Category: Health News

Zimbabwe commemorates World Contraception Day with milestone achievement

Michael Gwarisa

Zimbabwe has become one of the first countries in the East and Southern Africa Region to qualify for Match Funding through the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Supplies Partnership after procuring contraceptives worth $1,5 million United States Dollars from domestic resources. This is a key achievement for the country’s efforts to support access to quality assured reproductive health and quality family planning commodities. The UNFPA Supplies Partnership 2021–2030 represents a new decade of commitment to advancing family planning and maternal health and accelerating progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. Launched…

Read More

The Role of Medical Professional Societies in Informing Communities on Maternal Health, Post-Abortion Care, and Abortion Laws Reform in Zimbabwe

Healthtimes

By Memory Pamella Kadau Maternal health, post-abortion care (PAC), and abortion laws reform are critical issues that require comprehensive and accurate information dissemination to communities. In Zimbabwe, medical professional societies are crucial in informing and educating the public about these topics. In 2022, the World Health Organisation (WHO) introduced new guidelines on abortion to help countries deliver lifesaving care. This article explores the significant role of medical professional associations in Zimbabwe in promoting maternal health, providing post-abortion care, and advocating for abortion laws reform.  Further, it proposes how medical professional…

Read More

Kambucha is an alcohol, Masvingo Council Doctor claims

Kuda Pembere

Masvingo City Council has banned its employees from consuming Kambucha, a fermented tea product, during working hours after learning it contains alcohol. By Kuda Pembere Touted as a non-intoxicating product with health benefits, a Masvingo doctor advised the Council Kambucha makes people drunk. Some people who have been drinking this product state a certain Kambucha number 3 made them drunk. “It has come to our attention that some council employees come to work drunk due to consumption of alcohol and other intoxicating substances. ” It has also been noted that…

Read More

Zimbabwe’s Pharmaceutical Industry On Chokehold

Michael Gwarisa

High Compliance and regulatory risk, coupled with steep production costs, unending power cuts, and import-related costs for pharmaceutical products and raw materials, have stifled growth in the local pharmaceutical manufacturing and retail sector, Industry players have said. By Michael Gwarisa The high costs of doing business have had a ripple effect on the consumers as the cost of pharmaceutical products locally is beyond the reach of many and in some cases, has led to drug stock-outs as operators struggle to produce and procure pharmaceutical products from source markets. Speaking at…

Read More

Zimbabwean Doctor Amongst The Team Designing the Gavi Hepatitis B Birth Dose Vaccine Programme

Michael Gwarisa

Renowned Zimbabwean Medical Doctor, Simbarashe Mabaya who is now stationed in Geneva at the Gavi Vaccine Alliance Headquarters, is part of the team that is designing a programme for the delivery of a vaccine to prevent mother-to-child transmission of the Hepatitis B virus in 55 Gavi- eligible countries across the globe. By Michael Gwarisa The Hepatitis B Birth dose vaccine programme is a new addition to the portfolio of vaccines support by Gavi. Gavi has been supporting the delivery of the Hepatitis B vaccine primary course excluding the birth dose…

Read More

ZAOGA’s Pastor Gandawa Speaks On Four Decades Journey With Infertility

Healthtimes

The general assumption is that men and women of the cloth are immune to certain life’s challenges and upheavals. Well, that is not the case. No one is immune to problems, especially health problems  such as infertility. Infertility is not a respecter of men and can affect anyone at any given time regardless of one’s social status, race, culture or creed. By Nthokozo Gudu Since the biblical old testament days, women  with infertility or those who failed to bear children were stigmatized against and labelled barren and society looked down…

Read More

Zimbabwe Won’t Meet 2030 ENAP Target Of Reducing Stillbirths To Below 12 Per 1000-Report

Michael Gwarisa

Zimbabwe is among the Seven countries in the SADC region that might fail to meet the Every New-born Action Plan Targets (ENAP) target of reducing the prevalence of stillbirths to less than 12 per 1,000 births. By Michael Gwarisa According to a Report of the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation, titled A Neglected Tragedy The Global Burden of Stillbirth, about half of all stillbirths occur in six countries namely India, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Nigeria, China, Pakistan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and with current trends, more than…

Read More

Zim Scales-Up Efforts To Control Invasive Alien Species

Kuda Pembere

Zimbabwe will soon be reviewing its National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) expected to be giving prominence to the management of Invasive Alien Species. By Kuda Pembere In a speech read on his behalf, Permanent secretary in the Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Ministry Ambassador Tayerera Faranisi said they are about to commence the revision of NBSAPs.  He said they are behind in their schedule for producing an NBSAP. Colleagues, this is an important topic for us as Ministry of Environment. Just to highlight for you, we are discussing…

Read More

Leprosy Resurgence in Zimbabwe…Government calls for more funding to control biblical disease

Michael Gwarisa

The Ministry of Health’s National Tuberculosis (TB) and Leprosy Control Unit has appealed for more financial resources to capacitate healthcare workers and health systems to detect and prevent the spread of Leprosy across the country. By Michael Gwarisa The re-emergence of Leprosy in Zimbabwe was first made aware to the media and other attendees of the 13th ECHO Session virtual meeting in 2022, where it was revealed that only 12 cases had been reported in Matabeleland North from 2016 to 2021. Responding to a community member in Mutare during the…

Read More

Zimbabwe to roll-out fourth round Polio Vaccination

Michael Gwarisa

The Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) and its partners will be rolling out the fourth round of Polio Vaccination from 10 to 13 October 2023 across the country’s 10 provinces. By Staff Reporter The move follows the discovery of Cases of Poliomyelitis disease that were detected among children in countries neighboring Zimbabwe in 2022. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), children under 5 years of age in Zimbabwe remain at high risk of getting this disease. According to the Ministry of Health E Programme on Immunisation (EPI),…

Read More