Tag: NAC

#JUSTIN: Gvt Appoints New NAC Board

Michael Gwarisa

MINISTER of Health and Child Care (MoHCC), Dr Obadiah Moyo has appointed an eight member board for the National Aids Council (NAC). By Michael Gwarisa The previous NAC board was terminated in March of 2019, barely a year after it was appointed owing to numerous irregularities and concerns by stakeholders on appointment of the board, which was deemed improper and not appointed according to procedure. The new board will be chaired by Mrs Margaret Mehlomakhulu and she will be deputised by Mr Phillip Francis Moses. Matthew Mare comes in ion…

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Dr Benard Madzima Appointed NAC CEO

Healthtimes

Family health director in the Ministry of Health and Child Care, Dr Bernard Madzima is now the new National Aids Council (NAC) chief executive officer. Source: The Herald Dr Madzima was appointed yesterday by the Ministry of Health and Child Care in consultation with President Mnangagwa. He replaces Dr Tapuwa Magure who left the organisation in 2018. Since then, NAC has been operating without a substantive chief executive. Government is yet to appoint a board of directors for NAC, which was dissolved early last year.

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Curtain Comes Down On ZIMPHIA 2020 HIV Survey

Michael Gwarisa
ngwarai sithole

THE second Zimbabwe Population based HIV Impact Assessment (ZIMPHIA) 2020 survey has ended on a high note amidst indications that the survey managed to reach cover more than 19 000 households countrywide. By Michael Gwarisa The first phase of the survey which kicked off in November, 2019  is a population household survey led by the Health and Child Care Ministry working in collaboration with the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (Zimstat), National Aids Council (Nac) and ICAP at the Columbia University. Giving the keynote address on behalf of Health and Child…

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Five Die In Byo, As Prophets Order Them To Stop Taking ARVs

Michael Gwarisa

AT least five people died in Bulawayo in the period leading to the 2019 festive season following indications that they had discontinued taking Antiretroviral medications at their prophets’ orders, HealthTimes has learnt. By Michael Gwarisa recently in Bulawayo The revelation came into the open when members of various HIV and AIDS support revealed that they stumbled upon stashes of Antiretroviral treatment drugs in the deceased’s’ rooms while some had publicly confessed that they had been ordered to stop taking their medications by their pastors and prophets. National Aids Council Bulawayo…

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Zim Has Highest HIV Criminalisation Prosecutions In Africa

Michael Gwarisa

ZIMBABWE has the highest rate of HIV criminalisation prosecutions in Sub-Saharan Africa and the sixth highest in the world owing to what legal experts have termed a vague and retrogressive piece of legislation. By Michael Gwarisa in Kadoma Briefing journalists at Editors Media Workshop organised by NAC in Kadoma,  NAC Legal Advisor, Mr Fanuel Ncube said the criminalisation legislation has a had a negative implication on the HIV response and parliament should move with speed to ensure its repealed. In terms of the prosecutions, Zimbabwe among one of the highest…

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Harare Door to Door HIV Survey Launched

Michael Gwarisa

THE team conducting the 2019-2020 Zimbabwe Population HIV Based Assessment (ZIMPHIA) survey will be leading a door to door gathering and collating of HIV related data with the aim of assessing the progress as well as identifying gaps that could hinder the realisation of the 2030 goal of ending AIDS. By Michael Gwarisa The Harare launch follows the successful commencement of Phase 2 which kicked off after a short festive season sabbatical. Phase one to the survey was completed in December where a community response rate of at least 95…

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CSOs Pressure Gvt To Appoint New NAC Board and CEO

Michael Gwarisa

THE National AIDS Council (NAC) which has gone for more than 365 days with neither a  substantive board nor Chief Executive Officer (CEO) has come under fire from Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) who believe the development was impacting negatively on the national HIV response. By Michael Gwarisa Health and Child Care Minister, Dr Obadiah Moyo dissolved the NAC board a year ago a few weeks after former NAC CEO, Dr Tapuwa Magure had resigned. Since January 2019, Mr Raymond Yekeye the NAC Operations Manager and Mr Alfred Manenji the Finance…

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Inflation Erodes AIDS Levy Collections…No ARVs Procured In 2019

Michael Gwarisa

RUNAWAY inflation coupled with skyrocketing prices for pharmaceutical products has eroded AIDS Levy collections over the past few months, making it difficult for the National Aids Council (NAC) to procure Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) drugs from foreign suppliers, HealthTimes has learnt. By Michael Gwarisa Even though treasury gave NAC the green light to access foreign currency from banks at the prevailing Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) set interbank rate, the organisation has been struggling to purchase lifesaving drugs from foreign sources since suppliers only accept the United States Dollar (USD). Briefing…

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300 000 People Living With HIV Fail To Access Services

Healthtimes

ZIMBABWE has about 300 000 people living with HIV still on the sidelines of accessing treatment services due to poor health seeking behavior among other things. By Kudakwashe Pembere This emerged during a two day Men’s Dialogue involving Traditional and Faith Based leaders on HIV and Health in Harare. On the sidelines of the event, Health Ministry National PMTCT and Pediatric HIV Care and Treatment Coordinator  Dr Angela Mushavi told HealthTimes that they have learnt that a large number of those left behind in accessing HIV services are men. In…

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CSOs Raise Awareness On HIV & Disabilities At Agric Show

Michael Gwarisa

A consortium of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) representing people living with disabilities is riding on the 109th edition of the Zimbabwe Agricultural Show (ZAS) to raise awareness on sexual reproductive health (SRH) issues affecting people with disabilities (PWDs) in Zimbabwe. By Michael Gwarisa The consortium which consists of Deaf Zimbabwe Trust (DZT), Mashambanzou Care Trust (MCT), Disability, HIV & AIDS Trust (DHAT) with support from the Zimbabwe Aids Network (ZAN) has this week been conducting stand to stand visits on various exhibitions stands educating exhibitors on SRH concerns faced by…

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