Tinaye Agere
Melisa Chatikobo
The government is set to introduce specialised youth-friendly centres to address the glaring gaps in access to sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR).
This will be done through the Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council which is a government parastatal under the Ministry of Health and Child Care.
The development follows persistent concerns from the local youth about the scarcity of SRHR services, thereby forcing young girls to travel long distances to obtain family planning assistance.
The Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council (ZNFPC) has attempted to expand SRHR access through community-based distributors. However, these efforts have not fully met women’s and young girls’ needs in Mutoko.
ZNFPC Mashonaland East provincial manager, Mrs Sarah Dabwa said they have submitted a proposal to construct a dedicated youth-friendly centre in Mutoko to ensure that the local youth have reliable access to SRHR information and services.
“As ZNFPC, we are seeking partnerships to facilitate the construction of a stand-alone youth centre.
“We have already secured a piece of land from the council, but this remains a long-term plan.
“We have developed a proposal to source funds from interested stakeholders to speed up the development process,” she said.
She said the proposal is currently under review, adding that once approved, it will be shared with other stakeholders. The bill of quantities and architectural plan have already been prepared.
In October the government signed the Health Workforce Compact (2024-2026) commitment to accelerate investments in health workforce development. Minister of Health and Child Care Dr. Douglas Mombeshora told The Sunday Mail that this move will cover SRHR information gaps in rural areas.
“We have partnerships and we are working together with ZFNPC which has programmes it is doing in the community. Currently we have 20 000 village health workers but we have got 35 000 villages in Zimbabwe. The aim is to increase village workers to 24 000 by the end of 2026 and 35 000 which is the required amount by 2030.
The Treasury will set aside funds for this initiative in the 2025 national budget.
“The workers will be absorbed in the payroll. Some of them were being paid by our partners so the ministry of finance agreed to take them up starting in 2025. We are preparing all required investments to enhance the workforce. The Health ministry has its documents in order. We know what we want. It’s now up to the ministry of finance to set up how much they can absorb every year as we increase,” the minister said.
Mutoko has a youth centre located in Chitekwe. However, Mrs Dabwa lamented that the facility has not effectively served its purpose as it is often used for other community activities, limiting its availability for youth-focused initiatives.
“We already have a centre but it’s in a community hall that doubles as a venue for other activities like food distribution and community meetings. As a result, ZNFPC and its partners cannot implement youth activities to their full potential, thereby affecting service delivery to the youth, who are entitled to these services,” Mrs Dabwa said.
One of the challenges faced by organisations promoting SRHR awareness in Mutoko is the low attendance of youth at meetings that do not offer incentives.
Ms Marvelous Chimana, a Mutoko resident and secretary of the Zimbabwe Small-holder Organic Farmers Forum, noted that young people are more likely to participate in events that provide incentives.
“The youths are more inclined to attend SRHR forums when there are incentives like t-shirts or monetary rewards. Those that do not offer such incentives see lower youth turn-out, as many young people prioritize livelihood activities over attending these meetings,” Ms Chimana explained.
To address this challenge, Mrs Dabwa emphasized that the proposed youth-friendly centre would not only focus on SRHR education but also empower the youths economically.
“We aim to make the youth-friendly centre a space where young people can learn skills that enhance their livelihoods while also being educated on SRHR.
“We plan to engage experts in various trades like sewing, bricklaying, and welding, to offer training sessions at the centre. It’s essential that this facility becomes both an educational and economic hub,” she added.
Building the centre is only part of the solution, according to Mrs Dabwa, who stressed the importance of social mobilization to ensure that Government programs are well-publicized to the intended audience.
“The fact that many youths in Mutoko are unaware of our community-based distributors has shown us the need to amplify our social mobilization efforts to inform them about the programs we offer,” she said.
ZNFPC also plans to train peer educators in October to help spread awareness about SRHR services and the existing and upcoming youth centres.
“In Mutoko, we intend to train eight peer educators on SRHR. Although we have a limited budget, we believe this initiative will yield positive results.
“These peer educators, who will come from the local community, will play a crucial role in spreading information and encouraging other youths to utilize the services at the Chitekwe Centre while the stand-alone youth-friendly centre is being constructed,” Mrs Dabwa said.
The development of these youth-friendly centres in Mutoko represents a significant step toward enhancing access to SRHR services, with a vision of empowering the youth both economically and through education.
This story is published under the Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe Investigative Journalism Fund with support from Action Aid Zimbabwe under the Partnership for Social Accountability Programme.
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