Category: Health News

Zimbabwe’s Bumpy Road Towards Eliminating Paediatric HIV

Healthtimes

STATISTICS indicate that Zimbabwe is amongst some of the few countries progressing towards attaining the 90-90-90’s. The triple 90s is an ambitious treatment target towards eradicating AIDS by 2020,  that is next year. By Michael Gwarisa Under the 90s framework, by 2020, 90% of all people living with HIV will know their HIV status. By 2020, 90% of all people with diagnosed HIV infection will receive sustained antiretroviral therapy. By 2020, 90% of all people receiving antiretroviral therapy will have viral suppression. However, for Zimbabwe getting to the first 90…

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Zim Gets Advanced Tech To Test HIV In Infants…Results Come Out Within Hours

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ZIMBABWE has to date received at least 10 SAMBA machines meant for early diagnosis of HIV in infants, a move set to speed up detection of HIV in new born babies and children. By Michael Gwarisa The SAMBA HIV testing technology comes at a time Zimbabwe is making inroads towards eliminating mother to child transmission of HIV and the new technology will aid in detecting the virus early making it easy to initiate the young ones on anti-retro viral medicines. Officiating at the Handover Ceremony of 10 SAMBA machines to…

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Second Cholera Vaccine Dose Out Next Month

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A second dose of the cholera vaccine will be administered to the public in the next 30 days, a Cabinet official has said.   By Kudakwashe Pembere Despite the cholera epidemic having been controlled,  a number of latest cases  continue be recorded in communal areas with latets having been detected in Mutoko. Over 50 people succumbed to the water borne disease across the country with the majority of deaths reported in Glen View and Budiriro which was the hotspot. Health and Child Care Minister Dr Obadiah Moyo said in an…

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Karoi Records Spike In Teen Pregnancies and STIs

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KAROI rural district is battling a surge in Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) and teen pregnancies owing to an unprecedented rise in risky sexual behavior by young people.   By Kudakwashe Pembere recently in Hurungwe This emerged at the International Condom Day commemorations in the district on Saturday. Officiating the event, Hurungwe district administrator Ms Makepeace Muzenda said there was a spike in new STI cases. “There is a lot of traffic in our town, there by meaning a lot of sexual activity that also happens. As a town we have…

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#JOBALERT: Oxfam is Hiring

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Consultancy to conduct the final evaluation of the WE-Care Work your Dreams Programme (INT5282)   Oxfam is a global movement of people working together to end the injustice of poverty. The Role Since 2013, Oxfam’s Women’s Economic Empowerment and Care (WE-Care) initiative has worked to produce new methodologies and context-specific evidence about care work to enable development actors to address heavy and unequal care work for women in development initiatives and policy proposals.The Work your Dreams programme is a three year partnership(started in October 2016)between Oxfam GB, Unilever, the laundry…

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Valentines Blood Drive Lives Up To Billing

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BLOOD donors today thronged National Blood Services of Zimbabwe (NBSZ) blood clinics dotted around the country to give blood under the Valentines Blood drive campaign. By Michael Gwarisa According to a survey done by HealthTimes, as early as 8:00 am, blood donors had already come through to give blood at Joina City branch and the NBSZ Mazowe branch in Harare. In an interview on the side-lines of the Blood drive, NBSZ Public Affairs Manager, Ms Esther Massundah said the Valentines blood drive was one of the many campaigns lined up…

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UNAIDS Appoints New Deputy Executive Director of Programme

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UNITED Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Shannon Hader as the new Deputy Executive Director of Programme of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations. “Shannon is an exceptional leader in AIDS and TB—with extensive experience in improving systems for health,” said UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé. “From Washington DC to Zimbabwe she understands the epidemic and the response needed at the community, country and global levels—her vision and knowledge will be critical for UNAIDS and to ending AIDS by 2030.” Dr…

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USAID Announces $12 Mln Cancer Prevention Fund For Sub Saharan Africa

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THE United States Agency for International Development (USAID), in partnership with the U.S. National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, will dedicate $12 million to support the expansion of programs, to prevent cervical cancer in the Republics of Malawi and Mozambique through integrated programs to improve women’s health. Cervical cancer is an outcome of infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV). To reduce cervical cancer in Malawi and Mozambique, USAID will fund activities through the following partnerships: accelerating the introduction of a screen-and-treat strategy for HPV and cervical pre-cancerous lesions in…

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DRC: MSF starts enrolling patients in clinical trial of potential Ebola treatments

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THE Ebola Treatment Centres operated by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Katwa and Butembo, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, are participating in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of four potential Ebola-treatments in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The trial originally began in November in another treatment centre in the region and MSF facilities are now in a position to contribute to providing valuable information on these developmental products. The treatments that will be used in the RCT are Remdesivir, mAb114, REGN-EB3 and ZMapp. They have been…

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Parliament Rejects NatPharm Retail Pharmacies Bid

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LEGISLATORS say they are against the National Pharmaceutical Company (NatPharm)’s idea of setting up retail pharmacies at a time when hospitals and clinics in the country do not have medicines. By Kudakwashe Pembere During a tour of  NatPharm by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health,  Committee chair Dr Ruth Labode said the establishment of NatPharm’s retail pharmacies was deceitful of the Ministry of Health and Childcare and the company to come up with this idea when public health institutions’ pharmacies do not have some of the medications. “I think on…

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