- Ethiopia to Host 5th CPHIA Conference, Drawing 30,000 Public Health Experts
- AU Commission on Human Rights Urges Zimbabwe to Reconsider Gender Commission Scrapping
- Middle East War Pushes Up Mosquito Net Production Costs, Threatening Africa’s Malaria Fight
- Zimbabwe Probes Genetic Link in Unexplained Infertility Cases
- Zimbabwe Public Health Workers Equipped to Turn Data into Policy
Zimbabwe’s abortion debate is asking the wrong questions
By Memory Pamella Kadau Zimbabwe’s abortion conversation remains trapped in the wrong questions. Why are we still debating whether the procedure should be allowed when the law (ToP) already makes provision for it? And why, under a system that claims to protect women, are they still dying from unsafe procedures, while young girls are forced
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Senate Approves Medical Services Amendment Bill After Deleting Clause 11
Michael Gwarisa After days of speculation and heightened public debate, Zimbabwe’s Medical Services Amendment Bill [H.B. 6A, 2025] has passed Parliament, but without the contentious Clause 11, which was formally deleted during the legislative process. The Bill was considered during the Committee Stage in the Parliament of Zimbabwe, where Clauses 1 to 10 were approved
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Clause 11 Debate Puts Zimbabwe’s Abortion Laws in the Spotlight
By Michael Gwarisa Today, the Senate is set to debate amendments to the Medical Services Amendment Bill, a move aimed at aligning the principal Act with Section 76 of Zimbabwe’s Constitution, which guarantees access to emergency medical treatment. Among the proposed amendments, Clause 11 has emerged as the most contested provision, attracting attention from civil
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No Woman Dreams of Motherhood Born of Violence
By Maceline Mukwamba, Director, Adult Rape Clinic By the time a girl or woman gathers the courage to report rape, the clock has often already worked against her. Research in Zimbabwean communities finds that the majority of sexual abuse goes unreported, with cultural norms, fear of stigma, and protective attitudes toward perpetrators cited as major
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All Eyes on the Senate: Can Zimbabwe Modernise Its Termination of Pregnancy Law Through Evidence and Consensus
By Michael Gwarisa In October 2025, Zimbabwe’s National Assembly approved far-reaching amendments to the Termination of Pregnancy Act [Chapter 15:10] of 1977. The proposed changes, introduced through the Medical Services Amendment Bill, 2025, now await consideration by the Senate before possible presidential assent. The outcome will determine whether Zimbabwe aligns its reproductive health laws with
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When Religion Rules the Womb: Zimbabwe’s Fight Over Abortion Rights
By Kuda Pembere The High Court last month delivered a landmark judgment declaring parts of Zimbabwe’s abortion law unconstitutional. The court ruled that provisions of the Termination of Pregnancy Act violate several fundamental rights, particularly those of women with mental illness and victims of sexual abuse within mental health institutions. Justice Sylvia Chirawu-Mugomba found that
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Teen Pregnancies Are Not Recklessness. They Are a Sign of Silence, Stigma, and System Failure
Mildred Mushunje and Dean Mutata Why Zimbabwe must urgently invest in youth reproductive health and safe abortion care to unlock its demographic dividend Sub-Saharan Africa is recorded as having one of the world’s youngest populations, and Zimbabwe is a striking example. With adolescents and young people constituting roughly 60%–62% of the population, the country is
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Global Gag Rule Returns: A Threat to Women and Girls’ Sexual and Reproductive Health
By Edinah Masiyiwa On the 20th of January, the day that Donald Trump was sworn in as the president of the United States of America, I was really moved by the title of an article on the Safe Abortion Action Fund site which read, “We Wish US Politics Didn’t Have a Big Impact on Global Abortion Access,
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Zim’s New Age Of Consent Law Wont Address Unintended Pregnancies Crises
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
Read MoreCompendium of safe abortions in Zimbabwe
Click Link Below to Access the PDF Version of the Compendium of Safe Abortion in Zimbabwe Compendium of safe abortions in Zimbabwe
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