Tag: HIV

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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When Santa Brings Joy at Christmas, Injiva Bring Infections and Unintended Pregnancies: The Hidden HIV Threat Facing Mat South Girls

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa in Mat South In most parts of Matabeleland South, the festive season does not only bring tinsel and holiday cheer. It brings something far more complicated. Bottle store owners and shopkeepers prepare for football tournaments that turn their businesses into instant profit zones, while a quieter and more vulnerable anticipation grows among young girls in the villages. They know the Injiva are coming. These are men returning from South Africa or Botswana with cash in hand and the confidence to spend it. For many girls, the homecoming…

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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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High Demand Pushes America to Increase Lenacapavir Supply as Eswatini Gets First Shipment

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa The Kingdom of Eswatini has received its first shipment of the lifesaving HIV prevention drug Lenacapavir, a few months after becoming one of the few  African countries earmarked for the rollout to take delivery. The twice-a-year injectable drug will be introduced under the America First Global Health Strategy, which guides the United States’ global health programming across the continent. Launched in September, the America First Global Health Strategy aims to shift the United States’ global health efforts toward strengthening African health systems and building market-driven partnerships. Under…

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Zimbabwe to Prioritise Local Funding in New HIV Strategy

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa Zimbabwe is set to begin developing its fifth Zimbabwe National HIV and AIDS Strategic Plan (ZNASP V), which will guide the country’s HIV response from 2026 to 2030. The forthcoming strategy follows the successful implementation of ZNASP IV, which runs until 2025 and has seen major progress in the fight against HIV. Under ZNASP IV, Zimbabwe achieved remarkable milestones, including meeting the global 95-95-95 targets — where 95% of people living with HIV know their status, 95% of those diagnosed are on treatment, and 95% of those…

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United Nations Proposes Shutting Down UNAIDS In 2026

Michael Gwarisa

By Staff Reporter  The United Nations (UN) agency focusing on the HIV/AIDS pandemic could close by the end of next year as the UN restructures in the face of a funding crisis, according to a UN document published online. UNAIDS will “sunset” by the end of 2026, the document published on Thursday reads, part of a set of proposals from the UN to member states which they will have to decide on. It adds that UNAIDS’ expertise should be shifted into the wider UN system in the following year. The…

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Zimbabwe Selected Among Ten Countries to Roll Out Breakthrough HIV Prevention Drug, Lenacapavir

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa  Zimbabwe has been selected as one of ten countries globally to roll out lenacapavir, a revolutionary new HIV prevention drug that is being hailed as a game-changer in the global fight against HIV. The announcement was made on the official U.S. Embassy Zimbabwe Facebook page, marking a historic milestone in the country’s decades-long battle to curb new HIV infections. Lenacapavir, developed by U.S.-based Gilead Sciences in partnership with the Global Fund, is the world’s first twice-yearly HIV prevention medicine. Clinical trial data shows that more than 99%…

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Mombeshora Threatens Closure of Private Health Facilities Withholding HIV MTCT Data

Kuda Pembere

By Kuda Pembere Health and Child Care Minister Dr. Douglas Mombeshora has warned private health players who fail to provide data on Mother-to-Child Transmission (MTCT) programs, saying such facilities risk closure. He gave the warning during the National Validation Committee (NVC) Meeting for the Triple Elimination of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV, Syphilis, and Hepatitis B in Zimbabwe on Wednesday. “We need the data for planning purposes. So, it cannot be choice to supply data or out of choice. Or it must be then mandatory. Those who do not want to…

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One Visit, One Test, Three Results: The Triple Elimination Test Steps Up Global MTCT Fight

Healthtimes
Photo of Dr. Angela Mushavi addressing delegates at the International AIDS Conference in Kigali.

By Shamiso Yikoniko in Kigali, Rwanda A groundbreaking diagnostic tool recently prequalified by the World Health Organization (WHO) is set to revolutionize efforts to eliminate mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of three major infections: HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis B. Dubbed the “Triple Elimination Test,” the innovative tool adopts a ‘one visit, one test, three results’ approach, allowing healthcare providers to screen for all three infections using just one blood sample — with results available within 20 to 30 minutes. Previously, expectant mothers in many low-resource settings had to return to clinics multiple…

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U.S. Senate Moves to Protect PEPFAR Funding Amid Trump-Era Cuts Threat

Michael Gwarisa

By Health Times Correspondent The International AIDS Society (IAS) has applauded a bipartisan effort in the U.S. Senate to safeguard the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) from a proposed $400 million funding cut that had originated from President Donald Trump’s rescission package. However, advocates caution that the battle is far from over. Both the Senate and House of Representatives must still vote on the final budget package, and last-minute changes could emerge before the statutory deadline. PEPFAR, launched in 2003 by President George W. Bush, is widely…

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