Month: September 2022

Merck Foundation together with African First Ladies mark “World Heart Day 2022” by providing 720 scholarships of Preventative Cardiovascular, Diabetes and Endocrinology for doctors from 45 countries

Michael Gwarisa

Merck Foundation in partnership with African First Ladies and Ministries of Health provided more than 720 scholarships of one–year Post–Graduate Diploma and two–year Master Degree in Preventative CardiovascularMedicine, Diabetes and Endocrinology to doctors from 45 countries in Africa, Asia and beyond. These scholarships are included in the total 1450 scholarships Merck Foundation provided to doctors from 47 countries in 32 critical and underserved medical specialties such as oncology, fertility, respiratory medicine, acute medicine, orthopaedic and many more. Merck Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA Germany marks “World Heart Day…

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Health Ministry laments Treasury’s sluggish disbursements

Kuda Pembere

An official in the Health and Child Care Ministry says late disbursements of the 2022 National Budget allocations are impeding their operations. By Kudakwashe Pembere The Health Ministry’s Acting Finance Director Ms Lynette Tennis revealed this to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health during a workshop for legislators monitoring special drawing rights (SDR) projects on Tuesday. She stated at the workshop facilitated by the Southern Africa Parliamentary Support Trust that they are getting meager funds from their share of the 2022 National Budget. “The releases have been too little to…

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ICASA Team Jets into Zimbabwe to Assess Country’s Preparedness To Host ICASA Conference In 2023

Michael Gwarisa

THE  International Conference of AIDS and STIs Africa (ICASA) Executive Board is currently in the country on a mission to assess Zimbabwe’s capacity to host the 2023 ICASA conference. By Michael Gwarisa This follows Zimbabwe’s bid at the 2021 International AIDS Conference that was held in Montreal Canada where Zimbabwe among five other African countries, threw their names in the hat to be considered for hosting the prestigious conference. From the five countries that submitted, only Zimbabwe and Kenya have made it to the top two countries. According to ICASA…

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Drug and Substance Use Grows in Zim Prisons and Among Officers

Patricia Mashiri

PRISON and Correctional Services facilities have become hot-spots for drug and substance abuse with indications that both correctional officers and inmates were engaging in illicit use of substances and harmful drugs, a top Zimbabwe Prisons and and Correctional Service (ZPCS) health expert has warned.   By Patricia Mashiri To reduce the growing burden of drug and substance abuse in these institutions, the ZPCS, ZRP, Spotlight (Brotha 2 brotha initiative) and the National AIDS Council have come together to sensitize these communities on the effects of drug and substance use. Speaking to…

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Chipinge Broken Homes and Blended Families Give Rise Mental Health challenges in adolescents and children

Michael Gwarisa

WHEN his parents divorced in 2016, Panashe Dzvivu (19) from Chipinge urban, was doing form three and preparing to write his Ordinary level (O level) examinations the following year. Following the divorce, his father went into neighbouring South Africa and never looked back, leaving him under the custody of his unemployed mother. After some time, he was forced to drop out of school due to non-payment of school fees. By Michael Gwarisa recently in Chipinge Panashe was forced to juggle between school and a part welding job to pay for…

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Infertility on the rise in Zimbabwean Men

Michael Gwarisa

THERE is currently an increase in infertility in Zimbabwe owing to a myriad of factors ranging from anatomical, environmental, dietary/weight and physiological factors, reproductive health experts have warned. By Michael Gwarisa Infertility, which is defined clinically as failure to conceive after 12 months or more of regular unprotected sexual intercourse affects approximately 48.5 million couples globally. Data from a cross section study by consultant Obstetrician, Dr Mugove Madziyire et al which explored “The causes of infertility in women presenting to gynaecology clinics in Harare, Zimbabwe” shows that half of the causes…

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Zim Treasury lied about buying new ambulances-AG

Kuda Pembere

Lies have short legs. Amidst repeated assurances that Treasury purchased 100 ambulances to be distributed across all the districts in Zimbabwe, it turns out none were bought. By Kudakwashe Pembere Contrary to repeated assurances to revamp public health from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development led by Professor Mthuli Ncube, Treasury according to the latest Auditor General report did not buy any ambulances between the period 2019 and 2020. No ambulances were procured in 2019 and 2020. Audit is still to visit provinces and districts to assess progress made,”…

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School saves lives: World leaders back a courageous goal, “Education Plus”, to prevent new HIV infections through education and empowerment

Healthtimes

NEW YORK/GENEVA, 19 September 2022—At the Transforming Education Summit in New York it was announced that 12 African countries* have committed to Education Plus, a bold initiative to prevent HIV infections through free universal, quality secondary education for all girls and boys in Africa, reinforced through comprehensive empowerment programmes. Speaking on the Leaders Day of the Summit on behalf of the Education Plus movement, the Executive Director of UNAIDS, Winnie Byanyima said, “School saves lives. We are coming together to champion the right for a girl to be in a…

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UNAIDS hails donors for pledging historic amount to The Global Fund

Healthtimes

THE Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) has lauded donors for broadening their contributions to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria (Global Fund). Donors pledged USD14.25 billion. By Staff Reporter Countries rose to the challenge of increasing funding by 30%, demonstrating their confidence in the strong leadership of the Global Fund and its partners. The United States continued its position as a leader in global health by pledging US$ 6 billion, committing to invest US$1 billion for every US$ 2 billion pledged by the rest of the world.…

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Zimbabwe Health Journalists Trained On Sensible Infertility Reporting

Michael Gwarisa

ZIMBABWE’S First Lady, Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa in partnership with the Merck Foundation and the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ), hosted a half day training to sensitise Zimbabwean Journalists on issues around fertility and infertility. By Michael Gwarisa The development comes in the midst of a growing burden in fertility related complications in both women and men in Sub-Saharan Africa largely driven by lifestyle related health conditions and Non Communicable diseases (NCDs). Giving her remarks during the training, Merck Foundation Chief Executive Officer, Dr Rasha Kelej said there were numerous risk…

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