Combating Drug and Substance Abuse among School Children: A Fight for Everyone
By Olivia Ganya The scourge of drug and substance abuse plagues schools across our nation. Far too many promising young lives are being lost or derailed by the lure of illicit substances. However, there is hope – as a society, we can come together to protect our most vulnerable from facing this threat alone. Drug
Read MoreThe Burden of Unsafe Abortions among Adolescent Girls
By Dr Munyaradzi Murwira Introduction Adolescents are a diverse group; their sexual and reproductive health needs and ability to meet those needs vary based on their life circumstances, including marital status and urban or rural residence. Adolescents often face a multitude of challenges in obtaining sexual and reproductive health services, including social stigma, judgmental attitudes
Read MoreOpen letter to His Excellency Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, the President for the Republic of Zimbabwe on his re-election in September 2023
Now that the elections are over, the people of Zimbabwe expect the fulfilment of the election manifesto, in which you promised massive improvement in health infrastructure; more health personnel; accessible and affordable medicines; free medical care for cancer patients; at least one hospital per district, improved health services in resettlement areas, reduction of hospital fees
Read MoreThe curious case of Cement Dust Pollution in Mabvuku: The healthcare cost and who is paying for it
By Dr Nyasha Manyeruke WHOSE fault is it? Compensation and reparations? The debate on healthcare and industrial, and air pollution is a global quagmire. Is the industrial industry at fault when it is concurrently spearheading economic growth and job creation? Are the people who continue to live in polluted air partly to blame for their
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Private Health Insurance (Medical Aid) and Huge Shortfalls in Zimbabwe: Policymakers playing ducks and drakes
By: Enock Musungwini, MPH, MBA Introduction A shortfall is the difference between what a health service provider charges for a patient’s treatment and what the medical insurance company will pay for that service. Shortfalls are sometimes presented as a co-payment, which is the gap between what the Private Health Insurance (PHI) company or medical aid
Read MoreRecognition and support for village health workers in Zimbabwe: Panacea to ensure the success of primary health care and universal health coverage
By: Enock Musungwini, MPH, MBA The Zimbabwe Village Health Worker programme began in the 1980s, soon after independence, with the aim of enhancing access to primary health care (PHC) services in line with the then Alma Ata Declaration (1978) and now the Astana Declaration (2018) and Universal Health Coverage (UHC 2030). According to the World
Read MoreAs International Safe Abortion Day Draws Closer, Its Time To Reflect on progress towards access to safe abortion for women and girls
The 28th of September is International Safe Abortion Day, and it has two themes: “Diverse Actions, Different Places, One Demand: Access to Safe and Legal Abortion Now” and “Abortion in Uncertain Times.” By Edinah Masiyiwa These themes speak to me as an advocate for sexual and reproductive health and rights, and they give me energy
Read MoreAbortion policy and the vicious cycle of poverty
By Memory Pamella Kadau The previous instalment submitted that abortion doesn’t bring about a moral dilemma as middle ground propagation would argue. It’s clear that safe abortion services should be made accessible to women and this demands policy and legal reforms. This article explored how existing policy framework on abortion perpetuates the vicious cycle of
Read MoreComprehensive Post Abortion Care is an Essential Component of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and Critical for the Attainment of Health Related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
In my years of experience working in sexual reproductive health (SRH), the most topical debates include the topics of unintended pregnancies, teenage pregnancies, sexual gender based violence (SGBV), and abortion among others. Termination of Pregnancy (abortion) is one of the most controversial and emotive issues across the social realm in a conservative society like Zimbabwe.
Read MoreA Dangerous Prognosis: Vulnerable migrants obstructed from getting essential maternal and child healthcare services due to Gauteng hospital payment policies and politics
In South Africa, reports of xenophobic incidents are a daily reality but the use of the country’s strained public health system by migrants is now a hot-button issue as impartial access to healthcare has become highly politicized in recent days. By Dr Tasanya Chinsamy To reach a political objective, Operation Dudula’s anti-migrant protestors targeted the
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