Tag: UNAIDS

Finally, the girls can DREAM!

Michael Gwarisa

Tafadzwa Mabaya (16) is a data entry clerk at the Zimbabwe Health Interventions (ZHI) offices in Bulawayo. However, her story was not always this rosy. Back in 2016, Tafadzwa got married to a man from the apostolic sect. The marriage did not last as the man abusive and harbored polygamous intentions. By Michael Gwarisa She returned to stay with her mother in Marange where she was working. That is when she saw girls under the Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS Free Mentored (DREAMS) program seated under a tree at a nearby…

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Scrap Import Duty and VAT on Condoms…Partners Plead With Gvt, As Zimbabwe Records 15 Million Condom deficit

Michael Gwarisa

RELIANCE on donor funding for the National Condom program, coupled with a restrictive tax regime has resulted in Zimbabwe failing to meet its condom obligation of 173 million condoms per year, a development that could reverse progress made so far in the HIV response, HealthTimes has learnt. By Michael Gwarisa Zimbabwe’s national condom program comprise of public sector condoms, private sector condoms and Social Marketing condoms. However, increased donor fatigue has seen major donors such as the USAID and PEPFAR cutting their funding towards the procurement of public sector and…

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SADC Youth Helpline 393 Launched In Zimbabwe

Michael Gwarisa

IN a bid to bridge existing HIV information gaps and access to care for adolescents and young people, Youth Advocates Zimbabwe (YAZ), working with the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) and the National AIDS Council (NAC) have launched the SADC Youth Helpline to facilitate dialogue and openness between healthcare service providers and young people. By Michael Gwarisa The 393 Youth Helpline national contact center will be piloted in three districts in the SADC region namely, Francistown in Botswana, Zomba in Malawi and Zvishavane in Zimbabwe. The project also…

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Youth Engage takes global AIDS strategy to grassroots

Healthtimes

Youth Engage Zimbabwe, a  grassroots youth organization that advocates for the health, well-being and human rights of all young people  with the support of UNAIDS, has embarked on country-wide youth dialogues in an effort to  prompt the policy makers to do well on their promise in terms of health service delivery, allocation of funds and prioritization of beneficiaries. By Patricia Mashiri The dialogues are focusing on building evidence-based submissions on key asks, solutions, and priorities that will address gaps at a local grassroots level on HIV/ AIDS, Sexual Gender Based…

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O3 Annual Review Meeting kicks Off In South Africa

Michael Gwarisa

UNESCO’s flagship Our Rights, Our Lives, Our Future (O3) programme Annual Review Meeting (ARM)  commenced in Johannesburg , South Africa on Wednesday, May 5 2021. By Michael Gwarisa in South Africa The O3 review meeting will be running for three days where UNESCO and its partners will review O3’s transformative results focusing on children, adolescents and young people. The O3 Programme which is being run in partnership with ministries of education and health, across 33 countries in sub-Saharan Africa has already made significant strides despite its Compressive Sexuality Education (CSE)…

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Supporting HIV services for flood survivors in KwaZulu-Natal

Healthtimes

Since floods killed 440 people and left many thousands more homeless last week in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa, UNAIDS has been working with communities, civil society and government leaders to respond. Own Correspondent Together with the UN system in South Africa, donors and other partners, UNAIDS has been urgently evaluating the needs of thousands of people living with HIV who were directly impacted by the flash flooding. Swollen rivers and landslides damaged more than 600 schools and 66 health care facilities, while many homes have been left without running water…

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UNAIDS warns that the war in Ukraine risks a humanitarian catastrophe for people living with and affected by HIV

Healthtimes

The war in Ukraine has resulted in the destruction and disruption of health services and logistical supply chains that hundreds of thousands of people living with and affected by HIV depend on for survival. One in every 100 Ukrainians are living with HIV, and lack of access to antiretroviral therapy and prevention services would mean a wave of deaths and risks a resurgence of Ukraine’s AIDS pandemic. The community-led networks which are vital to maintaining life-saving services need an urgent upscaling of international support. Own Correspondent More than 40 health facilities…

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Towards an AIDS Free Generation, Nyazura Celebrates PMTCT Milestone

Michael Gwarisa

“GETTING initiated on Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) as well as registering for the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT) program early has been the best decision I have ever made,” said Tracey Makoni* (27) from Nyazura, in Manicaland province during an interview with HealthTimes on a media tour that was organised by the Family AIDS Caring Trust (FACT).  Tracey has five children and even though they were born after she had already tested positive for HIV, none amongst them has HIV, thanks to the PMTCT program being offered…

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NAC In Drive To Scale Up HIV Treatment And Testing Coverage In Males

Michael Gwarisa

THE National AIDS Council in Zimbabwe (NAC), has devised a number of strategies to bring men and boys on board, with the aim of increasing HIV treatment and testing coverage in males. By Michael Gwarisa The development comes in the midst of indications that globally, men continue to lag behind across the HIV testing and treatment continuum. According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) special analysis of 2021, globally, the testing and treatment targets for 2020 were almost reached among adult women (15 years and…

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UNAIDS Mourns Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Michael Gwarisa

UNAIDS says it is saddened at the passing of Archbishop Desmond Tutu who fought against apartheid in South Africa and combated racism and injustice worldwide and was also a powerful voice in the fight against AIDS, combating denial, demanding access to treatment for all, calling out against discrimination of people living with HIV, and championing the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, women, and children. A giant has fallen. Archbishop Tutu was a freedom fighter, a holy man, a great hero who played a history-shaping role in…

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