ActionAid Malawi urges IMF to abandon public sector expenditure austerity measures

ActionAid’s latest study “Human Cost of Public Expenditure Cuts in Africa,” was officially launched yesterday with renewed calls on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to abandon its austerity measures such as public sector expenditure cuts for poor countries, saying such measures have brought more misery for poor and vulnerable such as women and girls in…

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MCAZ, HPA Warn Against Illegal Ozempic Sale and Use For Weight Loss

Writes Catherine Murombedzi (Health Correspondent)   The Medicines Control Authority Zimbabwe (MCAZ) and Health Professions Authority Zimbabwe (HPA) have issued a warning against the illegal sale, purchase, and use of Ozempic. Ozempic is a prescription medication for type 2 diabetes, being misused for weight loss. MCAZ Director General, Mr. Richard T. Rukwata said it is…

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Heal Us Zimbabwe Launches Anti-Drug Walkathon from Plumtree to Harare

Plumtree, Zimbabwe – In a powerful show of commitment to combating drug and substance abuse, Columbus Tapiwa Mushore, Founder and Chairman of Heal Us Zimbabwe, led the launch of a 543-kilometre walkathon from Plumtree to Harare under the theme “Say No to Drugs – Together We Walk, Together We Heal.”   Mushore was joined by…

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IPEC embarks on life-changing medical outreach in Buhera and Makoni districts

Writes Catherine Murombedzi (Health Correspondent) In a heartwarming display of corporate social responsibility, the Insurance and Pensions Commission (IPEC) partnered with key stakeholders to deliver a comprehensive medical outreach programme to over 900 beneficiaries in Buhera and Makoni districts. The initiative, held from May 26-30, brought vital healthcare services to vulnerable communities, transforming lives and…

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A malaria-free SADC is possible: Prof. Sheila Tlou

VICTORIA FALLS, ZIMBABWE – With unwavering commitment and collective action, a malaria-free Southern African Development Community (SADC) is possible, Prof Sheila Tlou, the Special Ambassador of the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA), has said.   She was addressing the 57th SADC Parliamentary Assembly today 6 June 2025 in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.   Prof Tlou said…

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Gilead Committed to Rolling Out HIV Prevention Jab in Africa, awaits FDA approval

Gilead Sciences is poised to supply its groundbreaking twice-yearly injection, lenacapavir, to low-income countries, pending FDA approval, writes Catherine Murombedzi.   The twice-yearly jab has shown nearly 100% effectiveness in preventing HIV infection in large trials, sparking hope that it could help end the 44-year-old.   The Food and Drug Administration’s approval is the crucial…

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Stigma and discrimination major threats to HIV response: Marian Chombo

Writes Chimeno Azriel   Stigma and discrimination remain significant barriers to HIV care, preventing people living with the disease from seeking medical care, disclosing their status, and adhering to treatment. The Mashonaland West Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Hon Marian Chombo, emphasised the need to address these challenges during the National Aids…

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Global Observatory for Genome Editing 2025: Calls for Charter on Emerging Technologies and Human Dignity

on 23 May 2025 in Cambridge, the Unites States, at the end of the 2025 International Summit on Genome Editing, the Global Observatory for Genome Editing issued a Statement calling for a Charter on Emerging Technologies and Human Dignity. A global process of developing such a Charter will facilitate deeper reflection, responsibility, and moral purpose and protect…

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NAC honours journalists for excellence in covering HIV response

The National AIDS Council (NAC) continued with its practice of honouring excellence in media coverage of the HIV national response by awarding outstanding journalists at a colourful ceremony held at the Cresta Lodge in Harare yesterday.   In her address on behalf of Hon Douglas Mombeshora, the Minister of Health and Child Care, Nester Mukwehwa,…

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ICGEB a platform for knowledge transfer: Dr Deckster Savadye

Dr. Deckster Savadye, the Chief Executive Officer and Registrar of the National Biotechnology Authority of Zimbabwe (NBA), who is currently in India, New Dehli, attending the 31st Board Meeting of the ICGEB said the country is set to benefit immensely from its participation in this forum.   Speaking to Spiked Online Media from India, Dr….

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ZCSOSUNA media training promotes food and nutrition security

Zimbabwe Civil Society Organizations Scaling Up Nutrition Alliance (ZCSOSUNA), with financial and technical support from UNICEF, in collaboration with key government ministries and departments, held a training workshop to empower journalists to go beyond numbers to using data-driven storytelling to uncover meaningful insights, raising public awareness, influencing policy and shifting consumption behaviors when reporting on…

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Mothers’ Day: Motherhood, peer education reshape Melissa’s future preparation

Melissa Sibanda is a 25-year-old single mother who lives in Reuben, Epworth on the outskirts of Harare. For a year, she served as a Doctors Without Borders (MSF) peer educator in the Adolescents Sexual Reproductive Health (ASRH) project which provides comprehensive SRH healthcare to adolescents and young people in Mbare and Epworth suburbs.   Melissa’s…

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CWGH, LEAD commemorate Workers Day with calls for accountability and transparency

Today on May 1, 2025, the Community Working Group on Health (CWGH)  and the Labour Economists and Afrikan Democrats (LEAD) join the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), the working class, and progressive forces across the globe in commemorating the 2025 International Workers’ Day with calls for transparency and accountability.   On its part, CWGH…

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Participation in SADC PF’s Exco meeting demonstrates commitment to regional parliamentary cooperation

  Speaker Jacob F. N. Mudenda is in Windhoek alongside fellow Speakers of Parliament Presiding Officers for the Inaugural Orientation and Executive Committee (EXCO) Meeting of the SADC Parliamentary Forum, demonstrating Zimbabwe’s unwavering commitment to regional parliamentary cooperation.   Yesterday, in a solemn tribute at Heroes’ Acre, Namibia’s official war memorial built to foster patriotic…

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HPV vaccination in Africa: Urgent steps needed to address low uptake amid rising hesitancy

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 94% of global cervical cancer deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, with sub-Saharan Africa heavily affected   Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is fuelling high cervical cancer rates in sub-Saharan Africa despite the availability of effective vaccines. Yet uptake remains low, driven largely by vaccine hesitancy. In South Africa…

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Take practical measures to combat malaria: CWGH urges Government

As the world commemorates World Malaria Day on April 25, 2025, the Community Working Group on Health (CWGH) has urged the government to take practical measures to combat malaria, a preventable and treatable disease that continues to pose a significant public health challenge in the country.   This year’s theme, “Malaria Ends with Us: Reinvest,…

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Powering SME Growth: Zimnat Microfinance Launches Invoice Discounting Solution at ZITF 2025

As Zimbabwe pushes forward with its industrialisation agenda under the 2025 Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) theme “Industrialisation: Crafting an Integrated Economic Landscape,” Zimnat Microfinance has introduced an innovative financial solution designed to ease the cash flow burdens of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).   The new Invoice Discounting Facility, launched during ZITF 2025, gives…

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ZCSOSUNA engages Parliament for food and nutrition security advocacy

The Zimbabwe Civil Society Organisations Scaling Up Nutrition Alliance (ZCSOSUNA), with financial and technical support from UNICEF and in collaboration with key government ministries and departments, launched a new project titled ‘High-Level Nutrition Advocacy and Parliamentary Engagement’ to enhance national efforts in nutrition advocacy and deepen engagement with policymakers on child nutrition and development.  …

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Kupa Kunemufaro: Empowering Zimbabwe’s Creative Community through Free Healthcare

The Shepherds Foundation Trust and Mumba Creations are excited to announce the launch of “Kupa Kunemufaro,” an innovative initiative aimed at providing free healthcare services to Zimbabwe’s creative and visual communications community. Scheduled for April 25, 2025, from 10 am-4 pm at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe, the event underscores the commitment to the health…

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A Call for Hope: Zimbabwe’s Journey Towards Healthy Beginnings

The air in the WHO Zimbabwe Country Office was filled with a sense of purpose as staff members prepared to commemorate World Health Day on April 17th. The theme, “Healthy Beginnings, Hopeful Futures,” served as a powerful reminder of the organization’s core mission: to ensure that every mother and child in Zimbabwe had the opportunity…

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Zimbabwe’s 45th Independence Anniversary: President Mnangagwa highlights developmental initiatives

Forty-five years after Zimbabwe attained independence, the country has witnessed several developmental initiatives, President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said.   In his address today, 18 April 2025, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, His Excellency, Dr E. D. Mnangagwa in Gokwe, Nembudziya in the Midlands Province said central to the country’s development is the commitment…

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Japan, Zimbabwe and UN Agencies collaboration improves Child Health and Nutrition, Medical Waste Management

The Government of Japan provides support, in partnership with UNICEF, UNDP, WFP, and UNOPS, to the Government of the Republic of Zimbabwe, and has launched five transformative projects under Japan’s 2024 Supplementary Budget and the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD). These initiatives aim to strengthen maternal and child health, prevent malnutrition, modernize medical…

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NSSA, ZOSHC host tripartite workshop on protection against biological hazard in the workplace

Writes Chimeno Azriel   The National Social Security Authority (NSSA) and the Zimbabwe Occupational Safety and Health Council (ZOSHC) are hosting a tripartite workshop on protection against biological hazards in the workplace at the Kadoma Hotel and Conference Centre in Kadoma.   The three-day workshop which started on Monday ends today, Wednesday 16 April 2025….

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Using agroecology markets to inform diet analyses and community-led nutrition

Writes Charles Dhewa   Due to the colonial legacy that has looked down upon indigenous food for decades, diet and nutrition analyses in most African countries are based on data collected in supermarkets and other formal shops. Rarely is data collected from territorial mass food markets from which the majority get their food. That means…

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SECZim partners financial sector regulators for nationwide Global Money Week 2025 activities

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Zimbabwe (SECZim) in partnership with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), Insurance and Pensions Commission (IPEC), Postal and Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (POTRAZ), Deposit Protection Corporation (DPC), and other stakeholders participated in the 13th edition of Global Money Week (GMW) 2025 under the theme: “Think before you follow, wise money tomorrow.”   The…

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MP Gift Mambipiri donates sanitary pads to 20 schools in Kadoma

Writes Chimeno Azriel   Kadoma Central Member of Parliament, Gift Mambipiri, through the Pad Up Kadoma campaign, recently distributed sanitary pads worth us$8000 to 20 Primary and Secondary schools in Kadoma aimed at addressing the issue of period poverty and promoting the girl child’s education.   The distribution ceremony was held at Waverley Secondary School…

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Government must ensure citizens get quality health services: CWGH

The Community Working Group on Health (CWGH) on World Health Day (WHD) held under the theme “Healthy Beginnings, Hopeful Futures”, called on the government to ensure that all citizens get quality health services, when and where they need them, without facing financial hardships.   In Zimbabwe since 2013, health is a Constitutional right, as well…

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Mozambique, country with plenty water, but still faces water crisis

Writes Charles Mangwiro Maputo (Mozambique) – Climate change is undoubtedly the primary cause of water insecurity in Mozambique, a country with a history of cyclical flooding during the rainy season. Mozambique also receives a lot of flood water from its neighbors, namely South Africa, Eswatini, Malawi, and Zimbabwe but still faces a crisis for safe…

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Mixed reactions over the Insurance and Pensions Commission Amendment Bill

While the Parliament of Zimbabwe argues that the Insurance and Pensions Commission (IPEC) Amendment Bill presents a pivotal opportunity for transformative change in insurance, pensions, and medical health sectors, the other players feel that replacing the entire regulatory body for shortcomings by a few players is a lost cause.   This emerged today at the…

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Rising Teenage Pregnancies in Manicaland: A National Crisis That Demands Urgent Action

Labour Economists and Afrikan Democrats (LEAD) are deeply concerned and outraged by the latest statistics reported by the National AIDS Council (NAC), which revealed that 13,353 teenage girls were impregnated in Manicaland Province in 2024.   Linda Masarira, the President of LEAD, said even more alarming is the fact that 161 girls dropped out of…

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Symposium advances technologies to improve health outcomes for Zimbabweans

A Leadership in Health Technology Symposium held in Harare today (29 March 2025 ), organized by Siza Mukwedini and Kuda Makuzwa of Matamba Film Labs was meant to improve health outcomes for Zimbabwe.   In her remarks at the workshop, Pamela Tremont, the United States Ambassador to Zimbabwe, commended the support of the U.S. President’s…

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Upgraded UZ laboratory to improve polio surveillance and diagnostics

The commissioning of the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) Polio Laboratory has been described as a landmark achievement in the collective journey toward a polio-free world, emanating from the envisaged improvement in disease surveillance and diagnostics.   This state-of-the-art facility stands as a testament to the unwavering commitment of Zimbabwe, in collaboration with global partners like…

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MP initiates ‘Pad up Kadoma’ initiative to keep girls in school

Writes Chimeno Azriel   In a bid to support the educational and menstrual health needs of girl children in his constituency, Kadoma Central Member of Parliament has launched the ‘Pad Up Kadoma’ initiative to collect and distribute sanitary pads to 20 primary and secondary schools in the city, targeting girls who frequently miss lessons due…

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Medical aid societies vehicles for healthcare delivery: AHFoZ

Medical aid societies are an essential vehicle for sound healthcare delivery, the Association of Healthcare Founders of Zimbabwe (AHFoZ) Chief Executive, Ms. Shylet Sanyanga has said. She said this yesterday during a media tour at the AHFoZ Head Office in Harare to familiarize journalists with the medical aid industry. “We’ve been intending to do this…

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ZUNSDCF driving efforts towards sustainable development in Zimbabwe

The Zimbabwe United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (ZUNSDCF) serves as a critical mechanism for providing strategic direction and policy oversight to the institutional arrangement to drive efforts towards sustainable development in Zimbabwe.   This came to the fore in the keynote address by the Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet given by Dr….

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