Category: Health News

Those with Less Share More What the World Must Do for Rights, Equality, Empowerment

Michael Gwarisa

By Lydia Zigomo, Regional Director, UNFPA East and Southern Africa The road stretched endlessly, dust curling in the air, and the sun hanging heavy, unrelenting, pressing down on the parched earth. I was in northern Uganda, and I stopped in a small village. Beneath the shade of a lone mango tree, women gathered, their faces, young and old, etched and cracked like the ground they were sitting on. They offered what little they had—mangoes, plucked from dry branches, bruised from the fall but still sweet. Those with less shared more.…

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South African Legislator Proposes Denying Foreigners Access to ARVs After PEPFAR Funding Halt

Healthtimes

By Michael Gwarisa  Controversial South African Member of Parliament Gayton McKenzie has proposed an immediate halt to all medical assistance, including Antiretroviral Treatment (ART), in response to the gap left by the cessation of aid from the United States government. In the final week of February, PEPFAR-funded HIV organizations in South Africa, which receive funding through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), were notified that their PEPFAR grants had been permanently ended. PEPFAR, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, was launched in 2003 to help combat AIDS…

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Hon Kwidini Urges Parliamentarians To Develop Maternity Waiting Homes

Kuda Pembere

By Kuda Pembere As Zimbabwe continues to face a high number of maternal mortalities due to complications like hypertension, parliamentarians have been urged to use the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) and Devolution Fund to support the construction and maintenance of maternity waiting homes. Health and Child Care Deputy Minister Hon. Sleiman Kwidini made the call in the National Assembly while responding to a question from Hon. Tsitsi Murombedzi, who had expressed concern over the neglect of maternity waiting rooms. The Zimbabwean Parliamentary Constituency Development Fund (CDF), introduced in 2010, was…

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Zimbabwean Legislators Lay Groundwork for Private Member’s Bill on Abortion

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa Members of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health have begun preparations for a Private Member’s Bill seeking amendments to the Termination of Pregnancy Act (ToP). The proposed changes aim to broaden the legal grounds for abortion, allowing for greater access under specific circumstances. A Private Member’s Bill is a proposed law introduced by a legislator who is not part of the executive (government or cabinet). In Zimbabwe, this means a Member of Parliament (MP) who is not a minister or deputy minister can introduce a bill to…

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#BREAKING: Braids Worn By Black Women Contain Cancer Causing Toxins

Michael Gwarisa

By Staff Reporter  The NBC news has reported that Ingredients that can cause cancer were found in 10 synthetic hair products used in braids, extensions and other hairstyles popular with Black women, including artificial hair from popular brands such as Magic Fingers, Sensationnel and Shake-N-Go, according to a Consumer Reports study published Thursday. Lead, which can cause serious health and developmental problems, was also found in nine of the 10 packs of synthetic hair surveyed, including one package of braiding hair that exceeded the maximum allowed dose of lead by…

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UNAIDS Estimates 6.3M AIDS-Related Deaths, 8.7M New Infections from 2025-2029 Amid U.S. Aid Freeze

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa Estimates from the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) warn of a surge in HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths over the next four years if the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) permanently shuts down. The forecast follows the partial suspension of PEPFAR projects and the closure of USAID-funded HIV and AIDS programs worldwide. Responding to a question during a virtual meeting, Mary Mahy, UNAIDS Director of Data for Impact, confirmed that an additional 6.3 million AIDS-related deaths could occur over the next four…

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Zimbabwean Women Urge Government to Uphold Beijing Declaration on Women’s Health

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa As the world marks 30 years since the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, women’s rights organizations in Zimbabwe are urging the government to honor its pledge to improve healthcare access for women and girls. This call follows tragic reports that Zimbabwe has lost approximately 54 women to maternal deaths and 299 babies during childbirth since the beginning of 2025. Speaking at a multi-stakeholder meeting in Harare on “Beijing +30: Women and Girls’ Access to Health Services in Zimbabwe,” hosted by the Women’s Coalition…

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Hypertension Emerges as Leading Killer of Pregnant Women in Zimbabwe

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa A surge in hypertensive disorders during childbirth has led to an increase in maternal deaths across Zimbabwe’s health facilities over the past 60 days, HealthTimes has learned. Data presented by the Deputy Minister of Health and Child Care (MoHCC), Honourable Sleiman Kwidini, during a Parliamentary Question and Answer session yesterday, revealed that Harare recorded the highest number of maternal deaths since the beginning of the year. The maternal deaths from January 2025 to date stand at 54. The leading cause of death was hypertensive disorders and their…

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Cimas MEDLABS introduces advanced genetic testing services

Healthtimes

By Staff Reporter  THE country’s top provider of diagnostic and medical laboratory services, Cimas Medlabs has added the advanced genetic testing service on its procedures marking a significant milestone in the provision of cutting-edge healthcare solutions in Zimbabwe. As one of the leading medical laboratories in the country, Cimas Medlabs provides a wide range of pathology tests under its various departments. These include serology, haematology, biochemistry, microbiology and histology, immunohistochestry. Cimas Medlabs is thus able to offer wellness, screening, diagnostic and monitoring tests The services can be accessed by any…

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Minister Mutsvangwa Rallies Women to Regularly Screen for Lifestyle Diseases

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Minister, Senator Monica Mutsvangwa, has applauded PSMAS Medical Aid Society for championing a week-long wellness outreach program, where over 200 members have been screened for various lifestyle diseases. The program kicked off on Tuesday, February 24, 2025, and will end on Friday, February 28, 2025. The outreach is being conducted through Premier Lifestyle, a PSMAS wellness program. Speaking on the sidelines of the screening outreach program at the PSMAS Headquarters in Harare, where she also underwent screening for several…

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