Online Reporter
Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, [email protected]
ADOLESCENTS and young people across the country, through their network, the Young People’s Network on Health and Wellbeing (YPNHW), have taken a leading role in combating teenage pregnancies and early child marriages, both identified as significant contributors to high HIV infection rates.
In a concerted effort to address this crisis, which is affecting all corners of the country, Government, in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), has launched the “Not-in-My-Village” Campaign, aimed at eradicating teenage pregnancies.
The campaign was inaugurated last year during the World Population Day commemorations at Nzvimbo High School in Mazowe District, Mashonaland Central. It is now being extended to Matabeleland South, Manicaland, Mashonaland East, and Mashonaland West. The target districts are Insiza, Beitbridge, Murehwa, Goromonzi, Hurungwe, Chegutu, Mutare and Chipinge.
The campaign will be spearheaded by traditional chiefs within their communities, with the young people’s network playing a pivotal role in information dissemination.
The YPNHW is a network of adolescents and young people aged 10-24, convened by the National Aids Council (NAC) with support from the Ministry of Health and Child Care, UNFPA, and other development partners. It serves as a coordinated voice for young people in the multi-sectoral response to their health and wellbeing.
The network aims to empower adolescents and young people in all their diversity to fully access and realise their potential for comprehensive health and wellbeing, fostering resilience and enabling them to achieve their fullest potential in life.
YPNHW deputy national facilitator, and Southern region facilitator, Zipho Ndlovu, said their network comprises young people from various youth-led organisations across the country. He expressed their delight in taking a leading role in the campaign.
“We are a co-ordinated voice of young people in the national, regional, and global response to health issues.
“We initially focused on sexual and reproductive health, but have now broadened our scope to include the general health and well-being of young people. We also address topical issues such as climate change and its impact, nutrition, and non-communicable diseases, among others.
“In our work, we develop concepts to tackle issues affecting youths such as the ‘Not-in-My-Village’ campaign. We engage parliamentarians, councillors and other leaders at various levels, from district to national, to determine the best ways to address health challenges facing young people,” he said.
Ndlovu noted that a gap was identified in health programming. He said that while most programmes are designed for youths, there was limited involvement of young people in their development and implementation. Ndlovu said the network has taken the lead in identifying youth-related issues from grassroots to global levels. They also scrutinise existing policies, identify gaps, and determine how young people can be best supported.
“Youths constitute approximately 60-67 percent of the country’s population, meaning programming is predominantly for them. If we develop programmes without their input, we are doing them a disservice. The network facilitates a peer-to-peer approach in addressing these issues,” he said.
YPNHW national technical advisor, Luckmore Pamhidzai, said the “Not-in-My-Village Campaign” is a community-based initiative aimed at raising awareness, mobilising action, and empowering community leaders to end child marriages in rural Zimbabwe.
He stressed the importance of involving people of all age groups to ensure the programme’s success.
“The campaign is based on the premise that change begins at the grassroot level, where people can influence their communities and cultures. It involves engaging traditional and religious leaders such as chiefs and pastors who have the authority and respect to challenge harmful practices and attitudes that perpetuate child marriage.
“The campaign also focuses on educating and empowering girls and boys, parents, teachers, and other community members to speak out against child marriages and support the rights and choices of girls,”said Pamhidza.
Eliminating child marriages and teenage pregnancies aligns with Zimbabwe’s National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1), which aims to create a prosperous and empowered upper-middle-income society by 2030.
According to the Zimbabwe 2019 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), 32 percent of girls and four percent of boys were married before the age of 18.
The child marriage prevalence rate varies from province to province, with Mashonaland Central having the highest rate of 49,5 percent, followed by Mashonaland West at 41,7 percent, Mashonaland East is at 37,3 percent, Masvingo is at 35,3 percent, and Manicaland at 36 percent.
The MICS data also shows that rural girls are twice more likely to marry before 18 than their urban counterparts. Child marriage in Zimbabwe is influenced by several factors, including poverty, gender norms, cultural and religious beliefs, and limited access to education and comprehensive health services.
— @DubeMatutu
