Category: Publications

By Nhau Mangirazi, Newsday

Sadness engulfed Rosina Mujakachi after visiting her pregnant sister battling a malaria attack at Karoi District Hospital two weeks ago.

Her sister was among the over 30 people from the surrounding outlying Hurungwe villages receiving treatment for malaria at the hospital.

It is reported that at least five people died this month at the medical institution when malaria cases peaked in the rural communities, including a malaria hotspot, Kazangarare in Hurungwe North constituency.

Mujakachi said her sister, who is from the Kazangarare area, was diagnosed with malaria. Nyama resettlement is also another malaria hotspot that claimed a local headman last week, according to sources.

Mujakachi was grateful that her sister was being treated.

CWGH Executive Director Itai Rusike

“My concern is on communities which get free mosquito nets regularly but ignore proper use of the nets,” said Mujakachi, adding that most villagers appeared to be reckless about their health.

Hurungwe district medical officer, Munyaradzi Chidaushe, confirmed a malaria outbreak in the area.

“We are calling for precautionary measures from everyone. People must seek medical attention urgently so that we can curb malaria. They must use mosquito nets regularly,” Chidaushe said.

Local transmission in the community has been reduced to very low levels among most outlying rural communities within Mashonaland West province, in three districts, including Chegutu, Mhondoro Ngezi and Zvimba.

Other districts like Kariba, Sanyati, Makonde and Hurungwe are in the control phase where the malaria disease burden is significantly high.

Ironically, last week, Kariba district recorded a surge in malaria cases that reached a peak of 87 cases in one week.

Kariba district medical officer Godwin Muza told stakeholders that the cases were in both urban and rural communities.

Of these 30% are from Msampakaruma rural, with Nyamhunga in Kariba town pegged at 24%.

Kanyati and Kasvisva are at 10% apiece while Gache Gache stands at 8%.

Mahombekombe and Siakobvu have 6% of the cases each.

On April 25, Zimbabwe joined the rest of the world to celebrate World Malaria Day amid renewed calls for community education to support malaria eradication.

Women Action Group director Edna Masiiwa commended Zimbabwe for making positive strides in combating malaria through donor support.

“Fortunately, Zimbabwe has sound policies on malaria with full-fledged personnel at the ministerial level covering all communities with the support of grassroots community health workers. Some donors, including the Global Fund, are pushing the country’s agenda of malaria eradication. We hope it further helps the country to reinvest and reimagine its focus on the malaria thrust,” she said.

Masiiwa, however, noted that the health sector faces challenges of worker flight.

“Retention of some workers in health sector remains a challenge, but we hope and trust that it will be corrected sooner rather than later,” she added.

She bemoaned abuse of mosquito nets in some communities.

“As a country, we must continue with community education to help those mostly affected in remote areas understand the positive gains of using mosquito nets donated freely for their well-being. It’s a challenge that the country faces and needs a holistic health approach to overcome,” Masiiwa, a women’s rights advocate, noted.

Mrs Masiiwa

Community Working Group on Health executive director, Itai Rusike, admitted that malaria remains a national health challenge.

“The burden is particularly devastating for pregnant women and young children,” Rusike said.

He added that sustained funding was critical to keep prevention and treatment efforts on track.

“If mosquito nets and preventive medicines for pregnant women are unavailable, lives will be lost. When the supply of test kits and first-line treatments is disrupted, malaria cases and deaths spiral. Investing in the fight against malaria not only saves lives but also boosts productivity, creates economic opportunities, strengthens national health security and makes the country safer for everyone,” Rusike said.

“Now is not the time to pause the fight. It’s the time to give everything or risk a surge in malaria cases, growing resistance and the spread of the disease across districts including to non-malaria areas. If left unchecked, malaria will become much harder and more expensive to control, thereby putting millions of lives and decades of progress at risk.”

Rusike, a health advocate, said the country must act decisively to end malaria as a public health threat and build a healthier, safer, more prosperous future for all.

“Everyone must help in the eradication fight,” he said.

Mashonaland West provincial health promotion officer, George Kambondo, said World Malaria Day was a reminder for continued efforts to eliminate malaria and ensure a healthier future for all.

“Let’s work together to raise awareness, support research and advocate for better healthcare systems. Zimbabwe joins other countries in the world to commemorate Malaria Day. Let’s fight malaria. Together, we can make a difference and save lives,” he said.

Kambondo added that there was a need for combined efforts.

“Let’s remember that every life lost to malaria is one too many. By investing in prevention, diagnosis and treatment, we can save lives and build stronger, healthier communities,” he said.

According to government, Manicaland province is the most affected province, contributing 40,7% of malaria cases and 38,8% of deaths in the country, followed by Mashonaland Central, which contributed 28,2% of cases and 24% of deaths.

“Children under 5 years of age account for 14% of the cases. Nationally, there were 36 423 malaria cases with 85 deaths recorded,” the statement by the Health and Child Care ministry said.

On a positive note, Africa stands at the forefront of a revolutionary shift in global health, driven by artificial intelligence (AI) and data science, according to a report released in early April.

The landscape presents an unprecedented view into the potential to improve AI governance in Africa to reduce the risk and stop the perpetuation of inequity.

Titled Governance of Artificial Intelligence for Global Health in Africa, the report was sponsored by Science for Africa Foundation after a culmination of a year-long effort involving convenings across Africa’s five regions, policy analysis and extensive surveys to identify policy gaps and opportunities in AI and data science for global health.

This year’s theme is Malaria ends with us, reinvest, reimagine and reignite, calling for renewed investment, innovation and commitment at all levels of the malaria eradication community to accelerate progress towards ending the disease.

Globally, there were 597 000 malaria deaths in 2023, with 263 million new cases of malaria in the same year.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 95% of malaria cases are in the African region.

The global community recommitted to eradicating malaria in the late 1990s and, as a result, an estimated 2,2 billion cases and 12,7 million deaths have been prevented over more than two decades.

WHO noted that after years of a steady decline, progress has stalled.

“Further progress and decades of hard-won gains are in jeopardy.

Extreme weather events, conflict, humanitarian emergencies and economic stresses are disrupting malaria control efforts in many endemic countries, leaving tens of millions of people with limited access to the services they need to prevent, detect and treat the disease,” WHO said.

It added that without prompt treatment, malaria can rapidly escalate to a severe illness and death.

“It’s time to recommit to ending malaria. We have the knowledge, life-saving tools and targeted prevention, testing and treatment methods to defeat this disease.

We must reinvest in proven interventions, reimagine our strategies to overcome current obstacles and reignite our collective efforts together with countries and communities to accelerate progress towards ending malaria,” WHO said. – Newsday

By Gamuchirai Masiyiwa,

Eneles Zhou cooks outside her home. Zhou, a mother of five, has dedicated her life to caring for her children with sickle cell disease.

ZVISHAVANE, ZIMBABWE — Morning light slants through the window as Eneles Zhou inspects two of her children. They’re wrapped in blankets. Despite March’s typically warm days, in this home in the Midlands province, Zhou’s children struggle with temperatures their bodies cannot regulate.

A mother of five, Zhou quickly coaxes flames to life and prepares porridge, timing it with the children’s medication schedule — folic acid to boost red blood cells, then hydroxyurea to prevent any complications. Over the years, this routine has become familiar.

When her firstborn was diagnosed with sickle cell anemia, a hereditary disease, at 7 years old, Zhou had never heard of it. Doctors told her that 1 in 4 children might inherit it, and with two symptom-free, she clung to hope.

But by 2021, tests had confirmed that three of her children carry a severe form of the disease. Two others have a milder version.

Zimbabwe’s widespread failure to screen newborns means many families only discover the condition after irreversible damage has begun. Without early detection, children often suffer severe complications or die, even before the age of 5, says Dr. Patience Kuona, a pediatric hematologist who’s spearheading a sickle cell research initiative.

In 2024, Zimbabwe launched its first pilot screening program, testing 550 newborns and revealing that the sickle cell trait affects between 3% and 12% of the population. The data is not yet published, says Kuona, the lead researcher.

Still, the pilot — part of ongoing research by the Sickle Hemoglobinopathy Research in Zimbabwe and Zambia — marks only the beginning of a much longer journey for those with the disease.

Specialized care, especially for families outside major cities, remains a mirage. Essential medicines — folic acid, penicillin, hydroxyurea — are often unavailable in public health facilities. Advanced treatments such as bone marrow transplants and gene therapy are not available due to resource constraints. Specialized sickle cell disease clinics exist in five central hospitals, with limited provincial access.

“Pain relief is there, but opioids are scarce in lower-level hospitals,” Kuona says.

Eneles Zhou high-fives her daughter, Partner Sibanda, at Gresham Primary School. Despite frequent absences due to her sickle cell disease, Partner excels academically.

Sickle cell disease, the world’s most common inherited blood disorder, warps healthy cells into crescents. The sickle cells break down easily, leading to anemia. They can also clog small blood vessels, causing excruciating pain and organ damage.

Globally, 7.74 million people bear this genetic burden. Over half a million children were born with the disease in 2021. While Zimbabwe’s 12% prevalence rate appears modest compared to hot spots like Nigeria, Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo, where rates soar to between 20% and 45%, the country’s fragile health care infrastructure magnifies suffering, turning what should be a manageable condition into a daily battle for survival.

Zhou’s case is especially challenging. Her five affected children are different ages — one adolescent, two teenagers and two preschoolers — and the complications worsen as children grow, with higher risks of infections, kidney problems, blood clots and stroke.

Zhou’s eldest, Panashe Sibanda, 20, has endured the worst. Despite six daily medications, he is constantly in pain. He struggles to sustain friendships. He can’t join gatherings because pathogens infect him too easily. A simple cold triggers what he calls a “pain crisis,” which no over-the-counter painkiller can relieve.

For 1 in 3 people with sickle cell disease, pain is a near-daily companion. More than half grapple with pain most days.

“I’ve survived 61 near-death experiences since I was 13,” Sibanda says.

The disease burdens families financially through frequent hospitalizations and work loss. Zhou’s husband’s irregular carpentry work barely sustains them. Zhou doesn’t work outside her home; her children’s disease requires full-time care.

During her children’s playtime, Zhou remains alert. These aren’t carefree moments of childhood abandon; they’re carefully monitored sessions within the confines of their immaculate home. One dust mote could trigger an infection.

“I am always nervous,” she says. “Always anxious.”

Eneles Zhou walks her daughter, Partner Sibanda, to school. Zhou’s daily routines are shaped by her children’s medical needs, including monitoring school attendance.

Photos Credit: Gamu Masiyiwa
This article was first published in the Global Press Journal (GPJ)