BY MUNYARADZI BLESSING DOMA
The use of contraception in Zimbabwe has led to 780,000 unwanted pregnancies, 195,000 unsafe abortions and about 2,200 maternal deaths being averted, it has been revealed.
This was revealed as Zimbabwe commemorated the World Contraception Day in Gweru on Thursday.
It was also revealed that in 2023, 2.1 million women were using modern contraception in Zimbabwe.
In a speech read on his behalf by his Deputy Sleiman Kwidini, Minister of Health and Child Care, Dr Douglas Mombeshora said, “it should be noted that most young girls and women are faced with unprecedented challenges; among them high levels of unintended pregnancies which may result in unsafe abortions, school drop outs, and child marriages.”
It was also revealed that a result of the Government’s long-standing commitment to the provision of contraceptives, Zimbabwe has made great strides in increasing access to family planning services and earned recognition in Africa as one of the countries with the highest modern contraceptive prevalence rate of 68 percent.
It is estimated that about 80 percent of women in Zimbabwe have their demand for modern contraceptives met.
And the impact of using contraceptives has been profound.
The theme for this year’s, commemorations is, “Contraception – It’s your Life, It’s your responsibility”.
It was revealed that commemorations were held as an opportunity to raise awareness on the importance of family planning and to ensure that every pregnancy is wanted.
“We commend the government for allocating domestic resources for procurement of contraceptives,” said UNFPA Representative Miranda Tabifor in a speech read on her behalf by the agency’s Deputy Representative Navchaa Suren.
“Although the progress is significant, more efforts are required to improve access to family planning services for those in the remote areas, and the most vulnerable groups including young people and persons with disabilities.”
Despite the great progress in the provision of family planning services, gaps remain. Unmet need for young people is higher at 12.6 percent as compared to the national average of 10 percent.
Access to contraceptives for adolescents and young people is therefore limited. As a result, this year’s World Contraception Day comes against a growing concern of high teenage pregnancy in the country.
The launch of the “Not-In-My-Village Campaign” seeks to tackle teenage pregnancy working closely with the communities and traditional leaders.
“Today we join the world celebrating key milestones which we have achieved with regards to contraception and also reflect on the challenges, experiences and areas of improvement as a country towards attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals and Vision 2030 Agenda,” said Zimbabwe National Family Council Executive Director, Farai Machinga.
UNFPA has been supporting the family planning programme in Zimbabwe since the early 1980s through partnership with the Ministry of Health and Child Care, and its parastatal, Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council (ZNFPC).
UNFPA’s support ensures a reliable supply of quality contraceptives; method mix to facilitate a broad choice for the women; strengthening of national health systems; promoting policies supportive of voluntary family planning; providing financial and technical support for family planning programmes, and gathering evidence for informed decision making.
To sustain the results, predictable funding is critical. The government is strengthening its investment in family planning.
In the past three years, the Government has been allocating domestic resources for procurement of contraceptives.
Annually US$1.5 million has been invested in the past three years including this year. UNFPA has been matching the investment by the government under the UNFPA Supplies Global Partnership.
NEWSSPACE 