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Ivan Zhakata Herald Correspondent
The 2023 Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey for up-to-date information on a number of health issues, including education, employment and violence against women, has been launched.
The survey covers fertility and mortality, child care, the prevalence of anaemia, maternal health care, family planning practices, HIV and AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.
The survey will be conducted by the Ministry of Health and Child Care and the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat).
Speaking at the launch, Secretary for Health and Child Care, Dr Aspect Maunganidze, said the survey was a key programme in the national statistical system undertaken every five years to monitor changes in population, health and nutrition.
Dr Maunganidze said the last round of the ZDHS was conducted in 2015, meaning that the next round was due in 2020, but with the emergence of Covid-19, plans to conduct the survey were put on hold.
“It, therefore, means there is a shortage of information from survey data owing to this delay,” he said.
“Let me reiterate that even though my Ministry collects routine data from all the health institutions in the country, survey data such as the Demographic and Health Survey is key to understanding the overarching health situation in the country.
“This is because not all health events or problems that happen in communities are reported to our health institutions. The survey content is in line with the mandate of the Ministry of Health and Child Care, of providing equitable quality health services and care in Zimbabwe, using the primary health care approach.
“The survey will collect information on reproductive health, child health, nutrition, immunisation, non-communicable diseases, mental health, obstetric fistula, malaria, knowledge of HIV and STIs, fertility, domestic violence, maternal, child and adult mortality, among other topics.”
Information on sanitation facilities and sources of drinking water was also being collected, so important was this in the control of diseases such as cholera.
Dr Maunganidze said the statistics produced will be used to measure the progress the Ministry made in coordinating and providing related health services since the last survey.
“The data availed allows comparison across geographic areas, age groups, education levels and gender, among others, in line with the principle of leaving no one and no place behind,” Dr Maunganidze said.
“My Ministry will use the information to evaluate policies that are currently in place and decide the correct course of action to take, as we accelerate service provision towards achieving Vision 2030.
“The results of the ZDHS will be used to evaluate the health and well-being priority area in the Zimbabwe economic blueprint, National Development Strategy, and inform the formulation of the next strategy for 2026 going forward.
“It will also inform the development of the next Zimbabwe National Health Strategy after the current one ends in 2025. At international level, the survey results are key in evaluating progress on commitments and aspirations outlined in Sustainable Development Goals and Agenda 2063.”
For the first time, the ZDHS will be collecting information on mental health and obstetric fistula, so increasing understanding of the nature and extent of these problems in the country and informing mental health and reproductive health programming.
“Besides conducting household interviews, ZDHS will also test the presence of anaemia in the blood of respondents in selected households,” he said
“This procedure will be conducted by registered general nurses who have been seconded to ZimStat for the entire survey period. Respondents will also have their weight and height measured to assess nutrition indices.”
Online Reporter