Tendayi Westerhof Wins Global HIV Award for Championing Women Living with HIV
By Michael Gwarisa RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Zimbabwean HIV advocate, Tendayi Westerhof has been honoured with the prestigious Ruth Cardoso Movement Building Award, an international recognition celebrating her decades-long advocacy for the rights, dignity and leadership of women living with HIV. Receiving the award at the 26th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2026) in Rio
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Zimbabwe Advances Community Pharmacy Model to Expand Access to PrEP, Including Lenacapavir
By Michael Gwarisa RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Zimbabwe is testing an innovative public-private partnership that could transform HIV prevention by integrating community pharmacies into the delivery of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), including long-acting lenacapavir, as the country seeks to make HIV prevention services more accessible and convenient for communities. Presenting the initiative at the 26th
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Science Has Put the End of AIDS Within Reach, But Politics Could Still Derail It-UNAIDS
By Michael Gwarisa in RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil UNAIDS says the world now has the tools to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030, but warned on Monday that funding cuts and political decisions are threatening to reverse decades of progress despite major scientific breakthroughs. Launching the 2026 Global AIDS Update ahead of
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Zimbabwe Drops National Health Insurance Name, Unveils Tax-Funded Healthcare Provision Programme
By Michael Gwarisa HARARE – Zimbabwe has abandoned plans to establish a National Health Insurance Scheme, opting instead for a National Healthcare Provision Programme, a new tax-funded model aimed at providing free healthcare services at public health institutions, Health and Child Care Minister Dr Douglas Mombeshora has announced. Speaking while responding to questions during the
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Zimbabwe Among Hardest Hit as New PEPFAR Data Shows Over 6,000 Children Lose HIV Treatment Support
By Michael Gwarisa Zimbabwe is among the countries hardest hit by recent disruptions to the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), with new data released ahead of the International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference on HIV Science (AIDS 2026) showing that more than 6,000 fewer children were receiving PEPFAR-supported HIV treatment by the
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Teen Pregnancy, Low ANC Uptake Threaten Zimbabwe’s Triple Elimination Goal
By Michael Gwarisa Zimbabwe’s ambition to eliminate mother-to-child transmission (EMTCT) of HIV, syphilis and hepatitis B is under growing threat as rising adolescent pregnancies and declining antenatal care (ANC) attendance undermine progress towards meeting World Health Organisation (WHO) validation targets. Although the country has made remarkable gains in preventing babies from acquiring HIV and congenital
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Once-Weekly HIV Pill Matches Daily Treatment in Landmark Phase III Trials Ahead of AIDS 2026
By Michael Gwarisa A once-weekly pill for HIV treatment has performed as well as standard daily therapy in two landmark Phase III clinical trials, bringing researchers a step closer to offering people living with HIV the world’s first complete once-weekly oral treatment regimen. The findings from the ISLEND-1 and ISLEND-2 studies will be presented at
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382 Students Hit by Respiratory Illness Outbreak at St Faith’s School in Manicaland
By Michael Gwarisa More than 382 students at St Faith’s High School in Makoni District, Manicaland Province, have been affected by an outbreak of an acute respiratory illness that has swept through the boarding school since Thursday, overwhelming the school’s clinic and leaving eight learners admitted to hospital. The Ministry of Health and Child Care
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Harare’s Scabies Outbreak Started at Hopley Daycare, 70 Cases Now Reported
By Michael Gwarisa A scabies outbreak has spread through Harare’s overcrowded informal settlements, with health authorities confirming 70 cases in Hopley and Stoneridge, raising fresh concerns about the health risks posed by rapid urbanisation and poor living conditions. While the City of Harare recently alerted residents to the outbreak, HealthTimes has established that at least
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Zimbabwe Promises Free Caesarean Sections Once National Health Insurance Programme Takes Effect
By Michael Gwarisa The Government has acknowledged that financial barriers are preventing some pregnant women from accessing life-saving maternal healthcare and says it is finalising legislation that will introduce free healthcare for every Zimbabwean citizen and resident. Responding to concerns raised in Parliament, Minister of Health and Child Care Dr Douglas Mombeshora said the proposed
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