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MSF nurse wins HIV-TB prize for life-saving TB test research

July 29, 2017 Healthtimes

Staff Reporter Zimbabwean MSF nurse and researcher Chenai Mathabire has won an HIV/TB Research Prize at this year’s International Aids Society Conference on HIV Science (IAS2017). Through a study conducted in Malawi and Mozambique, Chenai has provided strong evidence that an easy-to-use point-of-care TB LAM test, which quickly diagnoses tuberculosis (TB) in severely ill HIV patients, is feasible to use in real-life clinics with high numbers of HIV-TB patients. TB is the biggest killer of people living with advanced HIV, with over 400,000 patients dying each year from the disease.…

WhenTo Tell My Boy/Girlfriend I am HIV+…Plight of HIV+ Adolescents

July 28, 2017July 28, 2017 Healthtimes

By Michael Gwarisa AT a certain stage in life, the desire to be loved or love someone grips us all and the feeling to express one’s love through physical means overrides normal reasoning. Its more like ecstasy, you cant explain it! However, for young adolescents living with HIV, expressing themselves in love relationships is a bit of a challenge as they have to juggle between telling their loved ones their true HIV status or withhold the truth until a certain time. Just like any normal children, HIV positive adolescents also…

Bill Gates To Fund Zim’s Primary Health Care

July 13, 2017 Healthtimes

By Michael Gwarisa THE Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is set to avail a sizable amount of funding towards Zimbabwe’s Primary Health Care (PHC) services in a bid to bridge the funding gap bedeviling the health sector , a top Save the Children Zimbabwe official has said. In an interview with HealthTimes on the side-lines of a Primary Health Care Budget analysis feedback meeting, Save the Children Zimbabwe Health Project Advisor Forster Matyatya confirmed the development and said the Gates foundation has come at a time when there is…

World Population Day 2017: 4 Reasons Why Family Planning Is Important

July 10, 2017 Healthtimes

Family Planning is not just a part of curbing growing population but also has positive impact at individual level. This World Population Day, read on to know about the advantages of planning your family wisely. World Population Day is observed on 11 July every year to reaffirm the human right to plan a family. It encourages activities to create awareness about the importance of family planning throughout the world. This day also tries to spread knowledge about other important issues including gender equality, poverty, maternal health and human rights. According…

Rampant post-natal depression among Zim women

July 3, 2017 Healthtimes

By Kudakwashe Pembere About 30percent of Zimbabwean women undergoing the 6 week post-natal checkups suffer from post-natal depression, a mental health expert said on Friday. Postpartum depression (PPD), also called postnatal depression, is a type of mood disorder associated with childbirth which can affect both sexes. Symptoms may include extreme sadness, low energy, anxiety, changes in sleeping or eating patterns, crying episodes, and irritability. Speaking on an SFM show, Dr Dixon Chibanda said this condition is common among Zimbabwean mothers. “Post-natal depression is highly prevalent in Zimbabwe. Studies that we…

Church’s Role In Fighting Domestic Abuse

June 28, 2017 Healthtimes

By Pastor Banarbas Gwarisa The Bible portrays man as the pastor, priest and the King of his home. Man as husbands and sons of families are meant to be guiding families to walk the moral path as well as be the role models that launch the young generations into a future full of hope, love and security. However, there are many reasons why we see in today’s time this not being the case, men have actually turned away from their primary function which is that of protecting complementing efforts of…

AIDS levy to fund cancer fight

June 25, 2017 Healthtimes

Shamiso Yikoniko Sundaimail At least 7 000 new cases of cancer are recorded every year in Zimbabwe, resulting in 1 500 deaths. Moreover, 60 percent of these cancers are associated with HIV. As a result, the National Aids Council began procuring cancer detection equipment and drugs in 2012 to diversify its measures to fight HIV and Aids. NAC monitoring and evaluation director Mr Amon Mpofu confirmed the development and said these will not be reserved for people living with HIV only. “The procured cancer equipment and drugs will be distributed…

Kenya’s schoolgirls to get free sanitary pads from government

June 23, 2017 Healthtimes

SOURCE:BBC All Kenyan schoolgirls are to get free sanitary pads, the government has said. It is hoped the move will improve access to education in a country where many cannot afford sanitary products like pads and tampons. According to the UN’s education agency, one in 10 girls in sub-Saharan Africa misses school during their period. Some girls reportedly lose 20% of their education for this reason, making them more likely to drop out of school altogether. The amendment to the education act, signed into law by President Uhuru Kenyatta this…

Local and Regional Delegates To Grace AHFoZ Stakeholders Conference

June 23, 2017June 23, 2017 Healthtimes

By Michael Gwarisa PREPARATIONS to the Association of Health Funders of Zimbabwe (AHFoZ) 8th Annual Stakeholders Conference are at an advanced stage amid indications that more than 200 delegates will be in attendance from both the local and international scene. The conference will be held in the resort town of Victoria Falls from 6 to 9 September 2017 and will be running under the theme “The Health Ecosystem & The Quality of Life.” In an interview with HealthTimes , AHFoZ Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ms Shylet Sanyanga said all was in…

Home Birth Delivery Cases Drop

June 21, 2017 Healthtimes

By Michael Gwarisa recently in Guruve THE number of home deliveries by pregnant mothers has largely dropped over the past few years owing to the extensive roll out of Health Centre Committees (HCCs) around the country. The initiative which is being spearheaded by Save the Children Zimbabwe in collaboration with its funding partners DFID and EC through a program dubbed “Strengthening Community Participation In Health,” has seen at least 21 districts around the country’s 10 provinces benefiting as witnessed by the massive increase in community members participation in primary health…