Giliead Under Fire For Withholding PrEP Patents

Kuda Pembere

United States (US) headquartered pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences, is being accused of engaging in inhuman practices of holding on to patents for certain lifesaving drugs, a situation that has condemned millions to new HIV infections and premature deaths. By Kudakwashe Pembere Some of the practices include ever-greening of medicine patents like Truvada which has been in use as a pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in many countries like Zimbabwe as well as opening the license for the generic production of the hepatitis C drug Harvoni to all low- and middle-income countries. AIDS…

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100 graduate in Quality Rights for Mental Health training

Kuda Pembere

A HUNDRED persons graduated after completing a Quality Rights training on mental health recovery and community inclusion which started in January this year. By Kudakwashe Pembere The training equips the general citizenry as well as professionals in the handling of persons with lived mental health experiences. It comes at a time when stigma stereotyping of people with psychosocial disabilties is still rife in the community and even some public health facilities. World Health Organization (WHO) Zimbabwe focal person for mental health Dr Debra Machando said the course is a recovered…

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WHO Publishes New COVID-19 Vaccination Guidelines

Healthtimes

THE World Health Organisation’s (WHO’s)  Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) has since revised the roadmap for prioritizing the use of COVID-19 vaccines, to reflect the impact of Omicron and high population-level immunity due to infection and vaccination. By Staff Reporter The roadmap continues SAGE’s prioritization of protecting populations at the greatest risk of death and severe disease from SARS-CoV-2 infection and its focus on maintaining resilient health systems. The roadmap newly considers the cost-effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination for those at lower risk – namely healthy children and…

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ABSA, Standard Bank agree US$193m funding deal to build new Zimbabwe hospitals

Healthtimes

Zimbabwe is to raise US$193 million in offshore lending to implement a 2019 agreement with UK infrastructure company NMS for the construction of hospitals and clinics in the country. NEWSWIRE ABSA and Standard bank of South Africa are the joint arrangers for the transaction, which will be insured by Export Credit Insurance Corporation of South Africa. The original contract saw NMS building clinics at Stoneridge in Harare and Cowdray Park in Bulawayo. The initial phases of the project, which also include four other hospitals, have been funded by the Zimbabwe…

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New WHO Findings On Possible Links Between COVID-19 And Chinese Sea Food Market Call For Action Against Zoonotic Diseases

Dingaan Mithi

By Dingaan Mithi For many months, there has been speculation on the possible origins of Covid-19. While there is no conclusive proof or evidence as to where exactly the virus originated from, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) blamed the Chinese government, pointing to a laboratory leakage of the virus, a new report by public health experts finds that Covid-19 could have originated in raccoon dogs. On 4 March 2023, scientists discovered accessions posted publicly on the Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data (GISAID), a global science initiative…

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Insect Porridge to Enhance Children Nutrition in Africa

Healthtimes

By Learnmore Nyoni January winds blow through mopane forests of Gwanda district in Zimbabwe’s Matebeleland South province. Silibaziso Dube buckles up her waist wrap as she kneels down to blow life to the dying flames at a makeshift fireplace where a large tin of water sits precariously on two rocks. Tswaranang Mashonja Community Group members have gathered to taste a new mopane worm based instant porridge developed by the Insects4Nutrition research team. Dr Lesley Macheka is the Director for Innovation and Industrialisation at Marondera University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology…

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ZACH Rallies Media to Amplify Voices of Adolescents Girls and women at risk of GBV

Michael Gwarisa

NEW HIV infections being recorded in Adolescent Girls and Young Women (AGYW) in Zimbabwe could be linked to harmful practices such as Gender Based Violence (GBV), Child Marriages and sexual abuse obtaining in the country, the Zimbabwe Association of Church related Hospitals (ZACH) has warned. By Michael Gwarisa UNAIDS data shows that  Adolescent Girls and Young Women from sub-Saharan Africa, aged 15-24, remain at substantial risk of acquiring HIV and in 2021, they accounted for 63% of all new HIV infections in 2021 largely due to  biological, socio-economic, religious, and…

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#BREAKING: Marburg virus disease could become global outbreak

Michael Gwarisa

THE World Health Organisation (WHO) has not ruled out the possibility of the Marburg virus disease (MVD) becoming a global health pandemic if necessary precautions are not taken on time. By Michael Gwarisa According to the Africa Center for Disease Control, MVD is a highly fatal, zoonotic haemorrhagic disease caused by the Marburg virus. Human-to-human transmission occurs through direct contact with body fluids from infected persons, or contact with equipment and other materials contaminated with infectious blood or tissues, body fluids of infected people, and contaminated surfaces or materials. Giving…

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Sweden Honors Love Shouldn’t Hurt Ambassadors

Michael Gwarisa

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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International Year of Millets: a global opportunity to direct policy attention to the nutritional and health benefits of millets

Healthtimes

By Patrice Talla – FAO Subregional Coordinator for Southern Africa and FAO Representative in Zimbabwe, Eswatini and Lesotho. This year we are celebrating the International Year of Millets. The year was endorsed by Members of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and its Governing Bodies and declared at the 75th Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in March 2021. FAO is the Agency taking the lead in celebrating this year. The focus on Millets could not be timelier. They offer valuable solutions in the face of…

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