GOVERNMENT should allow women the power to make decisions regarding their own Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH), a top Zimbabwe Ministry of Women Affairs, Community Small and Medium Enterprises official has said. By Michael Gwarisa This was revealed during the launch of the 2023 State of the World Population Report (SWOP) in the Capital Harare. The report was conducted by the United National Population Fund (UNFPA) and revealed that while the world population has reached the 8 billion mark, more women and girls were still lagging in terms of access…
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As ICPD30 Beckons, Here Is How Zimbabwe Has Fared In Fulfilling Nairobi Summit Commitments
IN 2019, Zimbabwe joined the world in Nairobi, Kenya for the 25th International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Programme of Action (ICPD25). The week-long event aimed to strengthen partnerships and harness re-commitments in the continued empowerment of women, and young people and ensuring access to sexual reproductive health (SRH) services. By Michael Gwarisa Next year, 2024, the ICPD will mark 30 years since the ICPD Programme of Action was adopted in 1994 by 179 Member States in Cairo Egypt. The ICPD, according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA),…
Read MoreUnpacking Zimbabwe’s post abortion care responsibility and gaps
By Memory Pamela Kadau Across the world, abortion related complications constitute part of the major reasons women seek emergency obstetric care. According to the Post Abortion Care Consortium, Post abortion care (PAC) consists of emergency treatment for complications related to spontaneous or induced abortions. It also includes family planning and birth spacing counseling, and provision of family planning methods for the prevention of further mistimed or unplanned pregnancies that may result in repeat induced abortions. Comprehensive PAC also includes services such as medical assessment for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS.…
Read MoreTeen Pregnancies and Early Marriages Rear Ugly Head in Zim’s Farming Communities
IT’S a normal day inside Sable Ranch, a farming community at least 6 kilometers outside Marondera town in Mashonaland East province. Since its tobacco planting season, majority of labourers have been sent on a two-week long leave to give the tobacco plant enough time to grow. Just like their parents, school children at Ranch Farm and other surrounding farming communities are attending school just twice every week to adhere to government set COVID-19 prevention protocols. By Michael Gwarisa recently in Marondera, Mashonaland East While the adults have capitalized on the…
Read MoreTwo Years After Nairobi Summit, High-Level Commission calls for urgent, ambitious action to end alarming disparities in sexual and reproductive justice
Two years on from the Nairobi Summit on ICPD25 — where governments, civil society and the private sector came together voluntarily to recommit to realizing the promises of the landmark 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo — the High-Level Commission on the Nairobi Summit on ICPD25 Follow-up has launched its first report. Own Correspondent The Commission, an independent advisory body of eminent leaders from around the world was formed to track progress on the 12 commitments in the Nairobi Statement. In its report, “No Exceptions. No…
Read MoreContraceptive Prevalence Still Depressed In Young People -ZNFPC
EVEN though all indicators in Zimbabwe’s national family planning program have done well over the years, teenage pregnancies, early child marriages, Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) and new HIV infections have been on an upward trend in young people due to lack of access to contraceptives and other preventive methods. By Michael Gwarisa Currently, the Zimbabwe Public Health Act does not permit young adolescents to access or purchase contraceptives, medications and other health services in the absence of an adult thus making it difficult for young people below the age of…
Read MoreZim ICPD Task-force Keeps Watchful Eye On Commitments Implementation
THE Zimbabwe National Taskforce (NTF) for monitoring commitments the country made at the 25th International Conference on Population Development (ICPD), has hit the ground running in ensuring the pledges Zimbabwe made at the Nairobi summit in 2019 are fulfilled. By Michael Gwarisa The taskforce was set up in November 2020 and it comprises of government ministries and departments, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), Academia, United Nations Agencies operating in Zimbabwe and other organizations and stakeholders. The Ministries of Finance and that of health and Child Care are co-chairs to the taskforce.…
Read MoreOne year after Nairobi, the march continues towards rights and choices for all
Despite global COVID-19 crisis, governments uphold support for women’s and girls’ health and rights, one year after historic summit on ICPD25 AS the COVID-19 pandemic continues to take a heavy toll on the health and economies of countries around the world, governments, non-governmental organizations, international financial institutions and the private sector are stepping up political, financial and in-kind support for programmes that protect the health and rights of women and girls in developing countries. A year ago, at the landmark Nairobi Summit on ICPD25, the world came together to commit…
Read MoreNew High Level Commission Established To Track ICPD25 Commitments As COVID-19 Threatens To Sway Progress
A new High-Level Commission of advocates, experts and activists will be established today to help commitments to women’s health and rights made at the November 2019 Nairobi Summit on ICPD25 stay on track, even during the COVID-19 pandemic, which is blocking access to essential services, such as family planning and antenatal care. By Michael Gwarisa The Nairobi Summit secured billions of dollars in commitments from governments, the private sector, foundations and others. It rallied support to achieve “three zeros” – zero unmet need for family planning, zero preventable maternal deaths,…
Read MorePeople still have sex during outbreaks. Forgetting that can be deadly
THE world is gearing up its response to the rapidly spreading new coronavirus, SARS-Cov-2. But as it does so, access to sexual and reproductive health services and care are being severely curtailed. By Matshidiso Moeti and Julitta Onabanjo In 1994, the groundbreaking 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo produced a paradigm-shifting ICPD Programme of Action. The document committed more than 180 countries to ensuring comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care for everyone.It also recognised that sexual and reproductive health and women’s empowerment are intertwined, and that both…
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