Tag: FAO

Fleming Fund In Major boost for Manicaland AMR Surveillance

Michael Gwarisa

THE Fleming Fund has extended support towards the refurbishment and upgrading of two laboratories in Manicaland Province, one at Victoria Chitepo Provincial Hospital and another one at the Department of Veterinary Services, with the aim of addressing gaps in the surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). By Michael Gwarisa Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death. According to statistics, more than 1.2 million…

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Zimbabwe evaluates progress of its AMR National Action Plan

Healthtimes

Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), is a growing threat where the substances (“antimicrobials”) used to kill or neutralize pathogens lose their effectiveness. FAO Communication Department Every year, on average, 700,000 people die because of AMR, this number without global action, will continue to rise in tandem with food production losses leading to food insecurity. More recently, a research has shown that around five million human deaths were associated with AMR in 2019. To combat such a crisis, in 2015 and using a One-Health (OH) approach, three leading Tripartite organizations (the Food and Agriculture…

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Suspend Sale of Captured Live Wildlife in Food Markets Warns WHO and Partners

Michael Gwarisa

THE World Health Organisation (WHO), the Food and Agricultural organization (FAO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) have issued a statement condemning the sale of live wild mammals as well as the slaughtering of sickly wild animals as a means to prevent the spread of new SARS-CoV-2 variants between humans and wild animals. By Michael Gwarisa The call follows indications that certain wildlife species have been observed to be infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus in some parts of the world.  These species include domestic animals, free-ranging, captive or…

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Delivering As One Post Cyclone Idai Devastation…The Road To Recovery For Cyclone Idai Survivors

Michael Gwarisa

PETER Mutisi, a Cyclone Idai survivor from Kopa, Chimanimani lost his wife, house and entire business empire to the disaster. For the past two years, he has been struggling to cope with the fact that all he had worked for and the person he loved the most disappeared right in front of his eyes and he couldn’t do anything about it. By Michael Gwarisa recently in Chimanimani “Everything happened so fast, we receive plenty of rainfall every year in these parts and on the fateful night, that is March 15,…

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White Sadza Is Very Fit For Human Consumption- Zim Nutritionists

Michael Gwarisa

LAST week, Zimbabwean Journalist, Hopewell Chin’ono torched a storm on social media when he attacked Zimbabwe’s staple food, Sadza and suggested through his tweet that Zimbabweans should dump Maize meal Sadza for small grains since Maize was only fit for livestock consumption. “Sadza has ZERO value to our well-being!” he said. “Our ancestors ate superior starch than Sadza. Why aren’t we doing the same? Maize is originally Mexican. In advanced economies, it is for cattle!” By Michael Gwarisa He also added that Maize meal is fortified because it lacks the…

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How Antibiotics Are Finding Their Way Onto Your Diner Table

Michael Gwarisa

AS the world is grappling with emerging novel public health threats and natural disasters, lurking in the dark is an even more lethal and irreversible health challenge, Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), a catastrophe which could wipe out an entire civalisation if something is not done NOW. By Michael Gwarisa According to the World Health Oragnisation (WHO), by the year 2050, the world will be faced with a catastrophe of double proportions and will be losing about 10 million people yearly at a huge cost.  A number of strides have been made…

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Pfumvudza, A Tried And Tested Method Of Boosting Household Nutrition And Food Security Says Gvt & FAO

Michael Gwarisa

THE newly nationally adopted climate smart agriculture, Conservation Agriculture (CA) model or Pfumvunza which is being championed by the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Settlement is a trusted and proven method of increasing household food security and nutrition, top agricultural experts have said. By Michael Gwarisa Conservation Agriculture was piloted by the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) and other partners in various districts in Zimbabwe in 2009 and since then, at least 300 000 Zimbabwean small holder farmers who practiced this method have tripled their production. The method…

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Zimbabwe Rated As one Of The World’s Top Global Food Crises In New UN Report

Healthtimes

ZIMBABWE remains in the grip of severe food insecurity, with millions of people already requiring humanitarian assistance due to prolonged drought, climate-related shocks, economic deterioration and the situation set to worsen as the COVID-19 pandemic spreads, according to the new Global Food Crisis Report Forecast (GFCRF). HealthTimes Correspondent The joint report, released by the European Union, FAO, OCHA, UNICEF, USAID and WFP anticipates a worsening food insecurity situation in 2020 with an estimated 4.3 million rural Zimbabweans, including children, are in need of urgent action. On top of environmental factors,…

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Urgent need to scale-up assistance to drought affected people

Healthtimes

THE United Nations says even though the country was still reeling from the effects of the Cyclone Idai, there was need to increase support in drought hit affected areas around the country. HealthTimes Reporter The UN Zimbabwe team concluded a two-day field visit to UN supported relief efforts and development programmes in two districts in Masvingo Province. The team was led by the UN Resident Coordinator in Zimbabwe Mr. Bishow Parajuli together with FAO Sub-Regional Coordinator for Southern Africa and Representative to Zimbabwe Mr Alain Onibon, UNDP Resident Representative Mr…

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