Men Embrace Family Planning Through Community and Workplace Engagements
By Percival Kushure SHAMVA/BINDURA – Recent male engagement initiatives on family planning and reproductive health conducted in Shamva and Bindura districts, as well as at workplaces in Bindura by the Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council (ZNFPC), are beginning to transform men’s perceptions of family planning and reproductive health. More men are recognising the value of
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Zimbabwe Promises Free Caesarean Sections Once National Health Insurance Programme Takes Effect
By Michael Gwarisa The Government has acknowledged that financial barriers are preventing some pregnant women from accessing life-saving maternal healthcare and says it is finalising legislation that will introduce free healthcare for every Zimbabwean citizen and resident. Responding to concerns raised in Parliament, Minister of Health and Child Care Dr Douglas Mombeshora said the proposed
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Zimbabwe Lost 563 Mothers and 6,177 Newborns in 2025 as Maternal Health Challenges Persist
By Michael Gwarisa Every day in 2025, nearly 17 Zimbabwean babies died every day before reaching one month of life. By the end of the year, the country had lost 6,177 newborns, a heartbreaking toll that translates to almost 119 babies every week. Put another way, it is as if, an entire classroom of new-borns
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More Than a Courtesy Call: What Lydia Zigomo’s Zimbabwe Mission Means for Women and young people
By Michael Gwarisa When Lydia Zigomo, the UNFPA Regional Director for East and Southern Africa arrived in Zimbabwe for her recent high-level mission, her schedule appeared much like that of many senior United Nations officials. There were meetings with government ministers, engagements with development partners, discussions with young people, visits to key national institutions and
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How Gold Is Fueling a Teenage Pregnancy Crisis in Shamva
By Kuda Pembere, recently in Shamva When Rhoda (not her real name) fell in love with a 19-year-old artisanal miner at the age of 15, she believed she had found a future. Instead, she dropped out of school, became pregnant and was abandoned before her baby was born. Today, at just 17, she is raising
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Termination of Pregnancy after Rape: A Matter of Law, Health, Compassion and Justice
By Marceline Mukwamba In Zimbabwe, conversations about termination of pregnancy often begin and end with moral discomfort. Too often, they are shaped by silence, fear, misinformation and stigma rather than by the law, medical evidence, constitutional values and compassion for survivors. Yet for a woman or girl who becomes pregnant as a result of rape,
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Zimbabwe’s Family Planning Investment Unlocks Increased UNFPA Support
By Michael Gwarisa HARARE – Zimbabwe’s commitment to investing domestic resources in family planning is paying dividends, with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) increasing its financial support for reproductive health commodities under a financing arrangement now being recognised as a regional success story. Speaking during a visit to the National Pharmaceutical Company (NatPharm) in
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From One Mother to Another: How Sayana Press Is Spreading in Rural Zimbabwe
By Kuda Pembere in Mashonaland West When 23-year-old Mai Audrey switched to Sayana Press after struggling with side effects from another contraceptive, she simply wanted a family planning method that worked for her. She never imagined her experience would encourage other women in her community to make the same choice. Today, women in Kasanze, about
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Zimbabwe to Host Continental Reproductive Justice Forum Focused on Age and Rights
By Michael Gwarisa Zimbabwe will, for the first time, host the Fourth Annual Reproductive Justice Litigation Baraza, marking the first occasion the continental conference has been held outside Uganda since its inception four years ago. Running from August 3 to 7, 2026 in Harare under the theme “Age as a Determinant of Sexual and Reproductive
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Record Turnout as SAYWHAT Universities Quiz Challenge Draws 17 Institutions
By Alice Mudzingwa At least 34 students from 17 private and public tertiary institutions across Zimbabwe have gathered in Harare for the 8th edition of the Students and Youth Working on Reproductive Health Action Team (SAYWHAT) National Universities Quiz Challenge. The prestigious two-day competition, which began today at the SAYWHAT offices in Hatfield, focuses on
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