Tag: antiretroviral therapy

An HIV Wave Hitting Only One Side of the Market: Women in Mat South Are Bearing the Brunt

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa in Mat South In Matabeleland South, the burden of new HIV infections falls almost exclusively on women. The numbers are more than statistics; they depict a crisis where mothers and daughters are diagnosed one after the other, while men’s rates lag behind. This imbalance is shrinking families, disrupting livelihoods, and leaving communities to pick up the pieces. Data from the 2022 National Housing and Population Census shows that Matabeleland South has an estimated population of 760,000 people. Of these, the National AIDS Council (NAC) estimates that 93,000…

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Critical Gaps in Vital Monitoring Threaten Care Outcomes In Those Ageing With HIV In Zimbabwe

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa For 21 years, Martha Tholanah (60) has lived with HIV. She has experienced it all, from the days when an HIV diagnosis was a death sentence to today, when people living with HIV can lead healthy, fulfilling lives. Testing positive on January 3, 2003, Martha recalls her heartbreak when health workers informed her that her CD4 count was below 200. I had fallen sick and had to get tested. I had also just been accepted for a new job, so I needed to know where I stood.…

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Meet Dr. Dhodho: The Once Sickly Village Boy Who Transformed Rural Zimbabwe’s HIV Response

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa He wears many hats. Dr. Efison Dhodho is currently the Knowledge Manager for the Zimbabwe College of Public Health Physicians, a dedicated researcher, and the Director for Strategic Information, Evaluation, Learning, and Information Technology Systems at the Organization for Public Health Interventions and Development (OPHID). Born into a family of 13 as the fifth child, Dr. Dhodho recalls how his fragile health as a child necessitated moving to live with his mother, a rural nurse in Mwenezi District, while his siblings stayed with their father, a teacher.…

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What’s next for Zimbabwe’s collapsing health system?

Healthtimes

Health systems are, at their core, meant to promote, restore or maintain health. Their objective is to improve the length and quality of citizens’ life from the cradle to the grave. Health is therefore a fundamental human right. This was very clear to the different healthcare delivery administrators and practitioners in Zimbabwe for the last 42 years. But something happened along the way and Zimbabwe is now at the bottom of the pile. By Norman Nyazema During my tenure, from 1998 to 2002, as the director of the Institute of…

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150 000 New HIV infections Recorded Among Children In 2020

Michael Gwarisa

THE Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) says most of the 150 000 new HIV infections recorded among children in 2020 could have been prevented if interventions targeting the most affected groups had been implemented. HealthTimes Reporter According to the UNAIDS weekly update, a strong start would be to better engage women and girls at significant risk of acquiring HIV infection in integrated antenatal care and HIV services, including HIV prevention and testing, delivered at the local level, and to ensure that those who are HIV-positive receive…

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