PATTAYA, Thailand – Despite Covid-19, Zimbabwe has overcome the problems in pursuance of its plan towards the attainment of population management commitments and sustainable development goals, with the “whole of Government and whole of society” approach playing a crucial role, Vice President and Minister of Health and Child Care Constantino Chiwenga said yesterday.
Giving a presentation at the 19th edition of the International Inter-Ministerial Conference on Population and Development, which is taking place on the sidelines of the International Conference on Family Planning, VP Chiwenga took the occasion to tabulate the milestones that Zimbabwe has registered in population management efforts as well as family planning.
Among the milestones, VP Chiwenga highlighted the continuous funding for population management and family planning programmes, the improvement in the uptake of modern contraceptive methods and the resultant reduction in maternal deaths and maternal morbidities.
These milestones have largely been a result of President Mnangagwa’s thrust to mobilise local resources and channel them for local development as espoused by his “Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo/ Ilizwe lakhiwa ngabanikazi balo” approach as well as collaborative efforts from international partners.
Zimbabwe’s success comes in the wake of targets set by the population and development conference in Nairobi in 2019, after which Zimbabwe went on to set up a National Taskforce for Population and Development to accelerate the attainment of set goals.
The Inter-Ministerial Conference on Population and Development in Nairobi committed itself to making bold steps to transform the world by ending all maternal deaths, to meet all unmet needs for family planning, and end gender-based violence and harmful practices against women and girls by 2030.
“In recognition of the commitments which were made during the Nairobi Summit, held in 2019, the Government of Zimbabwe set up a National Taskforce for Population and Development which is a key tool for implementing the commitments,” said VP Chiwenga.
“In this regard, you will agree with me, that the road to achieving health-related sustainable development goals and Nairobi commitments by 2030, has not been smooth due to the negative impact of the global Covid-19 pandemic.
“The pandemic has largely disrupted the global supply chain of essential medicines and equipment. Notwithstanding these drawbacks, Zimbabwe remains focused on its commitments.
“I am glad to share that Zimbabwe has achieved a reduction in the unmet need for family planning from 14 percent in 2020 to 10 percent in 2022 for all age groups. Furthermore, the Government of Zimbabwe has ensured a budget line on contraceptive commodities of US$627 million in 2022 and procured contraceptive commodities worth US$1,5 million.”
VP Chiwenga highlighted that modern contraceptive uptake now stands 52 percent up from 50 percent in 2020.
By now, 70 percentof all Zimbabwe’s health service delivery points have trained personnel who can offer long-acting and reversible contraceptives.
With Government’s commitment to achieve zero preventable maternal deaths and maternal morbidities progress had seen deaths fall from 614 per 100 000 live births in 2014 to 462 deaths in 2019.
Event moderator Dr Mohamed Sheik, who is also director general national council for population development in Kenya, was impressed by Zimbabwe’s commitment and steps towards goals achievement.
“We are happy and excited to hear the remarks of the Vice President on the commitment of Zimbabwe to end maternal mortality and child mortality,” he said.
“The commitment to provide support for reproductive health and we like it especially when the remarks are coming from the highest levels of authority.”
Meanwhile, the International Conference on Family Planning was officially opened late yesterday and VP Chiwenga is scheduled to give his remarks today. – The Herald
