Taking Pregnancy Testing To Women’s Doorstep: How Village Health Workers Are Bridging the Maternal Health Divide In Rural Mutare

By Michael Gwarisa Zimbabwe is currently on a positive trajectory regarding maternal health amidst indications of a decline in maternal mortality at the back of numerous interventions by the government and several partners. Data from the Zimbabwe Statistics Agency (Zimstat) Vital Statistics report of 2023 shows that infant and maternal mortality rates have declined by 20 and 36 percent respectively. The 2022 Population and Housing Census data shows that maternal mortality in Zimbabwe reduced from 960 per 100,000 live births in 2010, to 363 in 2022. Despite the milestones recorded,…

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Buhera Village Head Leads Whole Village To Get Vaccinated After Losing Five Family Members To Cholera

By Michael Gwarisa in Buhera In Mubvirwi Village, Buhera under Chief Nyashanu, tales of how one family lost five members within a space of five days will forever be told decades from now. Even though this tragic incident occurred five months ago, when the Cholera outbreak was at its peak in Buhera District, one can easily sense the sadness and sombre atmosphere that has engulfed the once vibrant and happy village of Mubvirwi. The new graves that have sprouted across Villages in Buhera over the past few months are a…

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When Communities Take Up Leading Role In Improving Maternal and Child Health

When the world locked down in 2020 at the back of a COVID-19 pandemic, all health services left for COVID-19-related interventions were heavily disrupted.  Maternal and Child Health were among some of the most affected services as health facilities offering services continued to face significant challenges compromising the quality of care By Michael Gwarisa Even though data points to an increase in institutional deliveries since the year 2016 in Zimbabwe, a decline was noted during the COVID-19 era. This was largely attributed to the disruption in maternal health services and…

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Village Health Workers complain of paltry allowances

Community village health workers are appealing to be recognised in the National Budget given they are usually sidelined on payment issues much to their displeasure. By Kudakwashe Pembere Formerly known as village health workers, these frontline health workers complain they last got their paltry allowances which come with deductions in 2019. Their call comes at a time the Health and Child Care Ministry has not been receiving from the Treasury the 15 percent of the national budget as espoused in the Abuja declaration which Zimbabwe signed up to. “When we…

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