By Michael Gwarisa For a survivor of rape, the assault may last minutes or hours. Its consequences can last much longer. Sometimes, those consequences are visible. There may be physical injuries, the need for medical treatment or concerns about sexually transmitted infections and HIV. Other consequences are less visible. Fear,

By Kuda Pembere Zimbabwe’s medical fraternity is mourning the death of Dr Booker Kambarami, one of the country’s pioneering specialists in obstetrics and gynaecology, who died on August 15. He was 76. In a condolence message issued on Sunday, the Ministry of Health and Child Care's Permanent Secretary Dr Aspect

Zimbabwe’s Abortion Law After Rape: What Changed, What Didn’t and What Survivors Need to Know By Michael Gwarisa Early in 2026, Zimbabwe’s abortion debate moved from the margins into Parliament. At the centre of the controversy was Clause 11 of the Medical Services Amendment Bill, a provision that ignited intense

By Kuda Pembere in Mt Darwin A CancerServe-organised medical outreach at Karanda Mission Hospital reached 267 people on Friday, offering free screening, consultations and other health services, with a strong focus on cancer and other non-communicable diseases. CancerServe is a private voluntary organisation established to help address gaps in cancer

By Michael Gwarisa in Beitbridge Seventy-year-old Gogo Lucia Changunda walks with a limp as she slowly pushes a wheelbarrow laden with food items and dignity kits. After moving only a few metres from the distribution point, where Zimbabwe Red Cross Society (ZRCS) staff, International Federation of Red Cross and Red

By Michael Gwarisa Tariro is only 19. A few weeks ago, she was on cloud nine. She had just been accepted into university to study law. After years of hard work, good grades and determination, the future seemed to be falling into place. She had plans, the kind that belong

By Kuda Pembere Zimbabwe's progress in reducing maternal mortality must now be matched by stronger efforts to save newborns, with researchers in obstetrics and gynaecology challenged to move beyond scientific papers and produce evidence-based solutions that can be translated into health policies and practical interventions as the country works towards

By Kuda Pembere Nineteen specialists in obstetrics and gynaecology have graduated from the East, Central and Southern Africa College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (ECSACOG), with 12 of them coming from Zimbabwe. A further 27 fellows and members were inducted into the college, marking a significant milestone in the development of

By Michael Gwarisa Population Services Zimbabwe (PSZ) has opened a new clinic in Harare’s Central Business District, expanding access to sexual and reproductive health, primary healthcare and non-communicable disease services for people who live and work in the city centre. The clinic, located at Eastgate Mall, will provide a range

By Michael Gwarisa A nurse-led outreach programme in rural Zimbabwe screened more than 1,100 women living with HIV for cervical cancer in a year, with seven in 10 accessing the service through outreach clinics, new data has shown. The programme, implemented through Kamutsenzere Rural Health Centre and nine outreach sites

By Michael Gwarisa Africa is preparing to write a new chapter in its public health story—one defined less by dependency and vulnerability and increasingly by African leadership, science, innovation and the determination to take ownership of the continent's health future. That ambition will take centre stage when the 5th International

By Michael Gwarisa For 22 years, Martha Tholanah has lived with HIV. When she was diagnosed on January 3, 2003, the future looked bleak. She had fallen ill and gone for an HIV test shortly before starting a new job. Her CD4 count was just 31, indicating severe immune suppression

By Michael Gwarisa For decades, the condom has been one of the most recognisable symbols of the global fight against HIV. Cheap, effective and relatively easy to distribute, condoms have been at the centre of prevention programmes that helped drive down new HIV infections across the world. But a new

By Staff Reporter The Ministry of Health and Child Care has dismissed as false a social media message claiming that Zimbabwe is recording a resurgence in COVID-19 cases and deaths. The ministry said claims of COVID-19 deaths at Mpilo Central Hospital and alleged cases at Salem Gama Central Hospital were

By Michael Gwarisa Another nurses’ strike could be looming in Zimbabwe after health workers accused Government of failing to honour agreements on the review of sector-specific allowances and the handling of a controversial job evaluation exercise. The Zimbabwe Nurses Association, ZINA, together with the Health Apex Team and other health

By Michael Gwarisa The scale of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) may be far greater than official figures suggest, with Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) warning that the disease was circulating for months before the outbreak was officially detected. Africa CDC

By Michael Gwarisa The United States has announced nearly US$2 billion in new health and humanitarian assistance for faith-based and community organisations working across some of the world’s most difficult environments, in what Washington says is its largest allocation of global health foreign assistance to faith-based organisations in more than

By Kuda Pembere When Sarudzai walked into a youth centre in Hurungwe, she was not looking for a debate about Zimbabwe’s abortion laws. She was looking for help. Four months pregnant with her third child, the 22-year-old mother of two had already made up her mind that she wanted to

By Michael Gwarisa Zimbabwe is recording nearly 12,000 influenza cases a week during the current seasonal peak, but the Ministry of Health and Child Care says there is no evidence that the country is experiencing a COVID-19 outbreak. The ministry says laboratory testing conducted in cases where COVID-19 was clinically

By Kuda Pembere ZIMBABWE has updated its national essential medicines framework and introduced new adult oncology treatment guidelines as Government moves to keep pace with changing disease patterns, advances in medical treatment and growing pressure on the health system. Health and Child Care Minister Dr Douglas Mombeshora last Thursday launched