United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and SPAR Zimbabwe signed a
Memorandum of Understanding to roll-out joint awareness and communication campaigns on child
rights related issues.
UNICEF, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations
responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to children worldwide.
In a statement, UNICEF said, for SPAR Zimbabwe, the agreement reaffirms the company’s social
agenda to contribute to building a better society for all.
“Through this collaboration, UNICEF highlights how much the organisation values the engagement
with the private sector to deliver results for the children of Zimbabwe,” read the statement.
The collaboration between UNICEF and SPAR Zimbabwe will focus on sharing messages on health-
related issues with the customers of SPAR.
A first campaign was launched a few weeks ago on diarrheal diseases including cholera and
preventive measures to protect oneself against the infection, highlighting the importance of
handwashing, good hygiene and use of safe water.
“The partnership between UNICEF and Spar Zimbabwe speaks to our private sector engagement for
the promotion of the rights and wellbeing of children and their families.
“The campaign rolled-out through SPAR Zimbabwe network will – without doubt – reach many
people and complement the communication campaigns of the Government, UNICEF and partners in
Zimbabwe.
“We look forward to further engagement with SPAR Zimbabwe on several issues that focus on the
rights and the well-being of children,” said Dr Tajudeen Oyewale, UNICEF Representative in
Zimbabwe.
As part of the national response, cholera awareness is promoted through SPAR’s social media
platforms and in all their 35 stores across the country. The communication material developed to
support the campaign is based on the health messages developed by the Ministry of Health and
Child Care.
“Our collaboration with UNICEF is in line with our Mission Statement “Better Together” which
encapsulates our philosophy of being part of the community in which we operate, not just
geographically, but also by being involved at grass-roots level in sustainable community
development projects.
“Our initiatives are based on our five key pillars of Responsible Retailing which focus on Women,
Children, Active and Healthy Lifestyle, Animal Welfare and Environmental issues. We also work
closely with our supplier partners in ensuring that our initiatives are realised to its fullest,” said
Cypren Borerwe, SPAR Zimbabwe General Manager.
While UNICEF and SPAR Zimbabwe have agreed to extend the cholera awareness campaign for a few
more weeks, both partners are already engaged in talks about other child rights related campaigns
for the months to come.
UNICEF is among the most widespread and recognisable social welfare organisations in the world,
with a presence in 192 countries and territories. UNICEF's activities include providing immunisations
and disease prevention, administering treatment for children and mothers with HIV, enhancing
childhood and maternal nutrition, improving sanitation, promoting education, and providing
emergency relief in response to disasters.
UNICEF relies entirely on voluntary contributions from governments and private donors. Its total
income as of 2020 was $7.2 billion; of which public-sector partners contributed $5.45 billion.
In 2018, UNICEF assisted in the birth of 27 million babies, administered pentavalent vaccines to an
estimated 65.5 million children, provided education for 12 million children, treated four million
children with severe acute malnutrition, and responded to 285 humanitarian emergencies in 90
countries.
