Byron Mutingwende

Zimbabwe is registering some incremental gain in providing health to women and children, it has emerged.

This came to fore during the presentation of key findings of the 2014 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) held at the United Nations Information Centre offices in Harare in the last week of September.

The MICS was carried out by Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT) with technical assistance from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Presenting the findings, the guest speaker, Reza Hossaini, UNICEF Zimbabwe representative said it was pleasing to note that people now had improved access to sources of drinking water.

“Safe drinking water and sanitation are some of the essential elements that determine improvement of living standards, as they reduce morbidity from diseases such as diarrhea, dysentery, cholera and typhoid. Seventy-six percent of households reported using improved sources of drinking water (piped water, protected well, protected spring0 compared to 73% in 2009,” Hossaini said.

There was concern on the increase of the number of children who were underweight at 11, 2%, stunted at 27, 6 % whereas 3, 3% were wasted while3, 6% were overweight. Hossaini said obesity leads to chronic diseases like diabetes and heart failure hence the need for a controlled diet.

On the other hand, basic education largely survived the collapse of services running up to 2009 compared to health in terms of access.

“Despite gains made over the years through the Education Transition Funds, early childhood development para-professional education and other programmes can be seen. Since 2009, school readiness, the percentage of children in the first grade (Grade 1) of primary school who had attended primary school during the previous school year increased from about 75% to about 86% in 2014 while secondary school attendance ratio increased by about 13 percentage points between 2009 and 2010,” read part of the MICS report.

It was also note that the country had done well in closing gender gaps between girls and boys in education but in equalities remained across the rural-urban divide particularly in secondary education. The primary and secondary net attendance rate is 96, 2 % and 73, 9 percent for urban areas, while for rural areas is 92, 5% and 47, 9% respectively.

Despite these gains, Zimbabwe has a paltry rate of 32, 3% children under five years whose birth was reported registered according to the survey. Accordingly, it was noted that the lack of this right undermines the protection of children from harm and exploitation and hampers children’s access to services such as health and education.

Economic hardships more often lead to incidences of early marriages in Zimbabwe while domestic violence was driven by cultural practices and beliefs where at times violence is seen as a disciplinary action when a woman does not comply with certain expected gender roles.

Zimbabwe was also hailed for increasing the immunization programmes as ways of reducing child mortality while major gains have been recorded in terms of provision of antenatal care. In 2009 it stood at 59% and this increased to 70% in 2014 while skilled birth attendance increased from about 60% in 2009 to 805 in 2014.

World Health Organisation (WHO) representative in Zimbabwe Dr. David Okello said there was need for concerted effort towards maintaining the gains registered in the health sector so far and consolidation of the same towards attaining the Millenium Development Goals.