolutegravir), prequalified by the World Health Organization – was sourced from a leading Kenyan pharmaceutical company and delivered to Mozambique. The volume supplied can treat over 72,000 people per year in the country. This historic milestone highlights the Global Fund’s strong commitment…

Strengthening Nutrition Information Systems Vital for NDS-2 Success

May 6, 2025 Michael Gwarisa

By Blessing V. Bonga There is a critical need to revamp the Food and Nutrition Council (FNC)’s information system in order to continue extracting ground truth in information to inform National Development Strategy 2 (NDS-2) on the basis of evidence and household dynamics in a bid to arrest all forms of malnutrition, a senior Council official has said. Speaking on the sidelines of FNC’s 4th Annual General Meeting held in Harare on Tuesday, Council Director General, Dr George Kembo said his organisation is worried about malnutrition and called for a…