Zimbabwe’s vaccination momentum needs an ‘urgent boost’ ahead of an imminent COVID-19 resurgence

No abstract available.http://www.samj.org.zadm2022School of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH

The landscape of COVID-19 vaccination in Zimbabwe : a narrative review and analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the programme

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic brought unprecedented challenges for the population. The advent of national COVID-19 vaccination programmes was therefore welcome as a key control strategy for the COVID-19 pandemic, as evidence has shown that vaccination is the best strategy to reduce the adverse individual and population level adverse outcomes associated with infectious diseases such as COVID-19. Zimbabwe rolled out its vaccination programme in February 2021 with an ambitious target to vaccinate at least 60% of its eligible population by December 2021. However, by that time, the country was still to reach that target. To move the vaccination programme towards achieving this target, it is crucial to understand the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to the programme. We, therefore, with this narrative review, discuss some of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to the programme since its rollout in February 2021. Though the programme has several strengths and opportunities to leverage on, we argue that among other challenges, the emergence of new variants of concern poses one of the biggest threats to local, regional and international vaccination programmes and requires concerted multistakeholder efforts to deal with. Additionally, addressing vaccine hesitancy remains as important as availing the vaccines to the population, to obtain the most benefits out of the programme.https://www.mdpi.com/journal/vaccinesdm2022School of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH

Diminished health and social outcomes among men who have sex with men who use drugs in Zimbabwe

No abstract available

Zimbabwean law and its impact on HIV programmes for key populations

Zimbabwe is one of the four African countries to have achieved the UNAIDS 95-95- 95 targets. However, significant programmatic gaps remain for selected key populations. Zimbabwe has several legal and policy constraints that hinder these key populations from seeking HIV prevention, treatment and care services. The criminalization of sex work and men who have sex with men are significant impediments to achieving 95-95-95 in the country. In this perspective, we explore how legal and policy constraints affect, in particular, men who have sex with men and female sex workers, who are most affected.https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health#am2024School of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH)SDG-03:Good heatlh and well-bein

Putting communities at the forefront of community-led monitoring in Zimbabwe

The purpose of this opinion manuscript is to outline the role of community-led organizations in the fight against HIV including the monitoring of HIV-related health services in Zimbabwe. This is in line with the theme of the 2023 World AIDS Day of recognizing and celebrating the achievements of communities. Additionally, the World AIDS Day theme advocates for more resources to enable community-led organizations to unleash their full potential and leadership, including more effective community-led monitoring of the provision of HIV-health services to contribute to the end of AIDS by 2030.https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health#am2024School of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH)SDG-03:Good heatlh and well-beingSDG-11:Sustainable cities and communitie

Fighting COVID-19 pandemic fatigue and complacency in Zimbabwe

As COVID-19 continues to threaten local and global health, there are increased reports that the protracted COVID-19 pandemic is causing pandemic fatigue throughout the world. The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines pandemic fatigue as demotivation and exhaustion to follow recommended infection prevention and control (IPC) measures and decreased efforts to seek COVID-19-related information. While this is an expected natural response to a prolonged public health crisis, the pandemic fatigue and resultant complacency have the potential to undermine the efforts to control the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This is particularly the case as new and more transmissible variants, such as the Delta and Omicron, continue to emerge. Complacency is described as a feeling of quiet pleasure or security, often while unaware of some potential danger. Within the context of COVID-19, new SARS-CoV-2 infections continue to affect the populations globally, but the desire to follow protective guidelines seems to be waning. The WHO has warned that pandemic complacency can be as dangerous as the virus itself. In this correspondence, we give our perspectives on the potential drivers of pandemic fatigue and complacency in Zimbabwe. We also provide suggestions to effectively deal with both to minimize widespread com- munity transmission and the resultant impact on the public health sector in Zimbabwe.https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/public-health-in-practic

Conducting research among key populations in settings with discriminatory laws, policies, and practice : the case of men who have sex with men in Zimbabwe

No abstract available.https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/public-health-in-practicehj2023School of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH

Optimising COVID-19 Vaccination Policy to Mitigate SARS-CoV-2 Transmission within Schools in Zimbabwe

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the learning of millions of children across the world. Since March 2020 when the first cases of COVID-19 were reported in Zimbabwe, the country, like many others, has gone through periods of closing and re-opening of schools as part of the national COVID-19 control and mitigation measures. Schools promote the social, mental, physical, and moral development of children. With this viewpoint, the authors argue that schools should not be closed to provide a measured and efficient response to the threats posed by the COVID-19 epidemic. Rather, infection prevention and control strategies, including vaccination of learners and teachers, and surveillance in schools should be heightened. The use of multiple prevention strategies discussed in this viewpoint has shown that when outbreaks in school settings are adequately managed, the transmission usually is low. The information presented here suggests that schools should remain open due to the preponderance of evidence indicating the overriding positive impacts of this policy on the health, development, and wellbeing of children

Optimising COVID-19 vaccination policy to mitigate SARS-CoV-2 transmission within schools in Zimbabwe

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the learning of millions of children across the world. Since March 2020 when the first cases of COVID-19 were reported in Zimbabwe, the country, like many others, has gone through periods of closing and re-opening of schools as part of the national COVID-19 control and mitigation measures. Schools promote the social, mental, physical, and moral development of children. With this viewpoint, the authors argue that schools should not be closed to provide a measured and efficient response to the threats posed by the COVID-19 epidemic. Rather, infection prevention and control strategies, including vaccination of learners and teachers, and surveillance in schools should be heightened. The use of multiple prevention strategies discussed in this viewpoint has shown that when outbreaks in school settings are adequately managed, the transmission usually is low. The information presented here suggests that schools should remain open due to the preponderance of evidence indicating the overriding positive impacts of this policy on the health, development, and wellbeing of children.https://www.mdpi.com/journal/vaccinesdm2022School of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH