Tag: UNFPA

“Straight from the Class to the Labour Ward,” Teen Mom Wishes “Not In My Village Campaign” Had Visited Her Village Earlier

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa in Chiweshe She is Forget Nyamukandenga (19) from Chiweshe, Mashonaland Central. At age 17, in 2022, she was impregnated by a 24-year-old man, a development she says completely changed the course of her life. When she fell pregnant, she was doing her Upper Sixth studies in Mt Darwin and was due to write her examinations in November of the same year. Left with no option, her parents had to send her away to stay with the man responsible for her pregnancy. This period marked the genesis of…

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Harare City Introduces Health Insurance

Kuda Pembere

By Kudakwashe Pembere A community health insurance scheme covering several health services for Harare City’s citizens should be operational before the month ends, HealthTimes has learned. In an interview with the Harare Municipality Health Services Manager Mr Richard Chigerwe, he said the scheme was different from the Harare Municipality Medical Aid which covers their employees. He said residents will have to pay a monthly subscription of US$2 to access various healthcare services under the scheme named “Utano Wedu”. Harare Municipal Medical aid is a closed medical aid for City Council…

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Zimbabwe Launches E-learning Platform For Midwifery

Kuda Pembere

By Kuda Pembere in Chinhoyi CHINHOYI School of Midwifery is one of the six pilot nursing schools selected to conduct studies using an e-learning platform for midwifery. The platform, a first of its kind in the country and was created to close the gap created by the shortage of midwifery tutors in Zimbabwe due to brain drain. Officiating the launch, acting Health and Child Care Minister, Professor Paul Mavima said the e-learning platform for midwifery learning shows the Ministry of Health’s commitment to move towards improving learning experience through incorporating…

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Amid Diaspora Parenting and Child-Headed Families, Comprehensive Sexuality Education Comes To The Rescue in Bulawayo

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisain Bulawayo A few years ago, Vuzu Sex parties made headlines in Bulawayo Metropolitan province as young people of school-going age engaged in various forms of indecent behavior including sexual orgies, drug and substance abuse amongst other ills. For Simangalisiwe Ndlovu* (19), from Gwabalanda in Bulawayo, attending these parties was easy since both her parents stay out of the country and there was no parental supervision at home. Her parents work in South Africa and Simangalisiwe lives with her two siblings, her younger brother who is 15 and…

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Health Resilience Fund Support Enhances Uptake Of Long-Term Family Planning Methods In Matabeleland South

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa in Gwanda The risk of unplanned pregnancies is very high in the absence of Long-Acting Reversible Contraceptives (LARCs) Family planning methods. Women in low-resource settings experience interruptions that may increase the risk of unintended and unplanned pregnancies. In most cases, the poorest couples have the highest fertility, the lowest contraceptive use and the highest unmet need for contraception. In Gwanda, Matabeleland South, women such Florence Kungai (31), from Gwanda who in the past experienced two separate occasions of contraceptive failure due to interruptions in her schedule, now…

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Making Communities Safe For Women: How Zimbabwe’s GBV Program Has Improved Access To Services In El Nino Affected Districts

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa In every emergency, the vulnerability of women and girls increases. In Zimbabwe, the prevailing El Nino-induced drought has amplified the susceptibility of women and girls to numerous forms of abuse. In both Matabeleland North and South provinces, cases of elderly women getting abused sexually have been on the increase. In Gwanda and Umguza Districts where mining is rampant, artisanal miners have been sexually abusing young children, girls,women and even elderly women under the false belief that it gives them fortune in their mining endeavors. In Umguza District,…

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Government of Zimbabwe, UNFPA and partners call for greater investment to accelerate progress on the population and development agenda

Michael Gwarisa

By Health Reporter At a High Level Meeting to track progress on implementation of the International Conference on Population and Development Programme of Action (ICPD PoA), and in light of findings from a global report, the Government of Zimbabwe, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and partners today called for greater investment to accelerate progress on the population and development agenda. The year 2024 is a milestone year for the global community as it marks the 30th anniversary of the ICPD. The ICPD conference, held in Cairo in September 1994,…

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UNFPA Zimbabwe Hands Over 19 Vehicles To Strategic Partners

Kuda Pembere

By Kuda Pembere The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), has handed over 19 vehicles to its partners to enable them to do their work in reaching out to vulnerable populations as well as the youth. The handing over of these vehicles is part of its five year program cycle where they get vehicles for partners and hand them over at the end of the program. At the end of that country program cycle, we actually hand over the equipment that has been purchased during the course of the country program.…

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A Double Dose To The GBV Fight: Gweru One Stop-Centre and Safe Shelter Linkages Help Ease Referral Pathways For Survivors Of Gender-Based Violence

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa recently in Shurugwi In 2012, Sharon Hove (Not-Real Name), married the love of her life in one of the fanciest weddings Gweru has ever hosted.  They had two children together. Life was normal and all was going so well. However, the honeymoon was not to last long as her husband changed into a total stranger and started abusing her. At the just-held International Women’s Day Commemorations in Shurugwi, Sharon took a bold stance and narrated her abuse story in the presence of hundreds of people at Chitora…

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Zimbabwe Records Upsurge In Adolescents Booking In Antenatal Clinics

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa Adolescent pregnancy prevalence in Zimbabwe is standing at 23.7 percent, while 21 percent of Antenatal Clinic (ANC) bookings were recorded from January 2019 to December 2022 among adolescents aged 10 to 19 years, HealthTimes can reveal. The pregnancies have largely been driven by a myriad of factors, chief among them being economic-induced hardships, sexual abuse, and early exposure to pornographic and indecent online content, according to data from a National Assessment of Adolescent Pregnancies in Zimbabwe. The National assessment was conducted by the Centre for Sexual Health…

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