Childhood Cancer International president hails KidzCan, ACCZ partnership

By Kuda Pembere Visiting Childhood Cancer International president Mr Rodney Wong on Wednesday commended the partnership between the Apostolic Christian Council of Zimbabwe (ACCZ) and KidzCan noting it will have a great impact on the lives of children in early diagnosis, and treatment of cancer. At a time when the apostolic church is most of the time perceived to be against the seeking of medical services, ACCZ and KidzCan last week signed a memorandum of understanding for the sensitization of apostolic sect members on the importance of seeking cancer services for children.…

Read More

Malabo declaration target on stunting reduction unreachable for Zim

By Kuda Pembere Zimbabwe is among 19 African Union (AU) member states that are off-track to reduce stunting prevalence to 10 percent by 2025 as ratified in the Malabo Declaration. This was said during a Resilient African Feed and Fodder Systems (RAFFS)workshop organized by the Africa Union InterAfrican  Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR). To eliminate child-undernutrition by 2025, Africa Union (AU) member states in 2014 promised to reduce stunting to 10 percent. “In the 2024 Cadebayanu Review Report, the data shows that 26.7% of Zimbabwean children are stunted. So Zimbabwe…

Read More

Parirenyatwa’s Kangaroo Mother care halves neonatal mortality in a month

By Kuda Pembere Immediate Kangaroo Mother Care (IKMC) has the ability of halving neonatal mortality as evidenced at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospital’s Mbuya Nehanda Maternity Hospital over the past month. Speaking to journalists during a tour of the IKMC unit, specialist neonatologist Dr Alexander Stevenson explained that preterm babies are instantly placed on the mother’s chest before the umbilical cord is cut. So, here’s my Christian and I have my Christian’s consent to share her story, because in fact we can tell the whole story in just those microcosms here.…

Read More

All Hands On Deck To Reach Zero Dose Children With Immunisation In Africa

By Michael Gwarisa Despite immunisation being one of the most impactful and cost-effective public health interventions, responsible for preventing over 4 million deaths every year, the African continent is currently lagging behind other world regions in terms of access to vaccines. According to World Health Organisation (WHO) data, every year, more than 30 million African children under the age of five suffer from Vaccine Preventable Diseases (VPDs); and over half a million die due to limited access to immunisation services. This translates to 58 percent of global deaths from VPDs.…

Read More

A Mother’s Unwavering Commitment: Ryan’s first Polio Vaccination

What seemingly started like an ordinary morning for Whyy Mutumbunzou (21), with her routine house chores, including caring for her only child, 1-year-old Ryan, took an unexpected and thrilling turn. A radio broadcast message from the MoHCC encouraging all mothers and caregivers to bring their children under five years for the 4th round of the Polio vaccination campaign. By Own Correspondent Despite not knowing what Polio was, Whyy enthusiastically gathered her belongings and walked briskly with her son to the nearest clinic, Hatcliff Family Health Services. For Whyy, the choice…

Read More

“Report when Doctors Refer You To Their Private Surgeries” Says Minister Of Health

The Minister of Health and Childcare, Dr Douglas Mombershora has told parliament that patients must report to him when you there are reffered to private practices from government hospital. By Takunda Mandura Responding to a question by Hon Getrude Mutandi during questions and answers session What is the Government policy on medical doctors who refer patients to their private surgeries? For example, expecting mothers are referred to their private surgeries when in actual fact, medical assistance can be rendered at Government hospitals,” said Hon Mutandi . Dr Mombershora assured the…

Read More

Unicef Zimbabwe urges government to invest in newborn health

Government should invest in approaches that improve the monitoring of newborn health, the UNICEF Representative in Zimbabwe said on Friday. By Kuda Pembere Addressing the Zimbabwe Medical Association (ZIMA) conference Dr. Tajudeen Oyewale said it was important to invest in research and approaches that enhance newborn health. “I call on both the Government and experts to invest more in innovative approaches to monitor newborn health, especially at the community and improve referral linkages to facilities. At the same time, new investment in Implementation research to allow us to better understand the current…

Read More

Zimbabwe to roll-out fourth round Polio Vaccination

The Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) and its partners will be rolling out the fourth round of Polio Vaccination from 10 to 13 October 2023 across the country’s 10 provinces. By Staff Reporter The move follows the discovery of Cases of Poliomyelitis disease that were detected among children in countries neighboring Zimbabwe in 2022. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), children under 5 years of age in Zimbabwe remain at high risk of getting this disease. According to the Ministry of Health E Programme on Immunisation (EPI),…

Read More

UNICEF Zimbabwe launches child focused data repository

UNICEF Zimbabwe on Wednesday launched a data repository platform for data and statistics on child-focused indicators to strengthen evidence based, and data driven approach to programming, strategy formation and advocacy. By Staff Reporter The repository, which is a first of its kind in Africa, is a result of accumulated data that was extracted from various national survey sources across a number of years, designed to consolidate different data sources into a single unified platform for easy access, analysis and reporting. The repository provides real-time provision of updated national and sub-national…

Read More

Over 4 000 Malnourished Zim children Admitted In Hospital

INCREASING poverty levels coupled with shortages of Ready To Use Therapeutic Foods (RTUFs) like ‘Plumpy-Nut,’ has resulted in 4 300 children being admitted in hospital for wasting, a scenario which threatens to derail the gains made in reducing wasting amongst children under five years. By Kuda Pembere The World Health Organisation (WHO) describes wasting as acute malnutrition. It is a sign that a child has experienced short periods of undernutrition, resulting in significant wastage of muscle and fat tissue. This means their weight is very low for their height. In…

Read More