From Perpetrator to Advocate: A Bindura Man’s Journey to Break the Cycle of Gender-Based Violence

By Kuda Pembere recently in Kadoma An often-overlooked consequence of gender-based violence (GBV), is the bitter aftertaste it leaves on future generations—a legacy stained by silence, shame, and isolation. Chadwick Mangwiro* (not his real name), a man rooted in African family values, takes pride in his totem, Shumba—a name held dear by his father, relatives, and community. Yet behind this proud identity lies a painful past. His father, once a perpetrator of GBV, eventually turned a corner, committing himself to love and support his wife. Following in those reformed footsteps,…

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PSH Adopts Social Enterprise Model to Sustain Health Services

By Michael Gwarisa In a strategic move to ensure long-term sustainability, Population Solutions for Health (PSH) is transforming part of its operations into income-generating ventures, positioning itself as a hybrid social enterprise amid waning international donor support. The shift comes at a time when global health programs are facing disruptions due to the withdrawal of funding from major donors, particularly the United States government. The cutbacks have forced several non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that were heavily reliant on donor aid to shut down or scale back significantly. To remain operational and…

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Greedy Parents Exploit Lack of Birth Certificates to Shield Child Marriage Offenders in Zvimba

By Michael Gwarisa, Mutorashanga A Zvimba traditional leader, Chief Gibson Jenami Katizagombo, has raised alarm over a growing trend in his community where parents are exploiting the absence of birth documentation to mislead authorities and legitimize early child marriages. According to a 2015 study titled The Face of Child Marriages in Mashonaland West, key drivers of child marriages in the province, particularly in Zvimba District, include poverty, religion, culture, peer pressure, and teenage pregnancies, among other factors. Speaking to HealthTimes on the sidelines of National Women’s Day commemorations in Mutorashanga—hosted…

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Zimbabwe’s INTEGRATE Program Marks Milestone: Over 150,000 Circumcisions Achieved in HIV Prevention Push

By Michael Gwarisa Over 150,000 men and boys have undergone circumcision under the INTEGRATE-Catalyzing Integrated Sustainable Subnational HIV Biomedical Prevention Program, an initiative aimed at enhancing decentralized biomedical HIV prevention services in Zimbabwe. The program, implemented by the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) with technical support from Population Services International (PSI) and Population Solutions for Health (PSH), was catalyzed by funding from the Gates Foundation. Launched in November 2020, the INTEGRATE project was designed to run for four years and is set to conclude by the end of…

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CAB-LA Enjoys High Continuity Rates Among PrEP Users In Zimbabwe

By Michael Gwarisa The recently introduced long-acting cabotegravir (CAB-LA) for HIV prevention has seen more users returning to get the second dose post their first jab, with data showing that the injectable drug has recorded a continuity rate over 90% since roll out in April, 2024. Currently, the Injectable PrEP is being administered in PrEP study sites in Harare, Mature and Bulawayo and is targeting mainly groups at high risk of HIV, namely Female Sex Workers (FSW), Adolescent Girls and Young Women (AGYW) and Men who have Sex with other…

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Population Solutions for Health launches PREVENT program

Population Solutions for Health (PSH), and Populations Service International (PSI) on Monday hosted the Going the Last Mile for HIV Control closeout while launching the PREVENT program meant to protect the gains Zimbabwe has made in the fight against HIV pandemic. By Nthokozo Gudu PSH Executive Director and Managing Trustee, Dr Noah Taruberekera gave remarks and celebrated the successes of the Last mile program. This event is about looking back and celebrating the successes of the US$101 million dollars Last Mile program funded by PEPFAR through USAID. This program was…

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PSH Hosts Religious Indaba On Child Marriages and Intimate Partner Violence in Zimbabwe

Population Solutions for Health (PSH) in collaboration with Population Services International and support from the Swedish Embassy in Partnership with the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprise Development held a three day religious leaders dialogue in Mazowe, Mashonaland Central Province. By Michael Gwarisa Speaking to HealthTimes, PSH said the dialogue was meant to change harmful cultural norms and values that drive intimate partner valance and child marriages at community level. Child marriage is a practice that negatively affects young girls socially, culturally, economically and their health even…

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Love Shouldn’t Hurt campaign partners Mutare sports tourney for weekend jamboree

The Love Shouldn’t Hurt campaign crusades into Manicaland this weekend, where it is partnering an annual sports tournament to bring both entertainment and the serious business of sexual and reproductive health services to the doorsteps of people in the eastern border city. By Staff Reporter Population Solutions for Health (PSH), which is behind the campaign, has this year partnered with organizers of the annual Mai Hondo youth memorial junior soccer tournament as part of its quest to use sports as a vehicle to promote anti-Gender Based Violence (GBV) messages. The…

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Sweden Honors Love Shouldn’t Hurt Ambassadors

THE Embassy of Sweden in Harare and its partner, Population Solutions for Health (PSH), awarded several celebrities and influencers for using their voice to amplify the Love Shouldn’t Hurt (LSH) campaign, a movement  against intimate partner violence. By Michael Gwarisa The Awards Ceremony was held at the Swedish Ambassador’s residence in Harare on Friday 24, March 2023 and they were meant to applaud and recognize the champions who made the Love Shouldn’t Hurt campaign a resounding success. In her speech at the awards event, Embassy of Sweden to Zimbabwe Ambassador…

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Love Wins. Applauding the Love Shouldn’t Hurt Campaign

PSI and implementing partner, Population Solutions for Health, implemented a national branded campaign dubbed #LoveShouldntHurt #RudoHarurove #UthandoKaluhlukumezi with funding from the Swedish Government through the Embassy of Sweden. The project ran for 3 years from January 2020 – December 2022, and aimed to prevent GBV, to change behaviors and attitudes to reduce violence among partners (Intimate Partner Violence), engage male peers to act as inherent change makers and increase the number of men and women who believe GBV should not be tolerated in their communities. Beating partners and children is…

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