Zim registers health, education gains

via Zim registers health, education gains 27/09/2014

ZIMBABWE’S maternal mortality ratio declined to 614 per 100,000 live births in 2014 from 960 per 100,000 live births in 2010 due to an improvement in the country’s health delivery system, according to a 2014 government survey.

However, while hailing the decline, officials said the country will not be able to meet the Millennium Development Goal of reducing maternal mortality ratio to 112 per 100,000 live births by 2015.

The survey indicated that child mortality had dropped from 84 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2009 to 75 per 1,000 live births in 2014, while the percentage of stunted children under the age of five dropped from 35 percent in 2009 to 27 percent in 2014.

At least 76 percent of households in Zimbabwe had access to safe drinking water in 2014 while 35 percent used sanitation facilities which are not shared.

The percentage of children of primary school age currently attending primary or secondary education stood at 93.7 percent.

Presenting results of the survey Wednesday, UNICEF representative to Zimbabwe Reza Hossaini said the positive performance in the health and social indicators showed closer cooperation between the Zimbabwe government and development partners.

Explaining key findings of the survey, Hossaini said the high number of households with access to safe drinking water had contributed to fewer outbreaks of water-borne diseases in the country.

“Improved sanitation is the reason why the country has not witnessed the scourge of cholera. There were only three cases of cholera in three different occasions last year and not a single death was recorded due to cholera,” he said.

The UNICEF representative also attributed the declining maternal mortality to increased antenatal care, post natal care, child delivery attended to by mid-wives and the increase in the number of HIV- positive women accessing antiretroviral drugs.

A ZIMSTAT official said although Zimbabwe will not meet the MDG target on reducing maternal deaths, it was encouraging that the country was on the right track.

“There is a positive movement towards the target and I think there will be remarkable progress in the next phase as we continue to get support from donors and partners,” said the official.