June 2019 - HealthTimes

Only 134 Ambulances Functioning Countrywide

June 29, 2019July 1, 2019 Michael Gwarisa

ZIMBABWE only has 134 operational ambulances out of 282 vehicles, a situation which has affected the sector’s capacity to respond to health emergencies. This was revealed by Auditor General, Mildred Chiri during her submission of the Report on the Audit of Appropriation Accounts, Finance and Revenue Statements and Fund Accounts of Zimbabwe for the year ended December 31, 2018. “In order for the Ministry to promote public health it requires ambulances to provide transport to patients. My examination of the asset register for the Ministry however, revealed a constraint in…

Doctors Told Not To Hike Fees

June 29, 2019June 29, 2019 Healthtimes

GOVERNMENT has warned errant medical specialists not to proceed with the exorbitant pricing of health services. By Kudakwashe Pembere Health and Child Care Secretary Dr Agnes Mahomva in a statement said this was unfair. “The Ministry is greatly concerned with the unilateral increase of tariffs by the Physician Association of Zimbabwe following the announcement of the SI 142 of 2019. This amounts to unfair practice by providers to members in terms of the Medical Services (Medical Aid Societies) (Amendment) Regulations, 2004,” she said. She explained that the Act forbids any…

PCD Donates ZW$387K Worth Of Chemotherapy Medicines

June 28, 2019June 28, 2019 Healthtimes

PHARMACEUTICAL and Chemical Distributors on Friday handed over a donation of chemotherapy drugs worth over ZWL$387 000 at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals with some of the medication to be extended to Mpilo Hospital in Bulawayo. By Kudakwashe Pembere The intervention comes after CancerServe Trust solicited from companies to provide free medicines for cancer patients who have to cough up US$100 for chemotherapy. Cancerserve chairperson Dr Anna-Mary Nyakabau told HealthTimes the donation meant cancer patients would get the chemotherapy drugs for free. She said some patients were now selling belongings to…

Zim Annual TB Incidence Falls By 8%

June 28, 2019 Michael Gwarisa

CASES of new Tuberculosis (TB) infections have declined by 8% at the back of improved access to TB screening treatment and care at community level. By Michael Gwarisa The incidence of tuberculosis (TB) is defined as the number of new TB cases in one year per 100,000 population whereas prevalence of tuberculosis is defined as the number of TB cases in a population at a given point in time (sometimes referred to as “point prevalence”) per 100,000 population Speaking at the Mid Term Review of the Zimbabwe National TB program,…

200 Chinese Doctors Dispatched To Zim Since 1985

June 27, 2019 Healthtimes

CHINA has to date brought about 200 Chinese specialist doctors to Zimbabwe since 1985 to support local medical personnel. Economic and Commercial Counsellor at the Embassy of China to Zimbabwe Mr Chen Ning said this at the reception of ten Chinese specialists who arrived over the weekend. “In 1985, the government of china started sending its medical teams to Zimbabwe. At the moment nearly 200 doctors as medical teams have been sent to Zimbabwe,” he said. Since 1963, the Chinese government has so far brought 30 000 of its doctors…

Zim Abortion Law Drives Girls Into Early Marriages

June 27, 2019June 27, 2019 Michael Gwarisa

ZIMBABWE’S current Termination of Pregnancy Act which criminalises abortion, opens room for uncontrolled early child marriages, a top legal expert has said. By Michael Gwarisa The Termination of Pregnancy Act (ToP) 1977 only permits abortion if the pregnancy poses a threat to the life of the unborn child or the mother or if the pregnancy is as a result of incest or rape. According to the law, termination of pregnancy cannot happen anywhere else besides a designated institution in this case a public hospital and at least two medical practitioners…

Zim, UN, EU Launch Spotlight Initiative

June 26, 2019June 26, 2019 Healthtimes

THE Zimbabwean Government on Wednesday jointly launched a multi-year Spotlight Initiative with United Nations and the European Union to assist women and girls realize their full potential in a violence-free, gender-responsive and inclusive Zimbabwe. By HealthTimes Reporter The launch was presided President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa who was represented by Higher and Tertiary Education Minister Hon Professor Amon Murwira, European External Action Service Deputy Secretary-General, Mr. Christian Leffler and Director Ms. Henriette Geiger (People and Peace in the Director General for Development and Cooperation of the European Commission); UN Resident Coordinator,…

American Company Pledges US$40 million To Develop Zim Hospitals

June 26, 2019June 26, 2019 Healthtimes

AN American multinational conglomerate General Electric pledged US$40 million for the upgrade of four Zimbabwe’s state owned hospitals, a Cabinet official said on Wednesday. By Kudakwashe Pembere At the 22nd Cabinet Decision Matrix, Media and Broadcasting Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said the just ended 12th Africa-USA Summit Summit offered the country an opportunity to advance its re-engagement exercise as well as promote investment in the country. “Highlights of this included His Excellency President E.D. Mnangagwa’s meeting with General Electric, an American company which is set to partner with a Chinese company…

AHFoZ Endorses Forex Ban

June 25, 2019June 25, 2019 Healthtimes

THE Association for Health Funders of Zimbabwe (AHFoZ) has welcomed the ban of multiple currencies in local transactions noting this will regularize the healthcare supply chain. By Kudakwashe Pembere This move comes barely a month after AHFoZ told parliamentarians there was need to have a uniform pricing regime in the healthcare sector after observing how healthcare providers charged in foreign currency at the expense of the majority which hardly has that money. The association recommended the sole currency of the Zimbabwean Dollar or dollarisation. AHFoZ chief executive officer Mrs Shylet…

11 800 Zimbabweans On PrEP

June 25, 2019June 25, 2019 Healthtimes

OVER 11 800 Zimbabweans have been initiated on Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis as of last month, an AVAC fellow said on Monday. By Kudakwashe Pembere Addressing an International AIDS Society Harare Scientific Symposium, AVAC Fellow-cum-Pangaea Aids Zimbabwe Trust coordinator Definate Nhamo said the number was huge. “As of May 2019, we have about 11 800 who have been initiated on on PrEP,” she said. Following the youths demand of PrEP, she said PrEP was only distributed to certain populations perceived to be at risk of contracting HIV. “So in Zimbabwe we started…