By Sharon Tawuya
Harare, (New Ziana) -There is an urgent need to bridge the gap between policy and community action to end child marriages, teenage pregnancies and gender-based violence (GBV), stakeholders in the Sexual and Reproductive Health sector have said.
They said this on Monday during a meeting which the United Nations convened with Members of Parliament and other key stakeholders on the #NotInMyConstituency initiative to gather information for national framework and draft community-level action plans.
The meeting, convened in collaboration with the National AIDS Council of Zimbabwe, brought together the Young People’s Network on Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights, key partners, Members of Parliament from the Portfolio Committees on Health and Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development, as well as officials from the Ministries of Women’s Affairs and Health and Child Care.
UNFPA country representative Miranda Tabifor cited alarming national data on child marriages, teenage pregnancies and GBV.
According to the 2023 Zimbabwe Demographic Heath Survey, nearly 1 in 4 girls aged 15–19 in Zimbabwe are already mothers or pregnant, representing 23.7 percent.
The rate spikes to 37.2 percent in Mashonaland Central and 30.9 percent in Mashonaland West.
Rural areas experience twice the rate at 29.9 percent compared to 14.6 percent in urban centers.
“Today, we stand at a critical juncture where policy meets practice, and where Statutory law meets living culture,” Tabifor said.
She added that nearly 40 percent of women aged between 15 and 49 have experienced physical or sexual violence, a factor driving forced marriages and school dropouts.
Young women aged 15-24 are also more than twice as likely to be living with HIV compared to young men.
Tabifor said adolescent pregnancies have contributed significantly to the high maternal deaths in Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe’s Maternal Mortality Ratio stands at 212 deaths per 100 000 live births.
“Let us together make sure that in the constituencies we stop child marriages. Protecting our girls is securing our workforce and building Zimbabwe’s future,” Tabifor said.
“To unlock a demographic dividend, young women must be healthy, educated, and gainfully employed before entering their reproductive years,” she said.
Acting deputy Clerk of Parliament Lucia Nyawo reaffirmed the openness of Parliament to support the #NotInMyConstituency process.
She highlighted Parliament’s previous support for safeguarding policies and its continued commitment to a safer, healthier future for young people.
The engagement builds on the youth-led #NotInMyVillage campaign, which has already recorded benefits at community level.
Tabifor said Chiefs are now publicly denouncing under-age marriages and pregnancies and are conducting age verification for those intending to marry.
Chief Chinamhora, born Richard Jeyi, who was representing the Chiefs Council, said traditional leaders such as village heads need education and capacitation to effectively stop under-age marriages.
He noted that the #NotInMyVillage stance had already seen a reduction in violations.
Beauty Nyamwanza, the National Aids Council youth coordinator, also said partnerships with youth-led programming under #NotInMyVillage were driving change at constituency level.
The UNFPA outlined three focus areas for the framework, namely harmonizing laws to reinforce national protections at community level, advocating for budget resources for adolescent-friendly healthcare, as well as establishing accountability through referral pathways for GBV survivors and confidential health services.
The two-day meeting is expected to produce a draft national framework and community-level action plans.
It also seeks commitments from leaders to establish “Constituency Champion Zones” aimed at achieving zero preventable maternal deaths and ending HIV transmission by 2030.
New Ziana
