Category: MARTERNAL HEALTH

Pregnant Inmate Fights for Reproductive Rights Behind Bars

Kuda Pembere

By Kudakwashe Pembere In a case anticipated to set an important legal precedent on maternal and reproductive health rights for incarcerated women in Zimbabwe, a pregnant inmate is asking the High Court to compel the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) to appoint a dedicated gynaecologist for Chikurubi Female Prison within seven days and ensure the specialist is regularly available to attend to pregnant inmates. Melissa Messe Chiyangwa is also seeking a declaration that the conduct of Chikurubi Female Prison Officer in Charge Moses Chihobvu, the ZPCS Commissioner-General, and the…

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Trump administration to burn $13M worth of female contraceptives, despite NGO’s offer to take them

Michael Gwarisa

The U.S. State Department plans to incinerate roughly $13.2 million worth of women’s contraceptives despite offers from multiple aid agencies to distribute the supplies at no cost. The supplies, which include various forms of birth control, were intended for family planning programs in low-income African nations. Instead, they’ve been sitting in a warehouse in Belgium for months after President Donald Trump’s administration froze most foreign aid in January. MSI Reproductive Choices, a U.K.-based global reproductive health organization, says it offered to take the supplies and distribute them to those in…

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One Stitch at a Time: Zimbabwe’s Fight to End Obstetric Fistula

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa in Bikita, Mashoko In rural and underserved parts of Zimbabwe, a silent but devastating condition continues to rob women of their dignity, health, and hope: obstetric fistula. Often caused by prolonged, obstructed labour without timely medical intervention, this childbirth injury leaves women incontinent and frequently ostracised by their communities. But today, a growing movement of awareness, surgical intervention, and community support is changing the tide. One stitch at a time, medical teams and advocates are not only restoring bodies but also rebuilding lives. Twenty-nine-year-old Sandra Mugowo from…

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Botswana Achieves Gold Tier Status in Eliminating Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV

Michael Gwarisa

By Staff Reporter Botswana has achieved gold tier status in its efforts to eliminate mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV. The country received this recognition during the plenary session of the Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly, awarded by the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO). In 2021, Botswana became the first country in the world to meet the criteria for silver tier status on the path to eliminating HIV transmission. Now, it is also the first to reach gold tier status, having met stringent targets—including reducing the annual rate of new…

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Tsitsi Masiyiwa Leads Launch of $500 Million Fund to Save Newborn Lives Across Africa

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa In a monumental step toward improving maternal and newborn health in Africa, Tsitsi Masiyiwa has led the launch of the Beginnings Fund, a $500 million initiative aimed at saving the lives of newborns and their mothers across sub-Saharan Africa. Announced by her husband, billionaire philanthropist Strive Masiyiwa, the fund was borne out of a heartbreaking story shared on a Zoom call—about a woman who lost her triplets in a hospital. The grief sparked a powerful response from Tsitsi and her global partners, turning sorrow into a force…

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Hon Kwidini Urges Parliamentarians To Develop Maternity Waiting Homes

Kuda Pembere

By Kuda Pembere As Zimbabwe continues to face a high number of maternal mortalities due to complications like hypertension, parliamentarians have been urged to use the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) and Devolution Fund to support the construction and maintenance of maternity waiting homes. Health and Child Care Deputy Minister Hon. Sleiman Kwidini made the call in the National Assembly while responding to a question from Hon. Tsitsi Murombedzi, who had expressed concern over the neglect of maternity waiting rooms. The Zimbabwean Parliamentary Constituency Development Fund (CDF), introduced in 2010, was…

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Hypertension Emerges as Leading Killer of Pregnant Women in Zimbabwe

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa A surge in hypertensive disorders during childbirth has led to an increase in maternal deaths across Zimbabwe’s health facilities over the past 60 days, HealthTimes has learned. Data presented by the Deputy Minister of Health and Child Care (MoHCC), Honourable Sleiman Kwidini, during a Parliamentary Question and Answer session yesterday, revealed that Harare recorded the highest number of maternal deaths since the beginning of the year. The maternal deaths from January 2025 to date stand at 54. The leading cause of death was hypertensive disorders and their…

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Delayed Maternal Care in Rural Zimbabwe Leading to Preventable Deaths

Michael Gwarisa
Young Preganant Women

By Michael Gwarisa Most women in Zimbabwe who die during childbirth do so due to delays in receiving appropriate and adequate care at health facilities. Also known in medical terms as the “Third Delay,” this delay in accessing care is the leading cause of maternal mortality in rural areas. Speaking at a recent meeting in Harare, Dr. Chipo Chimamise, the National Maternal Health Officer in the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) emphasized that poor-quality maternal care remains the primary driver of high maternal deaths in Zimbabwe. 95% of…

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Zimbabwe Considers Cost Recovery Strategy For Family Planning Products

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa Amid growing donor fatigue and declining international support, Zimbabwe is pursuing a cost recovery framework for contraceptive commodities to ensure the sustainability and accessibility of reproductive health services. Spearheaded by the Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council (ZNFPC), in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) and other partners, this initiative aims to maintain progress in reproductive health despite diminishing external funding. Like many nations dependent on donor contributions, Zimbabwe is seeking strategies to sustain its family planning programs. The proposed cost recovery framework intends…

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37 Years A Slave To Obstetric Fistula: Gogo Nyazvigo Finally Gets Repaired

Healthtimes

By Patricia Mashiri At age 13 In 1987, a few years after Zimbabwe had attained her independence, Gogo Memory Nyazvigo now 50, from Mudzi, Nyamapanda went to the health facility expecting to deliver her first child. Unfortunately, she lost the baby during childbirth as he came head first and got stuck in the birth canal, prompting doctors to conduct an emergency cesarean section. A few days that followed, she started experiencing something unusual. She would mess her clothes and would pass out urine uncontrollably, a condition known as Obstetric Fistula.…

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