OVER TWO MILLION WOMEN ON CONTRACEPTIVES IN ZIM. . . This has resulted in 78k pregnancies being avoided

Talent Gore

OVER two million women are using contraceptives in Zimbabwe and this has resulted to 780 000 unwanted pregnancies, 2 2000 maternal deaths and 195 000 unsafe abortions being avoided.

This was revealed by Health and Child Care Minister Dr Douglas Mombeshora, in a speech read on his behalf by his Deputy Minister Sleiman Kwidini, as Zimbabwe commemorated World Contraception Day.

It was also revealed that last year, 2.1 million women were using modern contraception in Zimbabwe.

“The contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) increased from 59 percent in 2010/11 to 67 percent in 2022, while the unmet need for family planning declined from 13 percent to 10 percent during the same period,” he said.

“The adolescence birth rate has reduced from 119/1000 live births to 108/1000 live birth in 2019 and the maternal mortality rates declining from 462 per 100,000 births in 2019 to 362 per 100,000 births in 2022 (National Housing and Population Census, 2022).”

Minister Mombeshora said Zimbabwe has made great strides in increasing access to family planning services and earned recognition in Africa as one of the countries with the highest modern contraceptive prevalence rate of 68 percent.

“It should be noted that most young girls and women are faced with unprecedented challenges, among them high levels of unintended pregnancies which may result in unsafe abortions, school dropouts and child marriages,” he said.

“To the youths, be responsible and ensure that we abstain as well as valuing our bodies as these are the temple of God.

“Contraceptive use should be a safety measure when we have failed to contain the pressure of abstinence being mindful of the ravaging effects of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV and AIDS.”

Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council chief executive, Farai Machinga, said they wanted to educate the public and raise awareness of contraception so as to enable everyone, including young people and persons with a disability, to make informed choices on their sexual reproductive health.