The Need For Youth-Friendly Adolescent Sexual And Reproductive Health Services

Olindah Tariro Chademana

By Olindah Tariro Chademana According to the United Nations, youths are individuals aged between 15 and 24 years. Youth-friendly services, as defined by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), are health services that respect the rights of young people and take their diverse sexual and reproductive lives into account. The World Health Organisation (WHO) supports this definition and adds that youth-friendly health services should be trusted and catered specifically to young people, with the principles of accessibility, acceptability, equity, appropriateness, and effectiveness in mind. It is crucial that health and…

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Hope on the Horizon As New TB Vaccine Trials Kick Off

Healthtimes

Hundred years later after the first Tuberculosis Vaccine was developed, a new TB vaccine is on the horizon. By Mandy Collins Imagine a world where TB doesn’t steal millions of lives each year. That dream might be inching closer, thanks to a groundbreaking vaccine trial kicking off in South Africa. Towards the end of March 2024, the first doses of potentially the first new tuberculosis (TB) vaccine in a century were administered at a clinical trial site in Johannesburg, South Africa, marking a crucial step in the fight against this…

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In Search For An Elusive HIV Vaccine: Zimbabwean Scientists Dig Deeper For Answers after Imbokodo Trials

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa Over the past few years, several interventions have been developed as the world intensifies the fight against HIV and AIDS. These include combined strategies such as behavioral, biomedical, and surgical methods to prevent HIV like Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC). For other epidemics such as smallpox, polio, measles and COVID-19, vaccines saved the day as they proved to be efficient tools against the further spread of infections. However, for HIV, it has been a different story altogether. On May 18 every year, the world unites to commemorate World…

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#BREAKING: Health Ministry Appoints Dr Kavenga, Madzikwa To Substantive Roles

Healthtimes

By Staff Reporter The Ministry of Health and Child Care has made two key appointments to the Pharmaceutical as well as Tuberculosis Control divisions. The two recent appointees are Dr Fungai Kavenga who has been promoted to the position of Deputy Director TB and Prevention Control, and Mr Newman Madzikwa who has been appointed substantive Director Pharmacy Services. Dr Kavenga is a medical doctor and Public Health specialist with over 10 years in TB and HIV programing. He has worked in the Private sector, Civil Society Organisations and Public Sectors…

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Health Minister To Present National Health Insurance Bill in parliament in July

Kuda Pembere

By Kuda Pembere The Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) is preparing to table the much anticipated National Health Insurance Bill in Parliament come July this year, HealthTimes has learnt. While in a previous interview with this publication, the Health and Child Care Minister Dr Douglas Mombeshora had promised the NHI would be rolled out by July this year, Zimbabweans may have to wait a bit longer as this is the time the NHI bill to govern the scheme’s operationalization may be presented to Parliament. So these are proposals…

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Over 750 young doctors benefit from Merck Foundation’s Nationwide Diabetes and Hypertension Blue Point program

Kuda Pembere

By Kuda Pembere With African countries having fewer specialist doctors in hypertension, cardiology and endocrinology, the partnership between Africa’s first ladies, the Ministries of Health, medical societies as well as the academia and the Merck Foundation under the “Nationwide Diabetes and Hypertension Blue Point program” banner have given over 750 scholarships to young doctors. The young doctors will be practicing specialties namely Hypertension, Cardiology, Diabetes and Endocrinology. This Merck Foundation said this in a statement to commemorate World Hypertension Day. “At Merck Foundation we mark “World Hypertension Day” by improving…

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Zimbabwe Validates Multi-Sectoral Accountability Framework for TB Findings

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa In a bid to accelerate progress to end Tuberculosis (TB) by the year 2030, Zimbabwe has developed and endorsed its Multi-Sectorial Accountability Framework for Tuberculosis (MAF-TB) framework for TB baseline assessment findings. Launched in January 2023 in Zimbabwe, the MAF-TB aims to support the effective accountability of government and all stakeholders in the country, to accelerate progress to end the tuberculosis epidemic; and to be aligned fully with the End TB Strategy and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Development of MAF-TB in Zimbabwe was done by…

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Making Waves with Adolescent Girls and Young Women In HIV and AIDS Programing

Healthtimes

By Young Female Leaders in the HIV HIV remains a significant public health threat. Without addressing the social determinants, the status quo persists. Adolescent Girls and Young Women (AGYW) in the Sub-Saharan region, including Zimbabwe, still face limited leadership opportunities in the HIV response. The 2023 World AIDS Day theme serves as a reminder that communities must lead for interventions to be sustainable. It’s time to shift the perspective on AGYW—from mere service users to capable service providers. According to the Global AIDS Strategy 2021-2026, community-led organizations, especially those led…

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Community-based TB treatment highly effective in Togo

Michael Gwarisa

By Staff Reporter New research finds that a community-based approach to delivering TB treatment is highly effective at achieving successful TB treatment outcomes in Togo. The Union led the study in partnership with Togo’s National TB Programme (NTP) and the World Health Organization’s Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases. The researchers found that 93% of participants had favourable outcomes after six months (e.g. cured and/or completed treatment) through a community health worker-led approach to supervising treatment intake, compared to 78% through a family member supervising treatment intake.…

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Local organization supports children with neurological conditions

Kuda Pembere

By Kuda Pembere A group of youths from one of Harare’s oldest suburbs Highfields teaming up to start an organization supporting children living with neurological conditions says much can be done to allieviate the plight of caregivers and their children with intellectual and developmental disorders. The Charity Project was founded by Dr Mark Chunga, working with Ms Wadzanai Majuru, the operations manager; Ms Natasha Machingura, the programs manager and Mr Munyaradzi Edmore Kashiri, the finance manager. The organization has presence in Zimbabwe South Africa and Botswana. The organization birthed after…

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