Tag: Dr Ruth Labode

ARASA Pilots Cohort Coordination Work In Zimababwe To Unite Diverse SRHR Movements

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa In a bid to strengthen collaboration across various Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), and social movements, Zimbabwe has become the first country in the sub-Saharan region to launch an advocacy cohort coordination program to harmonise Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) advocacy work. This comes at the back of observations that various regional movements were  fragmented, and working  in a siloed environment that often limits functional collaboration across Civil Society Organisations. Speaking in an interview with HealthTimes on the side-lines of a two-day Zimbabwe Advocacy Cohort Coordination Co-creation…

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Zimbabwe Parliament Proposes Harsh Penalties For Men Who Impregnate 10 Year Olds

Michael Gwarisa

FOLLOWING release of the Vital Statistics Report by the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (Zimstat), which shows that 696 girls aged 10 to 14 gave 12 months before the Census night in 2022, Parliament is now demanding action from the ministries of health and that of home affairs. By Michael Gwarisa   According to the report, over 68,639 teenagers aged 15 to 19 also fell pregnant and gave birth during the same period. The issue has since attracted national attention, with most members of Parliament agreeing that stricter penalties should be…

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Parliament Wants Presidential Amnesty For All Wilful Transmission Of HIV Prisoners

Michael Gwarisa

THE Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health chairperson, Dr Ruth Labode says they have already lobbied President Emerson Mnangwa through the Speaker of Parliament seeking amnesty for everyone who was imprisoned on the grounds of wilful transmission of HIV. By Michael Gwarisa in Mazowe The development follows Parliament of Zimbabwe’s recent repealing of section 79 of the Criminal Law Code, which criminalized wilful HIV transmission. According to the National Aids Council (NAC), Zimbabwe currently has the highest rate of HIV criminalization prosecutions in Sub-Saharan Africa and the sixth highest in the…

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Public Expenditure Tracking Survey Initiative Could Curb Funds Abuse In Healthcare Sector

Healthtimes

THE Parliamentary portfolio committee on Health and Childcare in partnership with the Coalition to build Momentum, Power, Activism, Strategy and Solidarity in Africa (COMPASS) project are set to implement the first ever Public Expenditure Tracking Survey (PETS) for the health sector in Zimbabwe. By Mary Mundeya PETS are a micro level tool that tracks resource flow from central government through line ministries and intermediary administration units such as provinces, districts to the service delivery units (clinics) whose purpose is to determine the extent to which actual spending on services is…

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Zimbabwe On The Verge Of Decriminalizing HIV Transmission

Michael Gwarisa

FOLLOWING massive lobbying and advocacy from Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), parliament, the media and some quasi government institutions, Zimbabwe is at the cusp of decriminalizing wilful or deliberate transmission of HIV. By Michael Gwarisa This was revealed during the launch of a Media Tool Kit on HIV criminalization by the Health Law & Policy Consortium in Harare. The decriminalization of HIV in Zimbabwe is tied to the Marriages Bill, Section 53 (2) which if enacted, will result in the repeal of Section 79 of the Criminal Law Code which criminalizes…

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Zimbabwe Parliament To Revive National TB Caucus

Michael Gwarisa

MEMBERS of Parliament from both the House of Assembly and Senate are working on reviving the Zimbabwe Tuberculosis (TB) Caucus, an grouping of volunteer legislators and senators derived from across all Parliamentary portfolio committees and thematic committees to advocate for the realization of a TB free Zimbabwe through provision of adequate financing and attention to the infectious disease. By Michael Gwarisa recently in Kwekwe This was said during the engagement of the TB Caucus meeting which was convened by the Stop TB Partnership Zimbabwe in Kwekwe recently. The move to…

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Health Sector Human Resources Crises Derails TB Fight

Michael Gwarisa

HEALTH and Tuberculosis experts have warned that the prevailing human resources shortages in the health sector were crippling Tuberculosis (TB) related interventions as the number skilled personnel experienced in TB management were also leaving the country in droves. By Michael Gwarisa recently in Kwekwe The call comes in the midst of one has been termed the worst health sector exodus in decades whereby skilled health personnel have been resigning on a daily bases from both government hospitals and council clinics. In an interview with HealthTimes on the side-lines of a…

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Allow Adolescence To Access Contraceptives -Govt Urged

Healthtimes

GOVERNMENT has been urged to set up legislation encouraging teenagers to gain access to contraceptives in order to mitigate the increase in teenage pregnancies which put young girls at higher risk of maternal death. Own Correspondent Recently, Health and Child Care Minister, Constantino Guvheya Chiwenga said girls under the age of 16 cannot be given contraceptives as they cannot legally consent to sexual activity. Speaking during a virtual meeting on Social Accountability and Oversight in the Implementation of SADC Regional Commitments in Health and Agriculture yesterday, Chairperson for the Parliamentary…

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Govt Urged To Create Decent Working Conditions For Women

Healthtimes

GOVERNMENT has been urged to promote decent working conditions for women in the public sector as they carry the extra burden of social labor at home. By Fadzai Ndangana This came out in a virtual meeting organized by social justice movements- Action Aid Zimbabwe and Issues Pane Nyaya, where stakeholders were discussing the importance of decent work in the context of national development. Social labor at home is supposed to be paid for someone to do it but in Zimbabwe, civil servants cannot afford to pay that someone so in…

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Zim ICPD Task-force Keeps Watchful Eye On Commitments Implementation

Michael Gwarisa

THE Zimbabwe National Taskforce (NTF) for monitoring commitments the country made at the 25th International Conference on Population Development (ICPD), has hit the ground running in ensuring the pledges Zimbabwe made at the Nairobi summit in 2019 are fulfilled. By Michael Gwarisa The taskforce was set up in November 2020 and it comprises of government ministries and departments, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), Academia, United Nations Agencies operating in Zimbabwe and other organizations and stakeholders. The Ministries of Finance and that of health and Child Care are co-chairs to the taskforce.…

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