Month: February 2020

Fifty Pupils To Be Recruited As Nutrition Advocates

Healthtimes

THE Zimbabwe Civil Society Organisations Nutrition Alliance (ZCOSUNA) alongside the Rural Enterprise Trust of Zimbabwe aims to nurture 50 school children as nutrition advocates. By Kudakwashe Pembere The Rural Enterprise Trust of Zimbabwe a member of ZCOSUNA took nutrition advocacy to Kuwadzana district schools namely Presbyterian College and Corpus Christ High School. In Harare, this program was taken to Churchhill Boys High School. RETZ head of programs Cuthbert Mukora giving the background of this initiative said since 2017, they trained junior parliamentarians and junior councilors. Previously we have been doing…

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Open Letter To Minister Obadiah Moyo: Time To Get Serious About Coronavirus

Michael Gwarisa

HONORABLE Minister of Health, Dr Obadiah Moyo. It is with a heavy heart that I write this letter to your esteemed office in the wake of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) which has wreaked havoc in China and other parts of the world. Already, more than 2300 lives have been lost in China alone while other deaths have also been recorded in other parts of the world. It is also worrying that the virus is slowly finding its way into Africa. Egypt recorded its first case last week while Algeria have also…

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#BREAKING: Second Positive Coronavirus Case Recorded On African Soil

Michael Gwarisa

THE Coronavirus plague which has killed not less than 2000 people in China and several others outside China is gradually penetrating  African soil as Algeria records its first case a week after Egypt had its first positive case. By Michael Gwarisa The Algerian Ministry of Health  Shamsuddin Shitor confirmed on Tuesday the first case of coronavirus in the country, an Italian man who arrived on February 17. The Minister of Health Health said on state TV that the authorities were able to detect this case due to the vigilance system…

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#BREAKING: Stop Eating These Pilchards Canned Fish Brands

NewsRoom

THE manufacturer of recalled pilchards is in trouble. The National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS) has ordered all wholesalers and retailers to remove a dozen brands from their shelves. A canning deficiency has resulted in a mass recall of Cape Point, Saldanha, Shoprite’s RiteBrand, Checkers House brand, U-Brand and OK House brands cans with the code ZST-2 and ZSC-2. It means the product is unfit for consumption. The company remains mum on the recall. The National Consumer Commission Acting Commissioner Thezi Mabuza says no formal communication from the supplier has been…

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Empowered communities in Harare fighting cholera and typhoid

Michael Gwarisa

IN Zimbabwe’s capital Harare, recurring outbreaks of cholera and typhoid fever are a pressing health concern. In many of the city’s suburbs, public water supply is unreliable, and leaking sewage pipes, pit latrines, and poor waste management contaminate the groundwater. Using innovative borehole technology and empowering communities to manage their own water points, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has developed a highly effective environmental health toolkit. A small, dimly lit entrance leads into the dozen rundown apartment blocks of Mbare flats in southern Harare. Satellite dishes and laundry lines clutter the…

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Senior Doctors Clear Themselves From Indian Equipment Procurement

Healthtimes

SENIOR doctors have distanced themselves from the procurement of the Indian medical equipment which came not only in bits and pieces but unsafe for use. By Kudakwashe Pembere Giving oral evidence before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health and Child Care, the Senior Hospital Doctors Association (SHDA) through Professor Faith Muchemwa gave the background which led to the procurement of the equipment. Prof Muchemwa said meetings were held between the senior doctors and the First Lady as well as President Emmerson Mnangagwa. From that meeting a list was made by…

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#JUSTIN: Iran Deputy Health Minister Tests Positive For Coronavirus

NewsRoom

IRAN’S deputy health minister has tested positive for the new coronavirus disease, as it struggles to contain an outbreak that has killed 15 people. SOURCE: BBC A health ministry spokesman confirmed that Iraj Harirchi was infected with Covid-19 and under quarantine. President Hassan Rouhani meanwhile urged Iranians not to panic, saying: “We will get through the virus.” Officials have reported 95 confirmed cases since last week, but the actual number is thought to be far higher. The World Health Organization has said the sudden increase in cases in the country…

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Lancet Clinical Laboratories Acquires Latest Lab Equipment

Healthtimes

LANCET Clinical Laboratories  are expecting new equipment to be at it its centres across the country soon in a move that is set to revolutionize diseases diagnostics in the country. By Kudakwashe Pembere With depots in almost every province in Zimbabwe, the organisation which commenced operations in 2010 intends to replace its equipment for that used has surpassed its time of five years. The organisation which boasts of local and regional International Organisation of Standards (ISO) certification, says they have state of the art equipment. We usually don’t buy equipment…

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Zimbabwe More Prepared For Epidemics: Global Health Security Index

Healthtimes

AT a time when Zimbabweans assume the country is not prepared for the current coronavirus disease (COVID-19), a latest Global Health Security Index report ranked Zimbabwe among the top 10 of African countries for being ‘more prepared’.  Zimbabwe is number nine out of 54 African countries while being number 152 out of 195 on the globe. By Kudakwashe Pembere Zimbabwe’s southern neighbour South Africa is number one on the continent with Mozambique to the east number 35 in Africa where as Zambia is number 34  and Botswana to the West…

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17 Zimbabweans Contract HIV After Defaulting On PrEP

Healthtimes

ZIMBABWE currently has over 18 000 people taking Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) with 17 having seroconverted to HIV Positive. By Kudakwashe Pembere Seroconversion is the time in which a person develops antibodies to any disease-causing microorganisms (called pathogens). Antibodies are the defensive proteins produced by the immune system to neutralize a pathogen and is specific to that pathogen and that pathogen alone. When blood tests are able to detect these antibodies, a person is said to have seroconverted. In the case of HIV, seroconversion means that a person has gone from being…

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