Tag: ARVs

Relax, ARV Stocks Secure, Health Minister Tells People Living With HIV

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa in Umzingwane Health and Child Care Minister, Dr. Douglas Mombeshora, has assured the nation that Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) drugs remain fully stocked, adding that government is working toward maintaining a 12-month supply buffer at all times. The Minister was responding to concerns raised by the Zimbabwe Network of People Living with HIV (ZNNP+) during the Candlelight Memorial Commemorations held at Umzingwane Primary School in Matabeleland South on the eve of World AIDS Day. We have already started procurement processes to make sure that at every stage we…

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US Unveils $65 Million Bridge Plan to Sustain Zimbabwe’s HIV Respons

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa The United States Department of State, through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), has unveiled a new HIV and AIDS support fund worth US$65.1 million for Zimbabwe. The initiative, known as The Bridge Plan, will run for the next six months, with renewal contingent on the Government of Zimbabwe meeting new U.S. Government (USG) funding requirements. Under the Bridge Plan, the U.S. government will continue to support critical HIV interventions such as antiretroviral therapy (ART) and HIV commodities procurement. However, the new funding excludes certain…

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Zim Has Enough ARVs to Last Through 2025, Says Health Minister Mombeshora

Michael Gwarisa

By Kuda Pembere Zimbabwe has enough antiretroviral (ARV) drugs to last through the end of 2025, Health and Child Care Minister Douglas Mombeshora said Friday, allaying public concerns over a looming shortage. Speaking to HealthTimes, Mombeshora assured the nation that the country has an eight-month supply of adult ARVs, sufficient to meet the needs of more than 1.1 million people living with HIV who are on first-line treatment. We have procured and secured enough medicines for 2024,” said Mombeshora at a workshop organized by the National AIDS Council (NAC). “We…

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Zimbabwe Secures US$12M ARVs Amid Funding Cuts – Shipment Arrives in June

Kuda Pembere

By Kuda Pembere, recently in Chinhoyi With concerns mounting over potential shortages of antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) following the United States Government’s funding cuts, Health and Child Care Minister Douglas Mombeshora has reassured Zimbabweans that there will be no disruptions in supply. He confirmed that the government has already procured ARVs worth US$12 million, expected to arrive by the end of June. Speaking at a National AIDS Council (NAC) journalists’ workshop in Chinhoyi on Friday, Minister Mombeshora emphasized that the current stock would last until June, with additional procurement ensuring availability…

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Health Minister Allays ARV shortage fears

Kuda Pembere

By Kuda Pembere  The government, through the Ministry of Health and Child Care, has reassured the nation that there will be no shortage of antiretroviral drugs, having already floated a tender for their procurement. Concerns had arisen over the potential impact on HIV patients if stocks ran out after June. Previously, Health Minister Dr. Douglas Mombeshora had confirmed that the country had sufficient supplies until then. In Zimbabwe, 31% of antiretroviral drugs are procured through U.S. funding, with the remainder funded by the government through the National AIDS Council and…

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#Breaking: Donors About To Pull The Plug On Condom Funding In Zimbabwe

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa One of the major funders for HIV and AIDS programs in Zimbabwe, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), has notified the Zimbabwean government that it will terminate funding for condom programming within the next 30 months, HealthTimes has learnt. Popularly known as Madhimbare mainly because of their blue and white packaging, public sector condoms serve the biggest number of condom users in Zimbabwe especially those at high risk of HIV infection mainly Female Sex Workers (FSW), Artisanal Miners, Truck Drivers among other HIV key…

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Supporting HIV services for flood survivors in KwaZulu-Natal

Healthtimes

Since floods killed 440 people and left many thousands more homeless last week in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa, UNAIDS has been working with communities, civil society and government leaders to respond. Own Correspondent Together with the UN system in South Africa, donors and other partners, UNAIDS has been urgently evaluating the needs of thousands of people living with HIV who were directly impacted by the flash flooding. Swollen rivers and landslides damaged more than 600 schools and 66 health care facilities, while many homes have been left without running water…

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After Falling Off The Radar, Orphaned HIV Positive Boy Develops High Viral Load

Michael Gwarisa

A few minutes after bringing her son into this world, Simba Ncube’s* mother lost her life to AIDS related complications in 2010. Luckily before she died, Simba’s mother had registered her cousin sister, Ms Pride Ncube* as the next of kin and guardian to her child. On the fateful day, the hospital called Ms Ncube informing her that her sister had died and had indicated that she wanted her to raise her child. By Michael Gwarisa in Mutare However, a family feud ensued shortly afterwards with Simba’s maternal grandparents demanding…

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800 000 Children Living With HIV Not On ARVs Therapy

Healthtimes

New HIV infections among children declined by more than half (54%) from 2010 to 2020, due mainly to the increased provision of antiretroviral therapy to pregnant and breastfeeding women living with HIV. However, that momentum has slowed considerably, leaving particularly large gaps in western and central Africa, which is home to more than half of pregnant women living with HIV who are not on treatment. Gaps in the testing of infants and children exposed to HIV have left more than two fifths of children living with HIV undiagnosed. The number…

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Zim To Introduce HIV Prevention Drug Thats Taken Once Every Month

Healthtimes
Dr Nyaradzo Mgodi MBChB, MMed, Investigator of Record, HPTN-084 Zimbabwe – University of Zimbabwe College of Health Sciences Clinical Trials Research Centre, and HPTN Executive Committee Member

ZIMBABWE is among the first countries set to introduce a new HIV preventative drug that will be taken once a month in a move that is likely to expand HIV prevention options for citizens. By Patricia Mashiri The new drug, Islatravir (MK-8591) belongs to a class of drugs called First-in-Class Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Translocation Inhibitor (NRTTI) With Multiple Mechanisms of Action. These multiple mechanisms of action contribute to its high potency against HIV-1 and drug-resistant variants, and its high barrier to resistance. Dr Nyaradzo Mgodi, Principal Investigator, University of Zimbabwe’s…

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