Tag: SAFAIDS

Zim Progresses In Putting Abortion Act On National Agenda

Michael Gwarisa

ZIMBABWE is amongst  a few countries on the African continent which have made strides in discussing about the need to have a progressive Termination of Pregnancy Act (TOP) at a national level, a sign the country is warming up to the need of having an abortion friendly law, a sexual reproductive health official has said. By Michael Gwarisa At least 14 countries are having dialogue on the issue of Termination of Pregnancy but Zimbabwe seem to have moved a step further as compared to other countries which are currently at…

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SafAids Launches Audio Magazine

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SAFAIDS has introduced a a young people’s audio magazine programme that seeks to engage young people on HIV prevention and sexual reproductive health rights (SRHR) information. HealthTimes Reporter The project is a SAfAIDS, Viamo, Clinton Health Access Initiative through funding from Aidsfonds partnered with Young People and Peer Educators in Bindura District in Mashonaland Central. The Audio Magazine is targeting young girls and boys between the age of 15 to 24 years old. Young people can receive information on HIV Prevention and Sexual Reproductive Health Rights once they register on…

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ICTs For SRH Programme Offers Hope For Rushinga Youths

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MBIRE is amongst one of the many districts in Mashonaland Central grappling with  high cases of school drop outs amongst girls of school going age owing to an increased teenage pregnancy prevalence as well as an unprecedented rise in Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs). By Michael Gwarisa in Mbire District Owing to societal vulnerabilities which include poverty, ignorance, and proximity to illegal gold mining activities, both young girls and boys in Mbire find themselves at the receiving end of societal ills such as sexual abuse and gender based violence. To hedge…

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Men Cant Be Trusted In The Fight Against GBV- Women Rights Groups

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WOMEN Rights organisations representatives at the two day SafAids Symposium on Best Practices in HIV and Gender Based Violence (GBV) Prevention and Gender Norms Transforming Regional Linking & Learning, say men can not be trusted as partners in the fight against GBV and there was need to put them under check. By Michael Gwairisa This however is despite increasing  calls for male involvement and mainstreaming men in the GBV war so as to break the barriers patriarchy has installed in society. Women Action Group, Zimbabwe director, Edinah Masiyiwa said there…

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SafAIDS Launches Best Practice Book…Celebrates Successful Community Work

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….Women say GBV has gone down from SafAids Initiatives at rural community level …School dropout cases drastically reduced in Marange area Southern Africa HIV and AIDS Information Dissemination Service (SAfAIDS) this morning (16/05/18) launched the Best Practice Book, a detailed piece which documents some of the most successful stories the organisation and its partners have achieved in some of the most marginalized rural communities in Zimbabwe. By Michael Gwarisa The Book titled “Integrating HIV and GBV Prevention Through Community Resilience Building: Success Stories from Zimbabwe,” is testimony of some of…

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Ignoring Key Populations Threaten 90 90 90 Targets

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By Michael Gwarisa  LEAVING key Populations (KPs) behind in HIV/AIDS interventions and programs poses a a threat to the ambitious target of reducing HIV prevalence, deaths and new infections  by the year 2020. In Zimbabwe, KPs mean gay men and other men who have sex with men, sex workers and their clients, transgender people and people who inject drugs as the four main key population groups, but it acknowledges that prisoners and people with Disability also are particularly vulnerable to HIV and frequently lack adequate access to services (ZNASP3 )…

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Lack Of Investment Hampering Breast Feeding Efforts

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New analysis shows an investment of US$4.70 per newborn could generate US$300 billion in economic gains by 2025 GENEVA/NEW YORK, 1 August 2017 – No country in the world fully meets recommended standards for breastfeeding, according to a new report by UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) in collaboration with the Global Breastfeeding Collective, a new initiative to increase global breastfeeding rates. The Global Breastfeeding Scorecard, which evaluated 194 nations, found that only 40 per cent of children younger than six months are breastfed exclusively (given nothing but breast…

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How I Was Abducted and Forced To Marry A Stranger

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YOUNG GIRL EXPLAINS HER ABDUCTION AND FORCED MARRIAGE HORROR  By Michael Gwarisa “I was locked up for several nights and forced to have sex with her son, they hid me from the public until they forcibly moved me to Bulawayo.” It takes bravery and courage beyond human imagination to stand in front of hundreds of dignitaries from within and outside Zimbabwe and share a horrendous story of how one was forced to have sex with a total stranger and later on become his wife outside her will. For young Nicole…

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Call To Empower Men/Boys Gets Louder

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By Michael Gwarisa CIVIC Society organisations have joined hands with government and various organisations including religious and traditional groups in calling for the empowerment and inclusion of boys and men in the fight against Gender Based Violence (GBV). In an interview on the sidelines of the ongoing Youth Changing the River’s Flow symposium, SafAids Head of Programmes, Ngoni Chubukire said SafAids had embarked on a massive nationwide drive to engage all societal groups in the fight against GBV and strengthening participation by various groups in enhancing gender equality. ALSO READ:…

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MSF, SafAids partner to fight drug abuse and HIV in Adolescents

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By Michael Gwarisa  MEDECINS Sans Frontieres (MSF) has partnered SafAids in the fight against drug abuse and risky sexual behavior  amongst adolescents as the country strives to manage the AIDS pandemic whose prevalence in young people has been on the increase. In an interview with HealthTimes on the sidelines of the “Young4Real, Make the Right Choices campaign” in Mbare today MSF Health Promotions Officer,  Brian Hove said statistics of HIV prevalence among adolescents have been worrisome hence the need to partner SafAids on the drive. “The objectives of this campaign…

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