Category: REPRODUCTIVE

2025 National Budget Not Gender Responsive – WCoZ

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa The Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe (WCoZ) has criticized the 2025 National Budget for neglecting the unique health needs of women in Zimbabwe, accusing it of failing to adopt a gender-responsive approach. Gender-responsive budgeting (GRB) integrates gender considerations into budgeting processes to ensure that policies, interventions, and resources address the distinct needs of women, men, and gender-diverse individuals. However, the 2025 budget fell short, with allocations failing to prioritize critical issues in women’s health. Data from the budget indicates that Family Health, which includes family planning, sexual and…

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Zimbabwe’s Civil Society Pushes for Establishment of One-Stop Centre for Safe Abortion

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa Advocates for safe abortion in Zimbabwe, comprising the Health Law Policy Consortium (HLPC) and the Institute for Young Women’s Development (IYWD), with support from the Safe Abortion Action Fund (SAAF), are lobbying for the establishment of a One-Stop Centre for safe abortion services. The initiative aims to address obstacles faced by women and girls in accessing abortion services. Currently, abortion in Zimbabwe is permitted under the Termination of Pregnancy Act (Chapter 15:10), enacted in 1977. The Act allows abortion in specific circumstances, including when continuing a pregnancy…

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Information Gaps Drive Unintended Pregnancies Among Children Who Live On The Streets In Zimbabwe

Kuda Pembere

By Kuda Pembere City life knows no sleep particularly for children living and working on the streets of the Harare Central Business District (CBD). Access to sexual reproductive health services is usually a hurdle for children due to a number of reasons. Around 11 pm, only a handful of people can be seen milling around town.  However, it is easy to spot children who live and work on the streets owing to their rugged and torn apparel. To prepare and recoup for the long nights which in most cases are…

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2025 Budget Should Prioritise Post Abortion Care

Edinah Masiyiwa

By Edinah Masiyiwa As the country undergoes the budgeting process for the year 2025, it is time for the Zimbabwe Ministry of Health and Child Welfare to prioritise women’s access to maternal health services. The focus especially should be put on comprehensive abortion care guidelines as it greatly contributes to a reduction of maternal mortality. This article will focus on the importance of having a well-funded post-abortion care programme. Zimbabwe has the highest contraception prevalence rate in sub – Saharan Africa but also one of the highest maternal mortality ratios…

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Zimbabwe Considers Cost Recovery Strategy For Family Planning Products

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa Amid growing donor fatigue and declining international support, Zimbabwe is pursuing a cost recovery framework for contraceptive commodities to ensure the sustainability and accessibility of reproductive health services. Spearheaded by the Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council (ZNFPC), in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) and other partners, this initiative aims to maintain progress in reproductive health despite diminishing external funding. Like many nations dependent on donor contributions, Zimbabwe is seeking strategies to sustain its family planning programs. The proposed cost recovery framework intends…

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Empowering Midwives Through E-Learning: New Training Program Bridges Zimbabwe’s Healthcare Skills Gap

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa For the past nine years, Mutsa Katsidzira, 33, a nurse at Sally Mugabe Hospital in Harare, has practiced as a nurse. Although she finds her job fulfilling, she has always dreamed of a career in midwifery, where she could help pregnant women deliver safely. Zimbabwe’s healthcare sector has faced significant setbacks over the past decade. Skilled professionals, particularly nurses and midwives, have left the country in search of better working conditions and pay, leaving a critical gap in the healthcare system—especially in midwifery training. According to the…

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Zim’s New Age Of Consent Law Wont Address Unintended Pregnancies Crises

Michael Gwarisa

By Edinah Masiyiwa In response to the pressure from early marriages and the rise of adolescent pregnancy, a new law was passed in Zimbabwe that raised the age for sexual consent from 16 to 18 years. This is known as the Criminal Laws Amendment (Protection of Children and Young Persons Act 2024) and it criminalises having sex with persons under the age of 18 years. The law also criminalises deliberate infection of the child with HIV or any other sexually transmitted disease. This is a law that has been passed because Zimbabweans…

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37 Years A Slave To Obstetric Fistula: Gogo Nyazvigo Finally Gets Repaired

Patricia Mashiri

By Patricia Mashiri At age 13 In 1987, a few years after Zimbabwe had attained her independence, Gogo Memory Nyazvigo now 50, from Mudzi, Nyamapanda went to the health facility expecting to deliver her first child. Unfortunately, she lost the baby during childbirth as he came head first and got stuck in the birth canal, prompting doctors to conduct an emergency cesarean section. A few days that followed, she started experiencing something unusual. She would mess her clothes and would pass out urine uncontrollably, a condition known as Obstetric Fistula.…

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The Adultification of Pregnant Children Seeking Antenatal Care in Harare

Chipo Tsitsi Mlambo

By Chipo Tsitsi Mlambo The adultification of pregnant children refers to a bias in which adults treat minors as if they possess the maturity and understanding of adults. In Zimbabwe, this bias is particularly evident when pregnant children seek antenatal care in urban centers like Harare. Phrases such as “Watoo amai, watokura” (You are now a mother, you are a grown-up) or “Wakaita zvevakuru” (You engaged in a grown-up act i.e. sex) imply that once a girl becomes pregnant, she is no longer viewed as a 14 or 15- year-old…

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Fresh Calls to Amend Zimbabwe’s 47-Year-Old Abortion Law Gather Momentum

Ntokozo Gudu

By Ntokozo Gudu Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) championing women and girls’ rights in Zimbabwe have called for the urgent amendment of the Termination of Pregnancy Act (TOP), in order to reduce the high maternal deaths associated with unsafe abortions in the country. Zimbabwe is using a Termination of Pregnancy (ToP) Act that was enacted in 1977 which many Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) believe no longer serves the prevailing challenges faced by women and girls. According to the 1977 law, abortion is allowed under the restricted circumstances of rape,…

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