Disburse maternity funds now

later after its launch in late 2010.
This is a tragedy and very disappointing turnout given the urgency of the need to address needless pregnancy-related complications and deaths in Zimbabwe.
It would be of great interest to know what exactly — apart from bureaucratic procedure — is causing the delay in the disbursement. What Principal Director in DPM Khupe’s office Dr Samukele Hadebe said about delays in documentation being the major challenge is rather flimsy, inexcusable and hardly sheds any light.
Women are dying in huge numbers everyday; out of 100 000 women that give birth, an estimated 125 of them die during the process. Majority of poor women — due to disillusionment with the costs of delivery and not even affording the US$25 maternity fees for council clinics have simply surrendered to unsafe home deliveries.
In the spirit of getting the public to understand more about this maternal fund, there is value in having responsible authorities publicise which clinics have been specified and billed to receive the CARMMA funds in the proposed pilot phase.
Secondly, Dr Hadebe was quoted recently saying that it is the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare that will determine what is needed by pregnant women, and this would help them prioritise specific projects targeted at lessening maternal mortality.
It is hoped that the ministry will make relevant consultations with stakeholders in the women’s movement to establish some of these needs of pregnant women that may fall out of practical medical care at health facilities.
They will also ensure that the initiative benefits all women, particularly pockets of the population that risk getting left out. Indeed, the ministry’s priorities of yesteryear may have shifted, and it is important that stakeholders stay in the picture to be able to effectively complement efforts.
What concerned authorities should, however, remain cognisant of is the fact that the long awaited official scrapping of maternal fees remains one of the most pertinent issues that once addressed, will go a long way in curbing needless deaths among Zimbabwean women.
Moreover, like was recently widely suggested for the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), it is also hoped that relevant laws and guiding policies will necessarily be instituted well in advance of disbursement in order to safeguard the funds against abuse by a selfish few.
A lot has been learnt, hopefully, from the CDF debacle. However, proper regulatory and administrative frameworks cannot be over-emphasised and remain essential to ensuring no further delays.
The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women in its concluding remarks on Zimbabwe recently made recommendations for the state to take urgent measures to improve women’s access to healthcare within the framework of fulfilling its obligation to respect, protect and promote women’s fundamental human right to healthcare.
The time is more than nigh for authorities to walk the talk by translating intention into action, and can we have a roadmap already; outlining the next steps for the short term.
Zimbabwe’s women are long looking forward to seeing maternal funds begin to make real and much needed difference in their lives. Disbursement of funds is the crucial first step to reducing the maternal mortality ratio by 75 percent as targeted by the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare.
However, the devil of the implementation is in the detail of the willpower and commitment of the people concerned; and raises big picture questions that may merit investigation, especially given the scope, cost, and potential of CARMMA as one of the biggest maternal programmes in Zimbabwe.