IN a bid to increase adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) in Zimbabwe, the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) said it welcomes obtaining studies to advance prevention therapy through long term injectable Pre-Exposure prophylaxes medications. By Staff Reporter This follows the approval of Apretude (cabotegravir extended-release injectable suspension) in 2021 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. This will be taken in at-risk adults and adolescents weighing at least 35 kilograms (77 pounds) for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to reduce the risk of sexually acquired HIV. However, in Zimbabwe, current…
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Youth Engage takes global AIDS strategy to grassroots
Youth Engage Zimbabwe, a grassroots youth organization that advocates for the health, well-being and human rights of all young people with the support of UNAIDS, has embarked on country-wide youth dialogues in an effort to prompt the policy makers to do well on their promise in terms of health service delivery, allocation of funds and prioritization of beneficiaries. By Patricia Mashiri The dialogues are focusing on building evidence-based submissions on key asks, solutions, and priorities that will address gaps at a local grassroots level on HIV/ AIDS, Sexual Gender Based…
Read MoreFrom Heaven To Hell In 12 Months: A GBV Survivor’s Story
NOMAGUGU Hurumba (22) is an orphan and a single mother to a three year old son. Growing up in Chiredzi, especially after the demise of her parents was never easy. To compound her woes, when she was in Form 3, Noma had to drop out of school after her siblings had indicated that they were no longer able to shoulder her school fees burden. By Michael Gwarisa recently in Chipinge She moved from Chiredzi to stay with her sister in Chipinge. However, persistent economic hardships in the country pushed her…
Read MoreMale Involvement Component Slows Down PrEP Uptake In Zimbabwe
POOR health seeking behavior by males, coupled with the patriarchal nature of society has slowed down the uptake of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) in Zimbabwe. By Michael Gwarisa PrEP is the use of Antiretroviral (ARV) drugs by HIV-uninfected persons to prevent the acquisition of HIV before exposure to HIV. Most oral PrEP pills contain a combination of two ARVs- tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) and emtricatabine. According to data that was shared by the Zimbabwe Association of Church related Hospitals (ZACH) during a virtual media briefing on PrEP, the uptake of PrEP…
Read MoreZNFPC, Partners Launches HIV Prevention Program For Young Girls and Women
IN a move that is meant to reduce new HIV infections in young people in Southern Africa, the Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council (ZNFPC) and its partners Botswana Family Welfare Association (BOFWA) and Namibia Planned Parenthood Association (NAPPA) have introduced a project that will integrate HIV prevention methods with Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) for Adolescent Girls and Young Women (AGYW) and their partners. By Patricia Mashiri The USD$100 872.00 SADC member countries resource mobilization initiative, is a two year funded project which is aimed at building capacity for…
Read MoreZimbabwe’s 2020 Global AIDS Monitoring Report Shows Progress In Bending AIDS Trajectory
ZIMBABWE has released its 2020 Global AIDS Monitoring (GAM) report which shows that the country is itching closer to epidemic control despite a myriad of challenges threatening to reverse the gains achieved so far, chief among them being the COVID-19 pandemic. By Michael Gwarisa Addressing a Press Conference where he presented on GAM and progress made so far, National AIDS Council (NAC) Chief Executive Officer, Dr Benard Madzima said the country achieved tits 90-9090 targets and the results from the GAM estimates also tallies with the ZIMPHIA results that were…
Read MoreDapirivirine Ring Not Substitute For Other HIV Prevention Methods- Dr Mgodi
THE Dapirivirine Vaginal Ring, a new effective HIV prevention tool for women, is not a substitute for existing HIV prevention methods but rather an innovation to expand prevention options for women, Dr Nyaradzo Mgodi an HIV expert and histopathologist has said. By Michael Gwarisa Speaking during a Twitter Question and Answer session that was organized by HealthTimes, Dr Mgodi said women need safe and effective biomedical HIV prevention strategies for use throughout their lives and the Dapirivirine ring presented women with such an opportunity. Studies of other HIV prevention…
Read MoreLet’s Scale Up HIV PrEP Roll-Out in Zimbabwe
OUT of a population of 14 million about 1, 2 million Zimbabweans are living with HIV. The big question is, how can we stop new infections? By Paul Sixpence Among many options available, scaling up HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) roll out to people at risk could help in stopping new infections. As of September 2019 about 11 000 people had been initiated on PrEP since its regulatory approval in 2016. Zimbabwe is a HIV high burden country with thousands of new infections each year which makes the call for urgent,…
Read MorePrEP Use High Among Young African Girls But Fades After Three Months- Study
IN a study of open-label Truvada as daily pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent HIV among 427 young African women and adolescent girls, 95% initiated the HIV prevention strategy, and most used PrEP for the first three months. However, PrEP use fell among participants in this critical population during a year of follow-up clinic visits, although HIV incidence at 12 months was low. The preliminary results suggest that tailored, evidence-based adherence support strategies may be needed to durably engage young African women in consistent PrEP use. The study, known as HPTN…
Read More11 800 Zimbabweans On PrEP
OVER 11 800 Zimbabweans have been initiated on Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis as of last month, an AVAC fellow said on Monday. By Kudakwashe Pembere Addressing an International AIDS Society Harare Scientific Symposium, AVAC Fellow-cum-Pangaea Aids Zimbabwe Trust coordinator Definate Nhamo said the number was huge. “As of May 2019, we have about 11 800 who have been initiated on on PrEP,” she said. Following the youths demand of PrEP, she said PrEP was only distributed to certain populations perceived to be at risk of contracting HIV. “So in Zimbabwe we started…
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