Global Leaders Urge Governments to Treat Care Work as Core Economic Infrastructure

By Michael Gwarisa  Global health leaders have called for governments to recognise care work as essential economic infrastructure, arguing that investing in women-led care solutions is critical to strengthening health systems and driving economic growth. The call was made during a high level side event recently hosted by Pathfinder International and convened in partnership with Women in Global Health (WGH) at the World Summit for Social Development. The meeting, titled Investing in Women-Led Solutions for Social Development, brought together senior government officials, researchers and civil society leaders who warned that…

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The Slap That Sparked Malaria Awareness Among Makonde Artisanal Miners

By Kuda Pembere in Makonde By the banks of the Angwa River in Makonde District, James, an artisanal miner, vividly recalls the night his friend slapped him across the face. That slap, meant to kill a mosquito, set off a chain of events that ended up saving his life. In May 2025, James and his friend Jeremiah were digging for gold at night. Unaware of how malaria spreads, James thought the sting was nothing serious. The slap was hard. I just thought so were his palms. He showed me the…

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Door-to-Door Mobilisation Under SLL Brings Healthcare Closer to Children and Elderly in Gokwe

Gogo Bhunu, a sprightly woman in her early 90s, warmly welcomes a door-to-door health mobilisation team at her homestead in Bhunu Village, Gokwe North, as part of the Saving Lives and Livelihoods program bringing healthcare services closer to children and the elderly.

By Michael Gwarisa in Gokwe For years, healthcare in Gokwe North has been beyond the reach of many. The terrain is unforgiving, rocky, bumpy, and scorched by a relentless sun. Narrow footpaths snake through thorny bushes and jagged rocks, leading to scattered homesteads perched in places so remote you can’t help but wonder how anyone managed to settle there. Clinics are few and far between, with some as distant as 25 or even 30 kilometres away. In such an environment, seeking healthcare often means risking dehydration, exhaustion, or worse. It…

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Community Health Workers Go Digital

WHEN Nelson Mwanawenyu, a nurse at a plantation estate clinic in Manicaland province applied for a position with a private health institution in the city of Mutare, he was told the interview would be conducted through the Skype social media platform. By Caiphas Chimhete, CWGH He innocently asked the secretary who had phoned him to give exact directions to Skype, which he thought were some magnificent building in the mountainous city. Mwanawenyu’s enquiry sent the secretary into a bout of laughter. She however later explained to him that Skype was…

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Zim’s Community Health Strategy Nears Completion

THE Health and Childcare Ministry will complete the National Community Health Draft Strategy next week which will provide community health workers with guidelines on how they should work while on the ground. By Kudakwashe Pembere The team working on the draft expects to present it to the Health ministry in a fortnight amidst indications that wokers have all along been working been working without guidelines. Dr Stanley Midzi from Zimbabwe’s World Health Organisation office said they realised that all along there were no benchmarks on how community health workers are…

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