Category: SRHR

Zimbabwe Parliament Proposes Harsh Penalties For Men Who Impregnate 10 Year Olds

Michael Gwarisa

FOLLOWING release of the Vital Statistics Report by the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (Zimstat), which shows that 696 girls aged 10 to 14 gave 12 months before the Census night in 2022, Parliament is now demanding action from the ministries of health and that of home affairs. By Michael Gwarisa   According to the report, over 68,639 teenagers aged 15 to 19 also fell pregnant and gave birth during the same period. The issue has since attracted national attention, with most members of Parliament agreeing that stricter penalties should be…

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Zimbabwe AVAC Fellow Wins BIG

Healthtimes

This month marks one year since Onward Chironda become an AVAC fellow for Zimbabwe. Onward who is a renowned youth leader and advocate for the Health, Rights, and well-being of young people in their diversity became a fellow in 2022. By Staff Reporter Onward is part of the fellowship among other fellows in South Africa, Uganda, Botswana, Zambia, Malawi, and Kenya who are doing similar work in advocacy and engagement work to ensure that duty bearers in terms of governments and civil society actors are held accountable for guaranteeing the…

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Over 3000 Sexual Violence Offenses Committed In Zimbabwe In 2022 Final Quarter

Michael Gwarisa

DATA from a Zimbabwe National Statistical Agency (Zimstat) Crime Situation Report reveal that Zimbabwe recorded a total 3,175 Sexual Violence criminal offenses between October and December 2022. By Michael Gwarisa The information contained in the Zimstat report is based on data collected from the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) Crime Report and Disposal System. According to Mr Taguma Mahonde, the Zimstat Director General, there was a 12 percent increase in recorded criminal offenses in the last quarter of 2022. The number of recorded offenses increased by 12 per cent, from 185,660…

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Sweden Honors Love Shouldn’t Hurt Ambassadors

Michael Gwarisa

THE Embassy of Sweden in Harare and its partner, Population Solutions for Health (PSH), awarded several celebrities and influencers for using their voice to amplify the Love Shouldn’t Hurt (LSH) campaign, a movement  against intimate partner violence. By Michael Gwarisa The Awards Ceremony was held at the Swedish Ambassador’s residence in Harare on Friday 24, March 2023 and they were meant to applaud and recognize the champions who made the Love Shouldn’t Hurt campaign a resounding success. In her speech at the awards event, Embassy of Sweden to Zimbabwe Ambassador…

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Children With Disabilities Struggle To Grasp Comprehensive Sexuality Education- UNESCO Study

Michael Gwarisa

Delivering Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) to children with disabilities remains a challenge due to a myriad of barriers ranging from stigma attached to sexuality of young people with disabilities, a UNESCO report has gathered. By Michael Gwarisa The 2020 report was conducted in five countries in East and Southern African Region namely Zimbabwe, Zambai, Malawi, Tanzania, Eswathini and Swaziland. The study revealed that children with visual impairments were the most affected largely due to challenges related to translating material into brail. Presenting on the 2020 Study Findings on the Status…

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SET A THIEF TO CATCH A THIEF: How AWET Health interventions have reduced home deliveries Among Apostolic Women and Girls in Shurugwi

Michael Gwarisa

Caroline Ngosha (23), from Shurugwi is expecting her third child in a few months’ time. In both her previous pregnancies, she delivered her children at home in line with the dictates of her religion, a white garment apostolic sect. Some apostolic sects in Zimbabwe do not allow their followers to use family planning or contraception methods. Neither do they sanction female followers to register with the Anti Natal Clinic (ANC), later on deliver in a health institution. By Michael Gwarisa in Shurugwi She remembers vividly how life threatening giving birth…

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Unpacking Zimbabwe’s post abortion care responsibility and gaps

Healthtimes

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.…

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Zimbabwe Spends US$17 Million On Family Planning

Michael Gwarisa

LATEST data from the Family Planning (FP2030) report indicates that in 2021, Zimbabwe spent a significant amount of money to support family planning, including commodity purchases, demand creation campaigns, investments in training and research, and service delivery. By Michael Gwarisa Data from the FP2030’s 2022 Measurement Report includes estimates for 59 countries and from amongst these, Zimbabwe is estimated to have spent US$$17,928,498 in 2021 making it one of the countries in East and Southern Africa (ESA) with the highest Family Planning domestic expenditures. From the data presented in the…

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Use Of Modern Contraceptives Prevents 141 million unintended pregnancies, 29 Million Unsafe Abortions In 2022

Michael Gwarisa

DATA from the Family Planning 2030’s 2022 Measurement Report has shown an increase in the use of modern contraception around the world, with an estimated 371 million women of reproductive age in low- and lower-middle-income countries now using a modern method of family planning, 87 million more than just a decade ago. By Michael Gwarisa FP2030’s 2022 Measurement Report, which was previewed in November 2022 at the International Conference on Family Planning, shows that more women in low- and lower-middle income countries are using modern family planning methods than ever…

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Feli Nandi uses music to fight early child marriages

Michael Gwarisa

HAVING been married when she was around the age of 18 herself, songstress Felistas “Feli Nandi” Chipendo believes the world can be a better place if and when the girl child is allowed to be in school longer and if she is not rushed into marriage for any reason. By Michael Gwarisa According to UNICEF data, child marriage remains widespread in Zimbabwe and one woman out of every three was married before the age of 18. In Zimbabwe, some of the major drivers of child marriages include poverty, lack of…

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