The Future of Tobacco Control in Africa Must Include Harm Reduction
By Joseph Magero As Africa marks World No Tobacco Day, governments across the continent must ask an important question: are current tobacco control policies truly tailored to African realities, or are they simply borrowed from elsewhere and imposed without regard for local feasibility? For too long, many African countries have adopted tobacco control approaches copied
Read More
Zimbabwe Targets 46,000 Lenacapavir Users As Demand For HIV Prevention Injection Grows
Michael Gwarisa Zimbabwe is set to significantly expand access to Lenacapavir, the long-acting injectable HIV prevention drug, after securing additional financial support from the Global Fund through the United States Department of State, a development expected to strengthen HIV prevention efforts among high-risk populations. The new support will see an additional 43,000 doses added to
Read More
In Zimbabwe, Relatives Could Now Be Called to Donate Blood for Patients
Michael Gwarisa In a move aimed at reducing costs related to blood and blood products, the Government of Zimbabwe says it is working on a plan to allow relatives and family members to donate blood for their loved ones on demand. The Government says it is working on plans to ease the cost and improve
Read More
Zimbabwe Monitoring Three Health Workers Linked to Hantavirus Case
Michael Gwarisa Zimbabwean health authorities say they are monitoring three healthcare workers who arrived in the country on Monday after being identified as contacts of a confirmed hantavirus case on Ascension Island, amid growing international attention over an outbreak linked to a cruise ship travelling from South America. The Ministry of Health and Child Care
Read More
Hantavirus: What You Need To Know
As African health authorities intensify surveillance following a hantavirus outbreak linked to an international cruise ship, many people across the continent are asking the same question: what exactly is hantavirus, and should Africa be worried? The outbreak, which involved passengers travelling aboard the Dutch-flagged cruise ship MV Hondius from South America to Cape Verde, has
Read More
Clean Water, Safe Births: How Solarised Boreholes Are Transforming Maternal Care in Zimbabwe
Michael Gwarisa in Midlands Province Moments after washing a bucket at Shurugwi District Hospital’s maternity wing, pregnant mother Martha Macheka carefully closes the tap before calling another expectant woman to help her carry the water back to the waiting mothers’ shelter. Just a few years ago, such a simple act would have been impossible. Before
Read More
UNICEF Warns Plumpy Nut Shortages Loom Amid Global Funding Crunch
By Kuda Pembere After three decades of treating child malnutrition with Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) such as Plumpy Nut under United Nations Children’s Fund support, Zimbabwe faces new risks as funding shortages strain supply pipelines. RUTF, an energy-dense food used to treat children with severe acute malnutrition, has significantly reduced the need for
Read More
Africa Launchs First Bilingual Open-Access Journal to Strengthen Health Policy and Financing
Michael Gwarisa Africa’s research and policy community is marking a major milestone with the launch of the African Journal of Health Economics, Systems and Policy (AJHESP), a continent-led, bilingual, fully open-access journal designed to strengthen evidence-based decision-making in health. The journal, which officially launches on May 4, 2026, brings together 11 leading researchers from across
Read More
Ghana rejects proposed US health aid deal, citing data concerns, source says
(Reuters) – Ghana has rejected a bilateral health deal with the U.S., a source ‌familiar with the negotiations told Reuters, the latest stumbling block to the Trump administration’s effort to overhaul foreign aid. The government of President John Dramani Mahama balked at terms requiring the sharing of sensitive health data, the source said.
Read More
Zimbabwe’s Medical Aid Coverage Could Shrink Further Under Proposed Reforms
Michael Gwarisa Zimbabwe’s already fragile medical aid coverage could fall even further below the current 8 percent if proposed amendments to Statutory Instrument 330 of 2000 force medical aid societies to divest from healthcare service provision, stakeholders have warned. The proposed changes to Section 14 of SI 330 of 2000 are currently under scrutiny and
Read More