Childhood Poverty in Zimbabwe

Data collected by UNICEF suggests that children in Zimbabwe are better off than they were 5 years ago, however 70 per cent of households continue to live in poverty (22 per cent in extreme poverty). (UNICEF, 2013) More than 164,000 children are HIV positive and unfortunately, only 45 per cent are receiving treatment at this time. The HIV epidemic has been going on for nearly thirty years, which has contributed to a high orphan rate and age dependency ratio. (UNICEF) All primary health clinics offer free maternal/child health services and 87.2 per cent of the clinics have at least 80 per cent of essential medicines. “Women and children however continue to face barriers to utilization of services due to user fees, distance, cost of transport, and religious beliefs, while geographic and wealth disparities persist. UNICEF places a priority on addressing these inequities and their social determinants” (UNICEF).

In 2013, Zimbabwe adopted a new Constitution including a Bill of Rights for children. The ‘Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation’ (ZimAsset 2013-2018) is in place but implementation will depend on availability of resources in the 2014 budget. UNICEF has been instrumental in their role as a “critical broker” of the relationship between multiple donors and the government. “These partnerships allow for programs by UNICEF to build an enabling environment, demand for and supply of health, education, WASH and child protection services; and the determinants of child deprivation” (UNICEF). 

References

UNICEF (2013) Annual report 2013- Zimbabwe, Retrieved from: http://www.unicef.org/about/annualreport/files/Zimbabwe_COAR_2013.pdf