Tag: MSF

Father first, miner Second: Why a Gwanda artisanal miner puts family before all

Michael Gwarisa

The now 44-year-old Zibusiso Ndlovu was only 19 when he came to Tshebetshebe, Gwanda in 2001 to explore the ‘golden’ opportunities offered in the gold mining sector in Zimbabwe. He was full of hope at a time Zimbabwe was experiencing serious economic challenges that led to high inflation and job losses. With the fear of losing his job and the little income he was getting at the end of each month weighing heavily on him, Zibusiso decided to leave his general hand job at one of the foreign-owned commercial gold…

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Motherhood and peer education roles help Melissa to reshape her life and prepares her for the future.

Michael Gwarisa

By Own Correspondent  Melissa Sibanda is a 25-year-old single mother who lives in Reuben, Epworth in the outskirts of Harare. For a year, she served as a Doctors Without Borders (MSF) peer educator in the Adolescents Sexual Reproductive Health (ASRH) project, a project that provides comprehensive SRH healthcare to adolescents and young people in Mbare and Epworth suburbs. Melissa’s first hurdle in life was falling pregnant at an early age of 19. Difficult as it was, today, she looks back at how her experiences of motherhood and being a peer…

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South Africa, Zimbabwe and Congo among countries already witnessing disruptions in HIV care, says MSF

Michael Gwarisa

By Staff Reporter  The decision by the US government to temporarily freeze funding to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) alongside all other foreign aid for at least 90 days has had immediate effects on people living with HIV (PLHIV), said Doctors Without Borders (MSF) grams can continue at least until April, we are concerned that critical elements of the PEPFAR program remain frozen. More than three weeks since the US government froze PEPFAR funding, there is still widespread confusion and uncertainty as to whether this critical lifeline…

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MSF Secures CAB LA Doses For Zimbabwe and Three Other African Countries

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has secured a limited supply of long-acting injectable cabotegravir (CAB-LA), a groundbreaking HIV prevention medication, following months of negotiations with Viiv, its sole manufacturer. The initial rollout is set to begin later this year in Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, and Eswatini. To prepare for this rollout, MSF conducted a four-day training workshop for clinicians, nurses, and future implementers. The training aimed to build capacity among healthcare workers to effectively administer CAB-LA and integrate it into HIV prevention efforts. Dr. Gerald Hangaika, from MSF’s Mbare…

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Zimbabwe: MSF teams help tackle cholera in Buhera district

Healthtimes

It’s swelteringly hot under the midday sun in Chapanduka village in Buhera, a district of Manicaland province in south-eastern Zimbabwe, where a cholera outbreak has been raging since October 2023. A vehicle belonging to Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is navigating the bumpy road, heading to a local clinic to help treat patients and support local health staff in the management of the deadly waterborne disease. Suddenly the MSF vehicle draws to a halt. A man is lying on the roadside, drawing a crowd of onlookers, many of whom…

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MOZAMBIQUE: MSF expands access to safe abortion care in Beira

Michael Gwarisa

By Health Reporter Tuesday, January 23, 2024 — In Beira, a city on Mozambique’s central coast, Doctors Without Borders/MSF is connecting hard-to-reach communities with safe abortion care and other sexual and reproductive health services. Mozambique has one of Africa’s most liberal abortion laws, allowing abortion on request during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy and up to 24 weeks in limited circumstances, including fetal abnormality. Though abortion has been legal since 2014, many people still face obstacles to accessing this care, including stigma, misinformation, and corruption, such as charging for…

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MSF Provides mental health support for refugees

Healthtimes

In Tongogara refugee camp, a remote place in the south-east of Zimbabwe where over 15,000 people live, most of the refugees come from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Mozambique, Burundi and Rwanda. While in their country of origin, most of the refugees experienced traumatic events including war, rape, torture and physical injuries, among other traumatic events that caused them to flee. By Staff Reporter For some of the refugees, the camp is the only home they have known for nearly 20 years, having been born and bred there. As…

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Bandits Kill MSF Medical Staff In Burkina Faso

Michael Gwarisa

ARMED men yesterday morning (8/2/23) shot and killed two Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) medical staff in the Boucle du Mouhoun region, in northwestern Burkina Faso. By Michael Gwarisa The now deceased were on board an MSF vehicle, clearly identified as such, carrying a medical team of four on the road between Dédougou and Touga. The other two managed to escape the attack.The two victims, both from Burkina Faso, had been employed by MSF as a driver, since July 2021, and a logistics supervisor, since June 2020. They were 39 and…

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Zimbabwe Underground Water Could Run Dry In Our Lifetime

Michael Gwarisa

UNREGULATED pumping and extraction of ground water for both domestic and industrial purposes is putting a strain of Zimbabwe’s underground water, with indications that the resource could deplete in the foreseeable future, water experts have warned. By Michael Gwarisa The warning comes in the wake of increased extraction of underground water due to unplanned urbanization which has resulted in the sprouting of new settlements where land developers and city authorities are settling people in areas where there are no basic amenities such as piped running water. Renowned Hydrologist with the…

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Angela Makamure Lands Top Post In MSF

Michael Gwarisa

RENOWNED communication specialist and Journalist, Angela Makamure has landed a more senior role to become the new Regional Communications Manager for MSF in Southern Africa Region. By Staff Reporter Before her elevation, Angela served as the Media Liaison and Southern Africa Links Co-ordinator within MSF. After serving you for many years as Media Liaison and Southern Africa Links Coordinator for Doctors Without Borders (MSF) Southern Africa, that time has come to move to the next chapter. I am not leaving MSF, but just shifting to a new position of Regional…

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