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

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

HIV status, knowledge and prevention of cervical cancer amongst adolescent girls and women : a secondary data analysis

TABLES AND FIGURES: TABLE 1: baseline characteristics of female ZDHS 2015 used in the analysis. TABLE 2: profiles of women whoever or never heard about cervical cancer. TABLE 3: profiles of women who were ever or never screened for cervical cancer. FIGURE 1: A) HIV in females; B) prevalence of knowledge about cervical cancer; and C) prevalence of cervical cancer testingINTRODUCTION : the objective of this manuscript was to describe the knowledge profiles and determinants of cervical cancer screening among HIV positive and negative adolescent girls and women in Zimbabwe. METHODS : we conducted secondary statistical data analysis to explore the determinants of cervical cancer screening among HIV positive and negative adolescent girls and women using Zimbabwe Demographic Health survey for 2015-16. RESULTS : a total of 9054 adolescent girls aged 15-19, and women aged 20-49 were included in the analysis and the majority (63%) of them resided in rural areas. More than two-thirds (65.9%) had attained secondary level of education. The majority (41.3%) of the adolescent girls and women belonged to the Apostolic sect. A number of key determinants have been identified for being ever screened for cervical cancer. The odds of being ever being screened increased by age, OR(CI) 4.38 (3.22-5.94), p<0.001 for women who are 40 years and older when compared to adolescent and young woman who are between 15-24 years. CONCLUSION : our study reports significant programmatic gaps in the provision of cervical cancer screening and treatment services in the country. The nascent Zimbabwe cervical cancer screening and treatment progamme will benefit from expansion of the number of facilities offering the services and the provision of more efficient health education to adolescent women and girls.http://www.panafrican-med-journal.comam2023School of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH

Understanding the role of intimate partner violence on HIV transmission in Zimbabwe: Secondary data analysis of data from the Zimbabwe demographic survey 2015-2016

Background: Gender-based violence (GBV) has been shown to have significant and long-lasting impacts on women’s physical and mental health. It is, therefore, important to study its occurrence in a population and its intersect with infectious diseases such as HIV to inform the wider health promotion agenda. This study aimed to determine the association between GBV and HIV status in women and adolescent girls in Zimbabwe. Methods: A secondary data analysis of data from a cross-sectional Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey (ZDHS) was conducted. Statistical analysis was employed to establish the association between GBV and HIV status. Geospatial mapping was conducted using a kernel smoothing method was employed to generate a continuous kernel density surface to illustrate the local spatial variations of female HIV and GBV prevalence. Results: Women and adolescent girls suffering emotional GBV, such as those subjected to humiliation by their husbands or partners, were 1.45 (1.14-1.84) [OR (95% CIs)] times more likely to be HIV positive than those who were never humiliated. The same was true for women and adolescent girls whose husbands or partners threatened to harm them or someone they love, 1.33 (1.04-1.68). There is a relationship between women’s HIV status and intimate partner aggression, such as when their partners pushed, shook, or threw something at them or physically abused them. This was also the case for those who reported that partners kicked, dragged, or beat them, tried to choke or burn them on purpose, or threatened or attacked them with a knife, gun, or other weapons. Women who experienced forced sexual violence with threats were more likely 1.61 (1.08-2.41), to be HIV positive than those women who did not experience the same. Conclusion: GBV is widely spread in Zimbabwe. There is a need for the government to implement creative strategies to reach out to survivors, especially those that are forced to have unprotected sex and are at increased risk of HIV acquisition. This manuscript raises issues that can be addressed by robust health promotion strategies to reduce the impact of the syndemic of GBV and HIV acquisition in Zimbabwe