Tag: WHO

Zim’s immunization programmes reduce neonatal mortality by 51 percent

Kuda Pembere

By Kudakwashe Pembere Vaccines used for the immunization of children have been credited for saving six lives for every minute Zimbabweans with the country seeing a 51 percent drop in neonatal mortality. This the Health and Child Care Minister Dr Douglas Mombeshora told journalists after World Health Day and Expanded Programme on Immunization’s (EPI) golden jubilee commemorations held in Harare on Thursday. The EPI is still aiming to prevent more preventable diseases where vaccines are available. As you have heard, vaccines have life. Vaccines are having six lives every minute.…

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UNICEF Issues Emergency Tender To Secure Mpox Vaccines For Crisis-hit African Countries

Michael Gwarisa

By Staff Reporter UNICEF has announced that it has issued an emergency tender for the procurement of mpox vaccines. Vaccines can play a critical role in containing the mpox outbreak which was declared a public health emergency by both the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO). The UNICEF tender is issued to help secure mpox vaccines for the hardest hit countries in collaboration with Africa CDC, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, WHO, the Pan American Health Organization and other partners. This collaboration…

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OPHID Hosts Workshop To Address Healthcare Infodemic in Zimbabwe

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa in Kadoma In a bid to capacitate health communicators from the government, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), local authorities and health media, the Organisation for Public Health Interventions and Development (OPHID), is holding a three-day Infodemic Management capacity-building workshop. The infodemic management workshop is happening in Kadoma in collaboration with Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) and project partner organisations, JFKapnek, and ZNNP+ – with technical support from USAID. An infodemic by definition is an excessive amount of information about a problem that is typically unreliable, spreads rapidly,…

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Health Resilience Fund Support Enhances Uptake Of Long-Term Family Planning Methods In Matabeleland South

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa in Gwanda The risk of unplanned pregnancies is very high in the absence of Long-Acting Reversible Contraceptives (LARCs) Family planning methods. Women in low-resource settings experience interruptions that may increase the risk of unintended and unplanned pregnancies. In most cases, the poorest couples have the highest fertility, the lowest contraceptive use and the highest unmet need for contraception. In Gwanda, Matabeleland South, women such Florence Kungai (31), from Gwanda who in the past experienced two separate occasions of contraceptive failure due to interruptions in her schedule, now…

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Zimbabwe Makes Inroads In Addressing Severe NCDs Through The PEN-Plus Strategy

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) data, more than 560 000 avoidable deaths occur annually among the world’s poorest children and young adults with nearly 100 000 of these deaths being caused by only four conditions namely Type 1 diabetes mellitus, sickle cell disease, rheumatic and congenital heart disease. Just like most countries in the Sub-Saharan Africa region, Zimbabwe is experiencing a huge burden in Severe Non-Communicable Diseases which, unlike ordinary NCDs, do not get much public health attention despite them accounting for several deaths every…

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Communities A Vital Cog In Addressing Severe NCDs In Africa-Dr Benido

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs), continue to exert unwarranted pressure on Africa’s healthcare system, with data from the 2022 World Health Organisation (WHO) NCDs progress monitor estimating that between 50 percent and 88 percent of deaths being recorded in seven African countries, mostly small island nations, are due to non-communicable disease. The UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 3.4 calls for all Member States to reduce premature mortality from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) by one-third in 2030 through prevention, treatment and promoting mental health and well-being. However, over the years,…

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Challenges hamper cervical cancer fight in Zim

Kuda Pembere

By Kudakwashe Pembere A plethora of challenges within the public health sector are stalling Zimbabwe’s progress in the elimination of cervical cancer which despite commendably rolling out some programs, the country is ranked fourth regionally and globally in terms of the disease burden. The battle against cervical cancer in Zimbabwe is far from being won until these challenges bedeviling the public health delivery system are resolved. Amongst the challenges mentioned are the malfunctioning radiotherapy machines, shortage of cervical cancer specialists and staff as well as laboratory equipment and pathologists. This…

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Zim’s Oral health strategy on cards

Kuda Pembere

By Kuda Pembere As part of efforts to improve oral health in the country, the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) is working on developing a strategy for oral health as well as conducting a national oral health survey. This was said by Health and Child Care Deputy Minister, Sleiman Kwidini on Wednesday during the World Oral Health Day commemorations themed “Healthy Mouth, Healthy Body”. According to the oral health situational analysis, carried out last year with support from WHO, there are gaps in service delivery, information for programming,…

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Zimbabwe Launches House to House Oral Cholera Vaccination Campaign

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa A total of 2.3 million people, aged one year old and above, are set to benefit from the Oral Cholera Vaccination (OCV) campaign that has been launched in Harare today. The campaign will be carried out on a  house-to-house, and cluster-to-cluster basis in 160 wards within 26 high-risk districts in seven provinces namely Harare, Mashonaland West, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland Central, Manicaland, Masvingo and Midlands. These districts are considered the main drivers of the outbreak. Officiating at the launch, Minister of Health and Child Care (MoHCC), Dr Douglass…

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WHO Calls For Urgent Action As 400 Cholera Patients Are Hospitalized In Zimbabwe

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa World Health Organisation in Zimbabwe (WHO Zimbabwe) representative, Professor Jean-Marie Dangou has warned that a business-as-usual approach is detrimental to the prevailing Cholera situation in Zimbabwe. His call follows a recent surge in new Cholera infections and hospitalisations which could bring the healthcare sector to its knees should the situation continue for a few more weeks as 60 districts have reported cases so far in the country. Through his Micro-Blogging platform, Prof Dangou said there was need to act swiftly and address the deteriorating health situation. Indeed,…

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