AfCFTA: A key to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa

By Chido Pamela Mafongoya The long-awaited trading within the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) finally began on 1 January 2021, marking a very important milestone for African trade. The AfCFTA creates a single continental market for goods and services, with the aim of increasing intra-African trade by reducing tariffs by approximately 90 percent and harmonising…

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Tendai Biti blocking COVID-19 eradication efforts: Zimbabwe Citizen Forum

By Staff Reporter The Zimbabwe Citizen Forum Leader Alex Gakanje has accused the MDC-Alliance Vice president, Tendai Biti of blocking the nation from accessing the Covid-19 relief fund resulting in the deaths and suffering of poor citizens. Speaking at a press conference in Harare on Monday, Gakanje said the current suffering of Zimbabwe and failure…

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Finding strengths in local food markets amid the pandemic

By Charles Dhewa Since March 2020 when COVID19 first showed up in Africa, mass food markets have continued to play their critical functions although policy support has continued to be directed to processing companies and supermarkets. In 2021, COVID19 did not just confirm the importance of a strong immune system but has also revealed the strengths…

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Rosemary’s story: Passion for saving lives remains undimmed by COVID-19

By The Global Fund For Rosemary Wanjiru, a community health volunteer in Nairobi’s Soweto Village, fighting TB in the time of COVID-19 has meant making impossible choices. For instance, she was torn between keeping herself and her family safe at home or going out to see patients, who desperately needed her help. The mother of…

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Equip Health Practitioners, Facilities Adequately To Fight Covid-19: Prof Sibanda

By Desire Tshuma  GAMMA laboratories proprietor Professor Elopy Sibanda has urged the government to consider the safety of medical practitioners and adequately equip them with enough personal protective equipment (PPEs) so as to successfully win the battle against the deadliest Covid-19 pandemic. As the coronavirus continues to claim the lives of many people around the world,…

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Fake COVID-19 tests: Pathlabs Committed to Protecting its Integrity

By Joyce Mukucha As it strives to be a preferred provider of world-class quality, innovative and comprehensive pathological services, the Pathology Laboratories (Pathlabs) has noted with concern the rise in fraudulent activities with regards to the usage of the body’s intellectual property in the form of its letterheads. The letterheads are being used to produce…

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Coronavirus in Africa could reverse 30 years of Wildlife conservation gain

By Edwin Tambara For wild animals in Africa on the verge of extinction and the tight knit communities who protect them, COVID-19 is a specter, disrupting a delicate balancing act of survival for both humans and endangered species. African officials and conservation experts from Kenya, Uganda and Gabon briefed members of Congress on May 12…

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Women bemoan COVID-19 adverse impacts

By Joyce Mukucha In the wake of the ongoing novel coronavirus global pandemic, the Women in Agriculture Union (WAU) has bemoaned the adverse implications of COVID-19. The pandemic is negatively impacted the agriculture sector, productivity and supply chain with women farmers being worst hit. The WAU chairperson and founder who is also a woman farmer,…

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Bail Granted for DJs Fantan, Levelz, and Dammer

By Joyce Mukucha Zimdancehall producer DJ Fantan whose real name is Arnold Kamudyariwa, Chillspot Records co-founder Levelz (Rodger Tafadzwa Kadzimwe) and Simbarashe Chanachimwe known as Dammer have been granted bail this afternoon. The three were given a sentence of six months imprisonment before the magistrate conditionally suspended six months. They were arrested on January 4…

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United States Provides 20 Ventilators to Zimbabwe to Respond to COVID-19

The United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), donated 20 brand-new, state-of-the-art ventilators to Solidarity Trust Zimbabwe to help Zimbabweans fight COVID-19. “We are pleased to deliver 20 ventilators, which complement Zimbabwe’s efforts to combat COVID-19 and demonstrate the United States’ ongoing commitment to supporting the people of Zimbabwe through this crisis…

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MDC Alliance Mourns Late Foreign Affairs Minister SB Moyo

By Staff Reporter MDC Alliance, the Zimbabwe’ biggest opposition political party led by Advocate Nelson Chamisa has expressed its bereavement following the passing on of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister, Retired Lieutenant General Sibusiso Moyo. Expressing its condolences in a statement yesterday, the MDC Alliance said,” Our party would like to extend our heartfelt…

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Minimise on COVID-19 herbal prevention concoctions: Sekuru Banda

As COVID-19 intensifies its toll on citizens, famous traditional healer Sekuru Banda has warned people against consuming excess concoctions as a preventive measure against the virus. “We understand that COVID-19 is ravaging people across the globe with Zimbabwe listed as a hotspot for the pandemic. My advice is that when you are not COVID-19 positive,…

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Harare Water workers appeal for government intervention

Workers for Harare Water Sewerage Department are appealing for the government to intervene in a dispute with their employer regarding the improvement of working conditions and salaries to enable them to offer residents efficient service delivery. On 4 January 2021, the workers downed tools and approached the Harare City Human Resources department to present to…

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Blessing Muroti Gomo Urges Artists to Diversify into Other Businesses

By Desire Tshuma  South Africa based artist Blessing Muroti Gomo has called on his fellow colleagues in the music industry to venture into other businesses so as to survive during the Covid 19 lockdown. As the second wave of Covid-19 is taking it’s toll and forced Zimbabwe to go back to a 30-day lockdown, multi-talented musician-cum-business…

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Involving Young People Key in Winning the Fight Against COVID-19

By Joyce Mukucha As the world grapples with unprecedented challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, young people are demonstrating their continued support, leadership, and care in their communities and countries. According to a new UN plan to address COVID-19, young people are some of the most affected populace by the pandemic’s socio-economic impacts. Nevertheless, youths…

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Emergency Committee on COVID-19 Advises on Variants, Vaccines

By Staff Reporter The COVID-19 pandemic continues to constitute an extraordinary event, a public health risk to other states through international spread, and continues to require a coordinated international response, the Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) and World Health Organisation (WHO) Emergency Committee (EC) on COVID-19 has revealed. In a virtual meeting conducted…

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Chitungwiza Municipality Temporarily Closes St Mary’s Clinic

By Joyce Mukucha The shortage of health professionals has forced Chitungwiza Municipality to temporarily close St Mary’s Clinic with immediate effect. Chitungwiza Municipality Acting Town Clerk, Dr. Tonderai Kasu revealed that the shortage of health professional staff is attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic which has seen front line health workers being infected and others losing…

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ZNOART provides virtual outreach programmes during the lockdown

By Joyce Mukucha In a bid to address the plight of residents in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic, the Zimbabwe National Organisation Association of Residents Trust (ZNOART) has said its outreach programmes will continue to be virtually conducted so as to contain the spread of the virus. The Chairperson for ZNOART, Shalvar Chikomba said his…

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7 Digital Health Trends We’ll Keep An Eye On In 2021

Bertalan Meskó, MD, PhD Summing up 2020 I was asked many times about the changes COVID-19 have brought about in healthcare. Well, throughout the past year, here at The Medical Futurist we were continuously posting about the technological advancements in the medical field: telemedicine, at-home lab tests, robotics and even doing sports have changed dramatically.  Most of these changes are likely to…

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SARW Appeals for Distribution of the COVID-19 Vaccine to Include Mining Communities

Masutane Modjadji When the first Covid-19 cases were reported in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) in March 2020, no one could have prepared for the devastation that the virus would bring. Countries responded swiftly (and rightly so) to the global public health emergency but this has had unintended consequences as a result of the…

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Public Health Lock-down Order: Courts, Lawyers, and the Lock-down

By Veritas Two further amendments to the Public Health Lock-down Order have been published in the past few days.  The first, in SI 11/2021 of 5th January 2021 [link], declared courts to be an essential service for the purpose of the Order;  the second, in SI 13/2021 of 8th January 2021 [link], declared legal practitioners to be performing an essential…

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Zimbabwean girls and young women plead for access to comprehensive SRHR services

By Joyce Mukucha Zimbabwean young women and girls are pleading with the government and other youth-oriented organisations to challenge the legal frameworks that are not favourable for young people to access sexual reproductive health and rights (SRHR) information and services that lead to many health problems especially when it comes to safe abortion. When faced…

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Determined Mukanganwi Inspiring Women to Become ‘Own Bosses’

By Staff Reporter Being an entrepreneur is not a walk in the garden path, but with the right opportunity, hard work, dedication, commitment, optimism, and a supportive community, it can be very rewarding. Zimbabwean women are increasingly charting their own professional course and embracing the idea of being ‘your own boss’ as a way to…

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Dawa Health Striving to Eliminate Maternal Health Challenges

By Joyce Mukucha Worldwide, hundreds of mothers are dying daily from pregnancy complications with 99 percent of them in developing countries like Sub Sahara Africa. Statistics indicate that in Zimbabwe and other African countries, the maternal mortality rate is rapidly increasing day by day being fuelled by the low uptake of maternal health services. According…

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Cushion SMEs and Informal Traders: ZITA

By Joyce Mukucha The Zimbabwe Integrated Traders Association (ZITA) has called upon the government to provide finances to small to medium enterprises (SMEs), informal traders, and small businesses for them to stay afloat during the enforced 30-day national lockdown aimed at containing the surge of Covid-19 infections in the country. ZITA highlighted that even though…

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Simple Algorithms vs. A.I. And What They Mean For Medicine

Bertalan Meskó, MD, PhD Artificial intelligence (A.I.), machine learning (ML) and algorithms; if you are a regular at The Medical Futurist, you’ve come across these terms more than once whether it’s in our articles, videos or e-books. Indeed, our latest e-book about investment in digital health has a dedicated section about A.I. Even The Medical Futurist Institute’s latest…

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CZR Applauds Government for Invoking Tough Lockdown Measures

By Joyce Mukucha Making reference to the new measures announced by Hon VP and Minister of Health and Child Care Minister Dr.Constantino Chiwenga to combat the rise in Covid-19 positive cases, the Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers (CZR) has applauded the government for stepping in by invoking tough measures to stop a looming catastrophe amid rising…

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Minister Muswere calls for vigilance in the wake of the COVID-19-induced lockdown

Dr. Jenfan Muswere, the Acting Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services has called for vigilance in the wake of the COVID-19 induced lockdown. The call comes after Vice President, Rtd General Constantino Chiwenga on the 2nd of January 2021 ordered the lockdown that was followed by a statement released by the Acting President, Cde…

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Citizens, Government Reluctant Towards Covid-19 Prevention: APA

With COVID-19 cases and deaths surging, the Alliance for the People’s Agenda (APA) has called for discipline and shunning of the reckless attitude shown by the government and citizens. APA noted that it has been a year since Covid-19 emerged into people’s collective conscience as a threat to humanity yet Zimbabwe remains precariously unprepared for…

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President Mnangagwa should do more on containing COVID-19

By Tinashe Eric Muzamhindo A few days ago, the least popular political outfit, MDC-T held its elective extraordinary death trap, where the interim leader, Dr. Thokozani Khupe reportedly contracted Covid-19 soon after the drama at the Harare International Conference Centre. More than 1000 supporters were gathered without putting safeguard measures on how to combat the…

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