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Ivan Zhakata
Herald Correspondent
The Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (Zimstat) in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Child Care will from this Friday to April 2024, be conducting the 2023 Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey (ZDHS).
The survey is aimed at providing up-to-date information on fertility and mortality levels, education, employment, child care, the prevalence of anaemia, maternal health care, family planning practices, HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, and violence against women, among others.
Zimstat public relations and communications manager Mrs Mercy Chidemo said data collection for the 2023 ZDHS is expected to run for five- and-a-half months.
Mrs Chidemo said the survey will be conducted on a nationally representative sample of 11 200 households randomly selected across the country’s 10 provinces.
“Demographic and health data will be collected with respect to women, men and children. Statistics produced through the ZDHS are key to the Government as they inform the design and evaluation of policies and programmes aimed at improving the health and well-being of Zimbabweans while moving towards equitable growth in which no one and no place is left behind,” she said.
“Other stakeholders also use the statistics in their decision-making processes, programming and research among other uses.
“A modular approach will be used in undertaking the 2023 ZDHS to which four questionnaires from households, women aged between 15 and 49, men aged between 18 to 54 and biomarker will be administered.”
Mrs Chidemo said information collected from the household questionnaire relates to households and their respective members
“This includes age, sex, marital status, highest educational attainment, employment status, source of water, type of toilet facility, ownership of various durable goods and availability of electricity. In addition, salt used for cooking by the households will be tested for the presence of iodine,” she said.
From the questionnaire for women aged 15 to 49, Mrs Chidemo said the information to be collected included, but was not limited to knowledge of contraception, maternal health care, breastfeeding and other feeding practices, vaccinations and childhood illnesses, children born in the last five years and domestic violence among other areas of interest to the survey.
She said the other questionnaire will be administered to men in the 15 to 54 age group and information will be collected with respect to reproduction, fertility preferences, marriage and sexual activity and knowledge of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases among others.
From the biomarker questionnaire, Mrs Chidemo said in addition to data collected through interviews during the 2023 ZDHS, the nutrition status of individual respondents will be assessed through anaemia testing and anthropometric measurements with respect to height and weight.
“The anthropometric measurements will be taken from individuals in 50 percent of survey households and focus on children under 5 years, women 15 to 49 years, and men 15 to 54 years.
“The blood test will be performed on children 6 to 59 months old, women aged 15 to 49 and men aged 15 to 54.
“In view of the foregoing, Zimstat is requesting maximum cooperation from members of households selected for the 2023 ZDHS across the provinces. The information collected is strictly confidential and will be used for statistical purposes only,” she said.
Mrs Chidemo said for ease of identification field personnel will have with them official letters and ZDHS programme identity cards.
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