Category: SRHR

HealthTimes Scribe Scoops Top Spotlight Initiative Media Monitoring Award

Healthtimes

HEALTHTIMES Editor, Michael Gwarisa yesterday bagged yet another prestigious award in the Northern Chapter of the Annual Spotlight Initiative Media Monitoring Awards (SAMA) on  Sexual Gender Based Violence (SGBV), HP and Sexual Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) reporting. By Staff Reporter The awards were hosted by Musasa Project through support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and sought to recognize journalists that went out of their way in reporting GBV issues as well as bringing all forms of violence and traditional harmful practices to the open. Gwarisa came out top…

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Rural Women And Girls Urged To Occupy Space In CSWs Processes

Healthtimes

CIVIL Society Organizations (CSOs) championing rights of women and girls have urged rural women and girls to claim their spaces in the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) despite challenges they face to be on these platforms. By Patricia Mashiri SRHR Africa Trust(SAT)with support of United Nations (UN WOMEN) have been conducting community sessions working with young girls and women so that their voices are also heard on CSW platform. The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is a principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated in promoting gender…

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Open Up Space For Adolescents To Access SRHR Services

Healthtimes

RECENTLY, I was saddened to read that a dead infant was found during a burst sewer pipe at a primary school in Bulawayo. I imagined the state of hopelessness the parent must have felt to resort to infanticide. And I felt angry about the lack of prioritization of women’s and girls’ sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), especially during this time of COVID-19 lockdowns, that may have contributed to this horrific outcome. By Edinah Masiyiwa The insufficient attention to women’s and girls’ needs and disruptions in health systems during…

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Zim ICPD Task-force Keeps Watchful Eye On Commitments Implementation

Michael Gwarisa

THE Zimbabwe National Taskforce (NTF) for monitoring commitments the country made at the 25th International Conference on Population Development (ICPD), has hit the ground running in ensuring the pledges Zimbabwe made at the Nairobi summit in 2019 are fulfilled. By Michael Gwarisa The taskforce was set up in November 2020 and it comprises of government ministries and departments, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), Academia, United Nations Agencies operating in Zimbabwe and other organizations and stakeholders. The Ministries of Finance and that of health and Child Care are co-chairs to the taskforce.…

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Advocacy Core Team Applauds Parliament For Bold Stance On Adolescents Access To Health Services

Healthtimes

THE recent move by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health and the Thematic Committee on HIV and AIDS to request the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) to amend section 35 of the Public Health Act of 2018  has set the tone for more engagement and advocacy with other key stakeholders, the Advocacy Core Team (ACT) has said. By Patricia Mashiri Section 35 of the Public Health Act of 2018, limits young people below the age of 16 from accessing health services including sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services…

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#JUSTIN: Age Of Consent Petition Scores Partial Victory

Michael Gwarisa

THE Parliamentary portfolio committee on Health and the Thematic Committee on HIV and AIDS have recommended that the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) should amend Section 35 of the current Public Health Act of 2018 which limits the age to accessing Reproductive Health Care Services to 16 years. By Michael Gwarisa This development follows a petition that was delivered to Parliament in 2020 by the Advocacy Core Team (ACT) in September, 2020 where they sought to have age restrictions on consent to accessing reproductive health care services by…

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How To Make A Police Report For A Rape Or Sexual Gender Based Violence Offense?

Michael Gwarisa

MANY a time, survivors of Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) or rape find themselves between a rock and hard surface after a rape crime would have been perpetrated against them. Due to information gaps, some rape survivors fail to take the necessary post rape procedures and keep the rape a secret leading to some health complications. By Michael Gwarisa It is imperative to note that in as much as rape or SGBV is a crime, it is first and foremost a health emergency. Thus, survivors are advised to seek…

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Media A key Stakeholder In Disseminating Spotlight Initiative Interventions

Michael Gwarisa

THE United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) says it is committed to working with all stakeholders including the media industry in disseminating and communicating interventions under the Spotlight Initiative. By Michael Gwarisa The Spotlight Initiative is a global partnership to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls. It was launched in September 2017 by the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General and the European Union (EU) High Representative and Vice President (HRVP). Speaking on behalf of the UNFPA Country Representative Dr. Esther Muia during a media training on Spotlight Media Guidelines…

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Shorten Referral Pathways For SGBV Survivors Says Musasa

Michael Gwarisa

REPORTING Rape or Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) from a spectator’s eye appears like a walk in the park. However, for survivors, it can be one lengthy and winding process. By Michael Gwarisa For survivors of SGBV failure to report within 72 hours has its own negative health implications such as Early Unintended Pregnancies, Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) or HIV infection. However, many factors could contribute to delays in accessing emergency services for survivors. Religion, culture and society all have a bearing on the outcome of an SGBV case.…

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10 Year Olds Booking At Maternity Units In Marondera…As Early Pregnancies Spike

Michael Gwarisa

GIRLS between the ages 10 to 24, have been make a sizable number of antenatal or pregnancy bookings that were recorded at Nyameni and Dombotombo Clinics in Marondera District during the first quarter of the year 2021. By Michael Gwarisa Majority of the cases were coming from farming communities surrounding Marondera while some were being recorded within Marondera urban settings according to data that was shared by the Marondera Municipality at an Adolescents Sexual and Reproductive Health (ASRH) meeting in Marondera recently. 152 Antenatal Clinic (ANC) bookings were recorded for…

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