Category: Health News

Gvt Mulls Decentralising Radiology Services

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DEPUTY Minister of Health and Child Care (MoHCC), Dr John Mangwiro has hinted on government’s Intention to decentralise radiology services which are currently being offered at Parirenyatwa Hospital, Mpilo and Oncore Center in Harare.   By Michael Gwarisa The move is in line with government’s vision of devolution whereby critical economic enabling services will be offered in all the country’s 10 provinces. Officially launching the Breast cancer Pink Conference in the capital, Dr Magwiro said owing to economic woes, some cancer patients find it difficult to travel to the few…

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Decline in Adolescent HIV Prevalence

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A 2017 Youth Adult Survey has found that the HIV Prevalence among adolescents alongside young adults is dropping.  The survey however could not mention what could have attributed to this decline but indications point to massive awareness campaigns, financial support and other programs to reduce HIV. By Kudakwashe Pembere The survey dubbed Youth Adult Survey of Zimbabwe: Using Data to better understand and serve children and adolescents at risk of HIV and child violence in Zimbabwe sought to estimate prevalence and incidence of HIV and prevalence of physical, emotional and…

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Stool-Based diagnosis Could Eradicate TB In Children

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A simple method for processing stool samples for Xpert MTB/RIF testing using minimal equipment has been announced at the 49th Union World Conference on Lung Health and could enable the identification of thousands of children with  tuberculosis (TB) and multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) disease – drastically reducing the numbers of children under five dying from TB. Currently, an estimated 239,000 children die every year from tuberculosis (TB). Children with TB rarely die when they receive standard treatment for the disease, but 90 percent of children who die from TB worldwide went untreated.…

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Cholera Vaccine For Zim Prisons

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With overcrowdedness  in Zimbabwe’s prisons , the cholera vaccination programme is to be extended to prison inmates and prison officers in the next couple of days to contain the spread of the epidemic , a World Health Organisation official said on Thursday. The World Prison Brief ranks Zimbabwe number 18 for having the most number of prisoners in Africa with 19 521 inmates.  Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of an Outbreak reporting workshop in Mazowe on Thursday, WHO Vaccination Expert Dr Marc Poncin said Harare prisons will not be…

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Stanbic Donates US$20 000 For Chemo Drugs Procurement

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STANBIC has extended a US$20 0000 donation to the Cancer Association of Zimbabwe (CAZ) which will go towards the purchase of chemotherapy drugs for cancer patients. By Michael Gwarisa The donation comes at a time Zimbabwe is facing foreign currency woes to purchase drugs for various ailments including cancer drugs. Speaking at the handover ceremony, Stanbic Bank board member, Mr Kingstone Kamba said the central bank had prioritised the issue of drugs purchases at this critical time. “According to the report from the association, our contribution from last year assisted…

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Expensive Drug Resistant TB Drugs Derail Treatment Efforts

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People with drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) continue to be deprived of today’s best-possible treatment in part because of high drug prices, according to a new report—DR-TB Drugs Under the Microscope— released today by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) at the 49th Union World Conference on Lung Health in The Hague.   MSF called, in particular, on US pharmaceutical corporation Johnson & Johnson (J&J) to cut the price of the newer TB drug bedaquiline in half, so more lives can be Sed aved. In August 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended expanding…

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HSB Calls For Adequate Health Sector Funding

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WITH Parliamentary preparations for the 2019 National Budget heating up, Health Service Board feels the allocation of adequate funding to the Health Sector can alleviate shortage of hospital staff and equipment needed at public health institutions. By Kudakwashe Pembere During an HSB Harare Central Hospital tour on Tuesday, nurses and doctors bemoaned the incommensurate human resources and inadequate hospital amenities. HSB members toured the Children’s Clinic, Casualty, Maternity, Renal and General wards where they were told of a deficit of some ventilators used for ICU, intravenous antibiotics to mention the…

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Mutare Prov Hospital Struggles With Critical Maternal Referral Cases

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MUTARE provincial Hospital acting medical superintendent, Dr Emmanuel Sedze says most district hospitals are referring maternal cases that would be in bad shape, resulting in increased maternal deaths being recorded from their institution.   By Michael Gwarisa recently in Mutare The development comes amidst indications that some hospitals in the province recorded zero maternal deaths while some only have a few mortality cases while the provincial hospitals which handles the bulk of referral cases from district hospitals  is left to bear the brunt of deaths owing to the advanced stage…

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Schizophrenia Survivor Speaks Out…25 Years No Relapse

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SURVIVING mental disorder, more so avoiding sliding back into a schizophrenic relapse is almost impossible.  According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) Schizophrenia affects more than 23 million people worldwide. It is more common among males (12 million), than females (9 million) and starts earlier among men. By Kudakwashe Pembere People with schizophrenia are 2-3 times more likely to die early than the general population. This is often due to physical illnesses, such as cardiovascular, metabolic and infectious diseases (WHO). For 40 year old Tobias  Mudavanhu (name supplied) a Schizophrenia…

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Gender Violence Survivors Find Hope In Safe Shelter

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THE road leading to Hauna, a fruits and horticulture farming community in Honde Valley in the Eastern Highlands, is one long, winding and treacherous one.   By Michael Gwarisa recently in Hauna Honde Valley Through the mountainous and rugged terrain, the dark tarred road wriggles its way through the countryside from Nyanga, passing through some sloppy curves and escarpments. Owing to the high altitude, the sense of hearing somehow fades midway through the mountains while the light rain showers randomly spit from all directions. In the Banana, Sugarcane and fruit…

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