Zimbabwe Receives First 23,000 US-Funded Lenacapavir Doses
By Michael Gwarisa Zimbabwe has received the first 23,000 doses of US-funded lenacapavir from a consignment of 43,000 doses secured to expand access to the twice-yearly HIV prevention medicine, just days before the United States is set to end its health assistance programmes in the country. The latest shipment is separate from the approximately 2,000
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ViiV Healthcare invests £9.75 million to strengthen paediatric and adolescent HIV response
By Michael Gwarisa ViiV Healthcare has announced a new £9.75 million investment to strengthen HIV services for children and adolescents through the third phase of the Breakthrough Partnership, running from 2026 to 2029. The investment, made through ViiV Healthcare’s Positive Action programme, will support the partnership’s work in Cameroon, Mozambique, Nigeria and Tanzania, with a
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Ugandan MPs explore ZNNP+ Kutabila, Zim’s HIV financing model
By Kudakwashe Pembere A delegation of Ugandan legislators is in Zimbabwe to benchmark the country’s HIV response, with community-led monitoring, HIV financing and innovations such as the Zimbabwe National Network of People Living with HIV (ZNNP+)’s Kutabila Platform among the initiatives under study. The Ugandan legislators visited ZNNP+ on Wednesday for a benchmarking exercise focused
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Bantwana Zimbabwe’s Child-Centred HIV Care Model Draws Global Interest at AIDS 2026
By Michael Gwarisa As the curtain came down on the 26th AIDS Conference (AIDS 2026) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Bantwana Zimbabwe emerged as one of the organisations attracting international attention after showcasing a community-based model that is helping improve health outcomes for children and adolescents living with HIV. The local non-governmental organisation, whose mission
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Will African Countries That Rejected Trump’s Health Deals Be Forced Back to the Negotiating Table?
By Michael Gwarisa African countries that rejected the United States’ proposed “America First” health agreements did so in defence of sovereignty, arguing that some of the conditions attached to the deals were unacceptable. However, as PEPFAR funding transitions continue and concerns grow over the sustainability of HIV programmes, governments may soon face difficult choices between
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Undetectable Isn’t the Whole Story: Study Finds Signs of HIV Immune Activity in the Brain
By Michael Gwarisa For millions of people living with HIV, achieving an undetectable viral load is the ultimate treatment milestone, a sign that antiretroviral therapy is working and that the virus is under control. But scientists are increasingly discovering that what happens in the blood may not tell the whole story. New research unveiled during
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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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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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Mpilo HIV Laboratory Hits 100% Solar Power, Boosts Viral Load Testing Capacity to Over 7,000 Samples Monthly
Michael Gwarisa in Bulawayo Mpilo Central Hospital’s HIV laboratory has transitioned to 100 percent solar power, a development health officials say is improving the quality of HIV viral load samples, reducing testing failures, and strengthening patient care for thousands of people living with HIV in Zimbabwe. The upgrade was carried out under a Ministry of
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