{"id":2100,"date":"2026-05-13T07:47:03","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T07:47:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/?p=2100"},"modified":"2026-05-13T08:06:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T08:06:17","slug":"ministry-of-health-calls-for-stronger-media-partnership-in-malaria-awareness-drive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/2026\/05\/13\/ministry-of-health-calls-for-stronger-media-partnership-in-malaria-awareness-drive\/","title":{"rendered":"Ministry of Health Calls for Stronger Media Partnership in Malaria Awareness Drive"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Fanuel Chinowaita<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ministry of Health and Child Care yesterday engaged journalists in Mutare during a malaria awareness workshop , urging stronger cooperation with the media to ensure communities receive accurate and timely health information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The engagement programme brought together health officials, journalists and government departments to discuss malaria prevention, treatment and responsible reporting in Mutare District and surrounding high-risk areas.
Mutare District Health Promotion Officer Sophia Nezandonyo said the media plays a critical role in public health communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWrong information costs lives. That is why we need to agree on facts, messages and contact persons so that the public gets correct information at the right time,\u201d said Nezandonyo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said collaboration between health authorities and journalists was essential in fighting diseases such as malaria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen health and media speak together, communities act together. We need to work hand in hand to protect our people,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Environmental Health Officer Paul Magumure said malaria remains a serious public health concern in hotspots such as Burma Valley, mining areas and border communities linked to Mozambique.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is a high risk of malaria in Burma Valley and nearby areas because of environmental conditions and movement of people,\u201d said Magumure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said malaria is transmitted through bites from infected female anopheles mosquitoes and can develop into uncomplicated or severe malaria if untreated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCommon symptoms include fever, headache and weakness. People must seek treatment within 24 hours and get tested using malaria rapid diagnostic kits,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Magumure said prevention strategies include indoor residual spraying, insecticide-treated mosquito nets, destruction of mosquito breeding sites, environmental management, repellents and protective clothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe should have strong surveillance systems so that we are able to detect and control malaria early. Community health workers already have testing kits to assist people in local areas,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also attending the meeting was Mutare District Information Officer Melanda Mutetwa from the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mutetwa said the media and health sector must maintain close cooperation for public benefit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe media has the power to educate, inform and mobilise communities. Working together with the Ministry of Health helps save lives,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During discussions, journalists raised concerns over delays in receiving responses from health officials, saying news reporting often requires immediate comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Responding to the concerns, health officials said they were committed to improving communication channels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe need accurate reporting to avoid panic. We remember situations such as 2008 where some issues were exaggerated. Verification is important,\u201d one health official said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The meeting forms part of wider efforts to strengthen malaria prevention awareness in Manicaland, one of Zimbabwe\u2019s malaria-prone provinces.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Fanuel Chinowaita The Ministry of Health and Child Care yesterday engaged journalists in Mutare during a malaria awareness workshop , urging stronger cooperation with the media to ensure communities receive accurate and timely health information. The engagement programme brought together health officials, journalists and government departments to discuss malaria prevention, treatment and responsible reporting…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2100","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2100"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2100\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2103,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2100\/revisions\/2103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}