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Mukudzei Chingwere in PATTAYA, Thailand 

Zimbabwe has been offered the chance to host the High Level International Consultative Conference leading to the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) 30 as part of the international community efforts to tap into the country’s population and sexual reproductive management interventions.

Vice President and Minister of Health and Child Care Dr Constantino Chiwenga revealed this at the end of the International Conference on Family Planning (ICPF) yesterday. 

The offer comes on the back of Zimbabwe having made a huge impression on its global peers which drew commendation from the United Nations Population Fund and several other players. 

Now, with a view to take global attention even closer to the Zimbabwean example, the UN agency has offered Zimbabwe hosting rights next year. 

Speaking to journalists after the ICPF closing ceremony, VP Chiwenga said Zimbabwe stood ready to welcome its peers.

VP Chiwenga spoke on the misconception that population management and family planning was about reducing the number of the populace, saying instead what Zimbabwe needed was a structured programme to grow and balance its population. 

He said the conference had affirmed the position that sexual reproductive health was not a women and girls issue, but something that also needed man and boys to come on board. 

“People are mistaken sometimes that family planning is about reducing the population,” said VP Chiwenga after the conference that closed yesterday. 

“In our case, our population is actually going down and we need our population to go up so that it gets balanced. 

“There is need to make sure that there is thorough education given to both sexes. We need to educate our youngsters from home as they go to school, what kind of education they need.

“This now draws the major issue we discussed at the conference which we are going to discuss in Zimbabwe when we have the meeting before the New York meeting on this subject  matter. 

“That we should never look at one sex which has been happening in these years. We should look at both sexes.” 

The conference also recognised participant achievements and challenged attendees to  strive for a future of family planning that guarantees universal access to reproductive healthcare for all. 

Partners in Population and Development (PPD) Senior Programme Officer Ms Tahrima Khan, who met VP Chiwenga on the sidelines of the ICFP, hailed Zimbabwe’s sexual reproductive health systems. 

“I must say all the 27 PPD member countries, including Zimbabwe, are in the right direction of achieving their agenda of ICPD (International Conference on Population and Development), also their national agenda for family planning,” she said. 

“Zimbabwe is working towards achieving these objectives, that is very good (and) this should be replicated by other countries.”