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Munyaradzi Musiiwa, Midlands Correspondent
ZIMBABWE has recorded the lowest abortion rate in sub-Saharan Africa, a development that has been attributed to the country’s high use of contraceptives, an official has said.
Speaking during a media engagement forum in Gweru last week organised by Right Here Right Now and Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), Association of Midwives representative, Matron Rumbidzai Zimudzi said the rate has dropped due to the use of contraceptives as reflected by the uptake of the pregnant prevention methods which is at 66 percent, making it one of the highest within the same region.
Matron Zimudzi said this was because the country had made significant strides in ensuring that the family planning services are accessible and affordable.
“Zimbabwe has a low abortion rate. We have a rate of 17/1 000 among the people aged between 15 and 49. It is one of the lowest in Sub-Saharan Africa. Our regional rate is 34 per every 1 000 pregnancies.
This is because we have a high contraceptive use. Zimbabwe has a contraceptive use rate of 66 percent which is one of the highest in Sub-Saharan Africa.
“Family planning services are affordable in public sectors and accessible. There are a lot of outreach programmes by ZNFPC, Population Services International (PSI), Population Services Zimbabwe (PSZ), FHI to ensure all women have access to quality Family Planning services by 2020,” she said.
Matron Zimudzi said the country however, remains on top in cases of maternal deaths in the world.
“We have a maternal death rate of 651 per 100 000 live births. This means Zimbabwe has one of the highest maternal death rates, not only in Africa but in the world. The leading causes include Post-Partum Haemorrhage (PPH), Eclampsia and Sepsis,” she said.
Online Reporter