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accelerated action to reduce gender disparities and improve the status of women and children in Zimbabwe.
The call was made against a background of limited access to social services and social protection.
This was noted in the Unicef’s situational analysis on the status of Women and Children’s Rights in Zimbabwe officially launched by Deputy Prime Minister Thokozani Khupe in Harare last Friday.
The report, which covers the period between 2005 and 2010 noted that although progress was made in improving lives of women and children, there was still limited access to basic social services, lack of social protection mechanisms, gender based violence and child abuse hindering development of women and children.
“The situational analysis we are launching is an important reminder that despite our collective efforts, the status of women and children of this country remains critical.
“It should be a reference point for those who are concerned about improving the lives of women and children in Zimbabwe,” the Unicef’s country representative Dr Peter Salama said.
Summarising the report, Dr Salama chronicled the sorry state of both women and children with particular reference to limited access to health, education, clean water and sanitation.
The analysis noted that between 220 000 and 250 000 rural households in Zimbabwe live in extreme poverty and are food insecure. The households include between 620 000 and 700 000 vulnerable children. Furthermore, at least 91 percent of all cases of sexual abuse were classified as rape, with 46 percent of the children interviewed during the data compilation reporting being abused several times. In addition at least 74 percent of the survivors of child sexual abuse reported they knew the perpetrator with 24 percent of perpetrators originating from the immediate family.
The analysis said 37 percent actually living in the same house with the survivor.
Women’s Affairs Gender and Community Development Minister Olivia Muchena said the constitution-making proces currently underway provides an opportunity to address the social and economic disparities faced by women and children.
“We must maximise this opportunity,” she said.
The report calls for the development programmes aimed at supporting access to basic social services for women and children. These include the abolition of user fees for pregnant women and children under five years and initiating a national social cash transfer programme targeting the poorest. It also recommends the development of policies and programmes to prevent violence against women and children.
Developed through combined efforts of Government Ministries, civil society, academia, UN agencies and children representatives, the report will be a reference tool to monitor changes in the situation of women and children in Zimbabwe. Campaign for Accelerated Reduction of Maternal Mortality goodwill ambassador DPM Khupe called for urgent address to these disparities.
“There has been significant progress in uplifting the livelihoods of women and children with support from partners but more needs to be done in improving the status of women and children.
“We must consider this situational analysis of women and children as a blueprint for collective action to support the most pressing development priority of our times.
“As Government, we remain committed to accelerate our efforts to meet Millennium Development Goals. It is increasingly clear that women and children are central to the achievements of the majority of these goals,” she said.