By Michael Gwarisa
Every day in 2025, nearly 17 Zimbabwean babies died every day before reaching one month of life.
By the end of the year, the country had lost 6,177 newborns, a heartbreaking toll that translates to almost 119 babies every week. Put another way, it is as if, an entire classroom of new-borns disappeared every two days, a silent tragedy unfolding across Zimbabwe with little public attention.
The sobering figures were revealed in Parliament by Health and Child Care Minister Dr. Douglas Mombeshora, who presented provincial statistics on maternal and newborn deaths after a question from Hon. Maureen Murombedzi.
According to the Minister, Zimbabwe recorded 410,051 deliveries in 2025, during which 6,177 newborns died while 563 women lost their lives during pregnancy, childbirth or shortly after delivery.
Harare Metropolitan Province recorded the highest number of newborn deaths at 2,205, accounting for more than one-third of all neonatal deaths reported nationwide. Midlands Province followed with 741, while Bulawayo recorded 624, Mashonaland West 594, Manicaland493, Mashonaland Central 434, Mashonaland East 368, Masvingo 385, Matabeleland North 175 and Matabeleland South 158.
While the figures may appear to be just another statistical report, they represent thousands of families whose joy turned into unimaginable grief before they could take their babies home. Every one of the 6,177 newborn deaths is a child who never had the chance to celebrate a first smile, a first birthday or even a first month of life.
Responding to concerns raised by legislators, Dr. Mombeshora said Government was implementing what he described as “a multi-pronged attack” to reduce maternal and newborn deaths.
“We have a multi-pronged attack to this problem. Firstly, we deal with infrastructure and equipment. Secondly, we deal with health workforce and then thirdly, we deal with the referral system,” the Minister told Parliament.
He said Government has rehabilitated health infrastructure, particularly in rural areas, renovated operating theatres and supplied more than **43 new anaesthetic machines** to district hospitals to improve access to emergency Caesarean sections, which are critical in preventing deaths among mothers and newborns.
The Ministry has also deployed neonatal resuscitation equipment to district hospitals to save babies who fail to breathe immediately after birth and is expanding maternity waiting homes so that expectant mothers from remote communities can stay closer to health facilities before labour begins.
Many women, he noted, continue to face transport challenges that delay access to skilled care, forcing some to deliver at home or while travelling to health facilities, often with devastating consequences.
The Minister also highlighted efforts to strengthen the health workforce, saying Government has doubled Registered General Nurse training intakes since 2023, opened new nursing schools and shortened the waiting period for nurses to enrol in midwifery training from two years to one year.
“It is a long-term project to be able to reduce maternal mortality and neonatal mortality,” Dr. Mombeshora said, adding that the latest figures indicate Zimbabwe is making progress in reducing maternal deaths. “If you divide 400,000 by 563, you can see that we have gone down from the 212 that was reported last year. It means we have done much better. We are improving.”
Pressed by legislators on what is driving the high number of deaths, Dr. Mombeshora identified birth asphyxia, when a baby is deprived of oxygen during delivery,as the leading cause of newborn deaths.
“For the neonates, the commonest cause is birth asphyxia… The second cause is infection, especially neonatal infection,” he said.
For mothers, he said the leading causes remain postpartum haemorrhage and delays in seeking professional medical care.
“For maternal mortality, the major cause of death is postpartum hemorrhage. It is also a delay in seeking professional medical attention. Some of them delay getting to the appropriate institution where they can get help,” he said.
The statistics presented in Parliament underscore that while Zimbabwe has made strides in expanding maternal and child health services, the first 28 days of life remain one of the most dangerous periods for newborns.
Seventeen babies every day. Every single day of 2025.
