Issues affecting children and young people in Zimbabwe
- A lengthy isolation from the international community had restricted aid flows resulting in build-up of arrears to multilateral and bilateral partners. This negatively affected health, education and other basic services
- However, social services recovered amid resurgent public and donor spending. A study in 2014 revealed that in several key areas, Zimbabwe had regained outcome levels. HIV prevalence had reduced to around 15% in 2014 down, from more than 40% in 1998. Life expectancy recovered from a low of 43.1 years in 2003 to 53.3 years in 2012 (compared with a high of 61.6 years in 1986). The maternal mortality rate declined from 960 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2010-2011 to an estimated 614 deaths in 2014; under-five mortality fell from 94 per 1,000 in 2009 to 75 in 2014.
- Zimbabwe has enormous potential for sustained growth and poverty reduction given its generous endowment of natural resources, existing stock of public infrastructure and comparatively skilled human resources. It will also require the continued renewal of institutional and operational capacity in the public sector as well as deep reforms in the investment climate
- Important emerging issues that called for psychosocial support interventions include ending child marriages (a key issue on the African Union agenda), increase in HIV prevalence among adolescents, limited access to sexual and reproductive health services among adolescents, and care for children living with disabilities
