- Hauna District Hospital Records Zero Maternal Deaths in Over 4,000 Births Since 2022
- UNICEF Warns Plumpy Nut Shortages Loom Amid Global Funding Crunch
- From Crisis Response to Lasting Reform: How Zimbabwe Is Building a Stronger Health System from COVID-19 Investments
- Africa Launchs First Bilingual Open-Access Journal to Strengthen Health Policy and Financing
- Will Zambia Succumb to US Pressure Over Health Aid and Minerals?
Growing Awareness Slowly Reduces Stigma Around IVF Births in Zimbabwe
Michael Gwarisa For many years, in vitro fertilisation (IVF) has been widely misunderstood and heavily stigmatised in Zimbabwe and across much of Africa. The procedure, which involves fertilising an egg with sperm outside the body in a laboratory before transferring the embryo into the uterus, has often been dismissed as “unnatural” or seen as interfering
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Zimbabwe Expands Fistula Repair Camps as Thousands of Women Await Surgery
Kuda Pembere Fewer than 2 000 women and adolescent girls in Zimbabwe have received corrective surgery for obstetric fistula since specialised repair camps began in 2014, prompting health authorities to expand the programme nationwide to tackle a backlog of thousands living with the preventable childbirth injury. According to the Zimbabwe Health Demographic Survey (2023-24), about
Read MorePregnant Inmate Fights for Reproductive Rights Behind Bars
By Kudakwashe Pembere In a case anticipated to set an important legal precedent on maternal and reproductive health rights for incarcerated women in Zimbabwe, a pregnant inmate is asking the High Court to compel the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) to appoint a dedicated gynaecologist for Chikurubi Female Prison within seven days and ensure
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Trump administration to burn $13M worth of female contraceptives, despite NGO’s offer to take them
The U.S. State Department plans to incinerate roughly $13.2 million worth of women’s contraceptives despite offers from multiple aid agencies to distribute the supplies at no cost. The supplies, which include various forms of birth control, were intended for family planning programs in low-income African nations. Instead, they’ve been sitting in a warehouse in Belgium
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One Stitch at a Time: Zimbabwe’s Fight to End Obstetric Fistula
By Michael Gwarisa in Bikita, Mashoko In rural and underserved parts of Zimbabwe, a silent but devastating condition continues to rob women of their dignity, health, and hope: obstetric fistula. Often caused by prolonged, obstructed labour without timely medical intervention, this childbirth injury leaves women incontinent and frequently ostracised by their communities. But today, a
Read MoreBotswana Achieves Gold Tier Status in Eliminating Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV
By Staff Reporter Botswana has achieved gold tier status in its efforts to eliminate mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV. The country received this recognition during the plenary session of the Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly, awarded by the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO). In 2021, Botswana became the first country in the world to
Read MoreTsitsi Masiyiwa Leads Launch of $500 Million Fund to Save Newborn Lives Across Africa
By Michael Gwarisa In a monumental step toward improving maternal and newborn health in Africa, Tsitsi Masiyiwa has led the launch of the Beginnings Fund, a $500 million initiative aimed at saving the lives of newborns and their mothers across sub-Saharan Africa. Announced by her husband, billionaire philanthropist Strive Masiyiwa, the fund was borne out
Read MoreHon Kwidini Urges Parliamentarians To Develop Maternity Waiting Homes
By Kuda Pembere As Zimbabwe continues to face a high number of maternal mortalities due to complications like hypertension, parliamentarians have been urged to use the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) and Devolution Fund to support the construction and maintenance of maternity waiting homes. Health and Child Care Deputy Minister Hon. Sleiman Kwidini made the call
Read MoreHypertension Emerges as Leading Killer of Pregnant Women in Zimbabwe
By Michael Gwarisa A surge in hypertensive disorders during childbirth has led to an increase in maternal deaths across Zimbabwe’s health facilities over the past 60 days, HealthTimes has learned. Data presented by the Deputy Minister of Health and Child Care (MoHCC), Honourable Sleiman Kwidini, during a Parliamentary Question and Answer session yesterday, revealed that
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Delayed Maternal Care in Rural Zimbabwe Leading to Preventable Deaths
By Michael Gwarisa Most women in Zimbabwe who die during childbirth do so due to delays in receiving appropriate and adequate care at health facilities. Also known in medical terms as the “Third Delay,” this delay in accessing care is the leading cause of maternal mortality in rural areas. Speaking at a recent meeting in
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