Month: September 2020

Lions Clubs donate US$10 000 PPEs to Zimbabwe

Healthtimes

Lions Clubs of District 412 on Wednesday donated Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) to frontline staff at Wilkins Hospital and Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals. HealthTimes Reporter The donation of PPEs, which was also extended to other hospitals in Midlands and Bulawayo, is part of Lions Clubs International US$10 000 kit to help Zimbabwe copy with the Covid-19 pandemic. John Mwinjilo, the Lions Multiple District 412A Chairman of Public Relations, said Lions Clubs International found it fit to donate PPEs to frontline staff in Zimbabwe as a way of protecting them against…

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Masvingo, Chiredzi Sees Spike in STI Infections In Adolescent Girls During COVID-19

Michael Gwarisa

AS government continues to ease COVID-19 restrictions, health institutions in Masvingo urban and Chiredzi district have started witnessing a surge in Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) amongst young girls aged between 13 and 24, HealthTimes can reveal. By Michael Gwarisa recently in Masvingo The increase in new STI infections according to the Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council (ZNFPC), has been driven largely by travel and tight lockdown restrictions which characterized the initial stages of the lockdown period, a period where access to Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) services was disrupted. In…

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In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic UNFPA and partners call for greater efforts to ensure access to contraceptives for women and girls

Michael Gwarisa

IN the midst of the COVID-19 global pandemic and on World Contraception Day, the UN’s reproductive health and rights agency – the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and partners have called for greater efforts to ensure access to contraceptives for women and girls of reproductive age. This is towards “Zero unmet Need for Contraception” even during emergency and humanitarian situations. HealthTimes Reporter World Contraceptive Day is commemorated each year on 26 September. Launched in 2007, the day was set aside to help raise awareness on contraception to enable young people…

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New normal could drive the future

Healthtimes

…thinking outside the box to adapt THE upheaval of 2020 from a virus goes down in history as the worst to impact the global village negatively. By Catherine Murombedzi Humanity must learn to adapt, adopt and adept to the new frontier of 2020. It is a watershed that sets a new normal. Painful as it is, life will never be the same again after 2020. History repeats itself In 1918, a similar virus sent the world in panic mode. More than 50 million people said a ‘premature and permanent good night’…

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LafargeHolcim Signs Landmark Pledge To Reduce Global Carbon Footprint

Healthtimes

LafargeHolcim, the holding company for local cement manufacturer Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe, joins the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) “Business Ambition for 1.5°C,” becoming the first global building materials company to sign the pledge with intermediate targets for 2030, validated by SBTi[1]. This commitment builds on LafargeHolcim’s leadership in green construction with cutting-edge solutions such as ECOPact, its green concrete, and Susteno, its leading circular cement. As a subsidiary of LafargeHolcim, Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe fully subscribes to this commitment. HealthTimes Reporter In its 2030 goals, LafargeHolcim is further lowering its target…

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Faith and Community Initiative Launched To Accelerate Attainment Of HIV Epidemic Control In Zimbabwe

Michael Gwarisa

THE Faith and Community Initiative (FCI) project, a programme which is aimed at scaling-up community and faith responses, which are central to achieving the 95–95–95 global treatment target and the PEPFAR goals focusing on impact, efficiency, sustainability, partnership, and human rights. By Michael Gwarisa The initiative is being supported by PEPFAR and USAID and the Organization for Public Health Interventions and Development (OPHID) and implementing partners, Zimbabwe Association of Church Related Hospitals (ZACH), Family Aids Caring Trust – FACT Zimbabwe and AFRICAID are launching the Faith and Community Initiative FCI)…

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Health Ministry Orders UZ To Suspend Specialist Training For Doctors

Michael Gwarisa

THE Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) has directed the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) to suspend the Masters of Medicine and Masters of Obstetrics and Gynecology programmes with immediate effect. HealthTimes Reporter In a letter written to the Dean, Faculty of Medecine and Health Science by the University of Zimbabwe’s Registrar, Dr Noah Mutongoreni, he said the new development was a followup to the communication from the MoHCC. “Following communication from the MoHCC to the effect that Registrar’s enrolled for the UZ’s Masters of Medicine and Masters of Obstetrics…

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Zim Young People Living With HIV Forced To Bribe Hospital Staff To Get Second Line Drugs, Told To Produce Empty ARVs Containers At Security Checkpoints To Prove They Are HIV+ During Early Stages Of Lockdown

Michael Gwarisa

LIFE under the COVID-19 induced lockdown has never been the same since the day the Zimbabwean government announced a nationwide lockdown which commenced on March 30, 2020. For most young people living with HIV and on treatment, the emotional scars the lockdown has inflicted on them will take time to heal, as they had to surrender some of their rights and dignity just to access lifesaving Antiretroviral (ARV) drugs. By Michael Gwarisa For 22-year-old Takudzwa who lives in Harare and on second line Antiretroviral (ARVs) treatment, accessing HIV treatment under…

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Phillip Morris & Swedish Match Amongst Leading Tobacco Companies Advancing Tobacco Harm Reduction- Tobacco Transformation Index Finds

Michael Gwarisa

THE first Tobacco Transformation Index released this week and made possible with funding from the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World, finds that most of the 15 largest tobacco companies are not making substantive progress in phasing out cigarettes and other high-risk tobacco products and transitioning smokers to reduced-risk alternatives. By Michael Gwarisa A small group of companies have made public commitments to harm reduction and backed them with significant investments. A majority of companies have made no such commitment to tobacco harm reduction. With 1.3 billion tobacco users in the…

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Zimbabwe Commences Nationwide Deworming Exercise, 300 000 Targeted For free Bilharzia Treatment in Shamva and Mount Darwin

Michael Gwarisa

THE Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) with support from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Higherlife Foundation have kick-started the National Mass Treatment for bilharzia and intestinal worms as a follow-up to the healthcare worker’s Mass Drug Administration (MDA) training exercise which concluded last week in Shamva and Mount Darwin. By Michael Gwarisa The National Mass Treatment exercise started in Mashonaland Central Province this week in (Shamva and Mount Darwin). WHO started their support visit at Chitse Clinic in Mt Darwin where WHO is providing on the job…

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