Lazarus Sauti

Lazarus Sauti Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has the most serious HIV/Aids epidemic in the world. HIV prevalence for the region is 4.7 percent, but varies greatly between regions within SSA as well as individual countries. Southern Africa, for instance, is the worst affected region and is widely regarded as the ‘epicentre’ of the global HIV epidemic. Swaziland has the highest HIV prevalence of any country worldwide (27.4 percent) while South Africa has the largest epidemic of any country – 5.9 million people are living with HIV. As countries in southern Africa seek to eliminate Aids by 2030, a new plague is on the rise in the region, a pandemic of non communicable diseases ( NCDs) . The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines NCDs as cardiovascular diseases that can lead to heart attacks and stroke; ‘cancers, chronic respiratory diseases (such as chronic obstructed pulmonary disease and asthma) and diabetes’.  Chief reasons for the rise of t...

Lazarus Sauti Africa is being drained of its human resources by the rest of the world, says a study by Curtis Research. The research, titled “ Honest Accounts? The true story of Africa’s billion dollar losses ”, argues that the continent is losing US$6 billion as a result of the migration of skilled professionals including doctors, nurses, surgeons, teachers, academics, Information Technology (IT) experts and inventors. “The global emigration rate of high-skilled persons from Africa, estimated at 10.6 percent, is almost double the world average of 5.4 percent,” notes the study, adding that the health sector is badly affected. “The world is facing a global health worker crisis, with 83 countries having less than 22.8 health workers per 10 000 people. 70 percent of these are in Africa,” the report says. Skilled migration is causing a loss to source countries as most of these professionals are trained at public expense, said Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Education Dr F...

Lazarus Sauti Sex workers are among the highest risk groups for HIV, says the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and Aids (UNAIDS) – the main advocate for accelerated, comprehensive and coordinated global action on the HIV/Aids epidemic. UNAIDS, also a member of the United Nations Development Group, says in low- and middle-income countries, HIV prevalence among sex workers is an estimated 12 percent. “One study of 16 countries, for instance, in sub-Saharan Africa found an average HIV prevalence of 37 percent among sex workers,” it adds. “In Nigeria and Ghana, HIV prevalence among sex workers is eight times higher than for the rest of the population.” In Zimbabwe, notes the National AIDS Council of Zimbabwe (NAC), cases of HIV/Aids remain very high among sex workers and adolescents. “While the country has made significant strides in meeting global targets of reducing new sexual infections by 2015 and reducing the HIV and AIDS prevalence rate to 13.7 percent, inci...

Lazarus Sauti Sixteen year old girl Tariro Bute was collecting firewood in a remote rural village in Buhera, eastern Zimbabwe, when she stepped on a puff adder well camouflaged in the brown fallen leaves and undergrowth. Just an hour later, Bute was dead from the snakebite to her ankle. Her battle to live ended between her home and Chimombe Clinic – a primary health care facility more than 20km away. Proximity to health care facilities continues to be the difference between life and death for many Zimbabweans in mountainous and bushy rural areas, the natural habitats of snakes. In 2015, the country’s Ministry of Health and Child Care says 5 332 people were treated for snakebites – but 41 died. A year earlier, 3 195 snakebites were recorded with 39 fatalities. Dr Isaac Phiri of the Ministry of Health and Child Care says majority of snakebites recorded in the country involved non-venomous snakes. He blames the deaths on delayed access to treatment due to poor transpo...

Lazarus Sauti Most countries in southern Africa depend on tourism as the main contributor to their Gross Domestic Product ( GDP ), with the industry being an essential engine driving their economy. To tap from tourism and lift citizens from abject poverty, most – if not all – countries in the region are positioning themselves as leaders in offering friendly destinations to tourists from Europe and Asia. In an endeavor to consolidate its tourism promotion efforts and position itself as a destinations of choice, especially in offering a Chinese- friendly destination, Zimbabwe is hosting the first ever China-Africa Tourism Conference from 20 to 23 March 2017 in Victoria Falls. Hosted by the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) in collaboration with the Chinese Friendly International, led by Dr Kurt Grotsch – who also is the Dean of Catedra, a Chinese think-tank comprising of over 150 academics, researchers, lawyers and tourism experts in the Chinese market – the conference is...

Lazarus Sauti INTERNATIONALLY acclaimed South African hip-hop artist Kiernan Jarryd Forbes, known by his stage name AKA , is set to headline this year’s edition of Shoko Festival from the 23 to 25 in Harare and Chitungwiza. On September 23 and 24, the festival will take place at the Zimbabwe Museum of Human Sciences grounds on Rotten Row in the Central Business District of Harare and the last day of the festival, the Peace in the Hood concert will be held in Chitungwiza. Festival coordinator Natalie Kombe says AKA – undoubtedly the king of African hip-hop at the moment – is going to be the main headlining act of the country’s biggest fiesta of urban culture, alongside Zimbabwean artists Winky D and Ammara Brown. “The 6 th edition of Zimbabwe’s biggest celebration of urban culture will be home to some of the hottest entertainers locally, regionally and internationally,” she says. She added: “Under the theme ‘Come Alive’, the main headlining acts for the opening Fr...