Category: Health News

Zimbabwean Men Shun Vasectomy

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa Uptake of Vasectomy as a contraceptive, and Family Planning method remains depressed among Zimbabwean men, HealthTimes has learnt. A vasectomy (male sterilisation), is a surgical procedure to cut or seal the tubes that carry a man’s sperm to permanently prevent pregnancy. Speaking during an event to mark the renewal of contracts for Zimbabwe Family Planning Council (ZNFPC) brand Ambassador and Male Motivator, ZNFPC Executive Director, Mr Farai Machinga said more females were now taking up Tubal Ligation (a surgical procedure for female sterilization which involves severing and…

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Zimbabwe Developer Launches Whatsapp Chatbot To Connect Zimbabweans To Pharmacies

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa In a move that is set to ease hurdles associated with accessing medicines and other essential drugs at community level, a Zimbabwean Chatbot Engineer, Blessing Museki and his team, have developed Cloomi, a Whatsapp Chatbot that is set to link millions of Zimbabweans to pharmacies. To date, 60 pharmacies across Harare have already partnered with the developers. HealthTimes had the opportunity to interact with a convenient platform which allows one to quickly check the availability of drugs and compare prices. The Chatbot’s user-friendly interface simplifies the process,…

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230 000 Zimbabweans to benefit from USAID, WFP 2024 lean season assistance

Kuda Pembere

By Kuda Pembere About 230 000 Zimbabweans are set to benefit from the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) US$11.3 million food support to cushion against the January to March 2024 lean season. The World Food Programme (WFP) will be coordinating the distribution of this assistance which comes at the nick of time when the country is also enduring the El Nino situation.This lean season assistance is part of the collective efforts of the national Food Deficit Mitigation Programme in partnership with the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and…

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362 Million Adults Use Smokeless Tobacco-WHO Report

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa Latest data on the prevalence of smokeless tobacco use and several users aged 15 years and older from 89 countries between 2012 and 2022 shows a 6.3 percent – 9.0 percent prevalence among males and 3.5% among females. Smokeless tobacco is a tobacco product that is used by means other than smoking. Their use involves chewing, sniffing, or placing the product between gum and the cheek or lip. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) global report on trends in the prevalence of tobacco use 2000–2030, the…

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WHO Calls For Urgent Action As 400 Cholera Patients Are Hospitalized In Zimbabwe

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa World Health Organisation in Zimbabwe (WHO Zimbabwe) representative, Professor Jean-Marie Dangou has warned that a business-as-usual approach is detrimental to the prevailing Cholera situation in Zimbabwe. His call follows a recent surge in new Cholera infections and hospitalisations which could bring the healthcare sector to its knees should the situation continue for a few more weeks as 60 districts have reported cases so far in the country. Through his Micro-Blogging platform, Prof Dangou said there was need to act swiftly and address the deteriorating health situation. Indeed,…

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Zimbabwe Govt Allocates 71,500 Tonnes Of Grain To Feed Over 2 Million Food Insecure Citizens

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, Honorable July Moyo says government has set aside 71,500 metric tonnes of grain to distribute across food-insecure households during obtaining the lean season. Food situation data estimates that about 2,715,717 people will be in need of food assistance during the peak hunger period, between January and March 2024. The provinces with the highest food insecurity levels are Matabeleland North (42 percent) down from 58 percent from the previous year, Mashonaland Central (31 percent) and Masvingo province (30 percent). The…

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Zim, SA medical products regulators sign MOU

Kuda Pembere

By Staff Reporter The Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA), allowing the two regulators to develop a cooperative partnership towards ensuring access to safe, quality, and effective health products in the respective countries. This is the second MOU following the signing ceremony between MCAZ and the Egyptian Drug Authority (FDA) last year. MCAZ and SAHPRA will cooperate in joint products reviews and inspections to enable efficient access to health products. This partnership will also…

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When Religion Meets Cholera: Information Gaps Threaten Cholera Response In Marange

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa recently in Marange It’s 12:00 midnight, and two men knock at Cecilia Garira’s door. Cecilia is a famous Village Health Worker from the Johane Marange sect in Marange, Mfararikwa Village, who has volunteered to assist Cholera patients from her sect. The two men bear bad tidings. One of their members is critical and in need of help as he is exhibiting severe Cholera symptoms including dehydration. Cecilia doesn’t waste time. She packs her bag and joins the two men. Earlier in the day, the man in question…

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Harare water crisis technical committee given another 100 days

Kuda Pembere

By Kudakwashe Pembere As Harare’s water challenges appear to be a thorn in the flesh for both the local authority and central government, a technical committee appointed to come up with solutions to mitigate this crisis has been afforded another 100 days to round up their task. This on Wednesday was said by the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Dr Anxious Masuka during a progress report presentation of the committee’s first 100 days. He said Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa in October last year tasked a committee…

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Convicting Crystal Meth/Mutoriro Possession: Zimbabwe’s Biggest Legal Lacuna

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa Zimbabwe is experiencing a Drug and Substance abuse crisis. The drug epidemic is mainly affecting young people mostly males, even though the prevalence of females who use drugs is also rising. According to the 2022 Situation Assessment report of drug use in Zimbabwe, 58.47 percent of males use drugs in Zimbabwe, while females account for 40.59 percent. One drug that has wreaked havoc in Zimbabwe is Crystal meth, a common name for crystal methamphetamine, a strong and highly addictive drug that affects the central nervous system.  There…

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