In a move aimed at addressing the sexual and reproductive health challenges of women and girls affected by the Tokwe Mukosi flooding, a group of young women from Harare are mobilising for sanitary wear to donate to the flood victims.

Dubbed “Surviving Tokwe Mukosi: Surviving the month”, the initiative is co-ordinated by a group of young women who are beneficiaries of a SAfAIDS training program entitled Young Women First.

Over 3, 000 families have been living in tents at Chingwizi and Nuanetsi Ranch in Masvingo since January after their homes were swept away by the flooding Tokwe-Mukosi Dam.

The families are living under the temporary shelters while waiting to be allocated land for resettlement.

Said one of the co- ordinators of the initiative, Anna Sango: “The cost of sanitary wear is high. Most women and girls end up using unhealthy items such as cow dung, tissue paper, leaves and newspapers during their menstruation.”

She said because women and girls affected by the floods had other pressing challenges, it was highly likely that the challenge of sanitary wear would not be considered as important.

“We realised that the women are experiencing problems regarding how to deal with their menstrual cycle and affording sanitary wear during this very difficult time. Because this it is something that they can not openly express, we decided to come up with this intervention as a way of assisting them,” she said.

Sango said since last week, the young women were mobilising for sanitary wear donations from as little as a single packet of pads, cotton wool and tampons as a means of assisting the women and girls.

“One realises that because of their living conditions, it is very difficult for women and girls experiencing their monthly menstruation cycle to experience the usual privacy,” she said.

“This is why there is need to donate sanitary wear to fill in this gap.”

Sango said donations, especially in the form of sanitary wear are welcome because ‘there is no limit to how much the group is mobilising”.

“We are appealing to Zimbabweans to donate towards this cause. If we could only spare a thought for those in need and save a dollar to donate to the affected women and girls, I am sure that together we can touch a life.”

Zimbabwe is one of the best world producers of cotton but the costs of sanitary wear is beyond the reach of many especially among rural girls and women.

A pack of 10 pads costs at least $1, 20 and a 250-gramme pack of cotton wool costs $1, 50.

Last year, legislators and several organisations from the women’s movement joined forces, campaigning for free sanitary wear.

The deputy minister of agriculture, representing Goromonzi North constituency, Paddy Zhanda implored the then finance minister, Tendai Biti to assist in the provision of free sanitary wear. He argued that rural women were engaging in unhygienic practices such as using tissue paper, newspaper and cow dung during their menstruation.

The YWF Programme is a SAfAIDS initiative that is co-ordinated by the Students and Youths Working on Reproductive Health Action Team that seeks to mobilise and empower young women, through the provision of support that leads them to reclaiming their sexual and reproductive health and rights.

The YWF program provides a platform to raise awareness of SRHR issues and to speak on behalf of young women and girls at continental level, linking them with countries, regionally and Internationally.

It provides them with the opportunities to access platforms such as the African Union, UN Women, and UNGASS.

The programme is being implemented in Malawi, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Those wishing to donate can get in touch with Anna or Clara on the following numbers:

+263 772 973 636

+263 778 228 467

The United Nations Children’s Fund last week donated goods worth millions of dollars to the Women’s University in Africa (WUA) to support the introduction of a post graduate diploma in Child Sensitive Social Policies.

The donation included a vehicle, borehole and water reservoir tanks, a generator and a media centre with computers and electronic information.

Hope Sadza, the founder and Vice Chancellor of the WUA, said students struggled to study because of frequent power outages and water challenges.

Speaking at the handover ceremony, Unicef country representative Reza Hossaini emphasised the importance of educating women. In January the WUA in partnership with Unicef introduced a post graduate diploma in Child Sensitive Social Policies.

The programme seeks to provide a practical long-term solution to the lack of expertise in children’s issues at national level in Zimbabwe and the region.

The diploma will equip students with skills and expertise on how to research, analyse, monitor and evaluate public policy in order to strengthen democratic governance and solve children’s challenges.

The focus is on imparting skills and expertise to apply basic human rights principles to the design of proposals for advancing children’s rights. Zimbabwe’s new Constitution acknowledges children’s rights stating that it is the duty of the state to ensure the adoption of policies and measures that guarantee and preserve their best interests.

Manicaland, Midlands and Chitungwiza provinces recorded the highest number of people who defaulted on tuberculosis treatment, according to the health ministry.

In his National TB Control Programme overview, the Deputy Director in the AIDS/ TB Programmes, Charles Sandy, said although there was considerable improvement on the treatment outcome, the number of defaulters called for more research.

Manicaland recorded nine percent of TB patients who defaulted on treatment as of the third quarter of 2013 while Midlands and Chitungwiza recorded five and four percent respectively.

“The national target is below two percent. Matabeleland North is doing well because it recorded a decline from three percent to two percent and Harare and Bulawayo are doing well on this indicator,” said Sandy.

Zimbabwe is one of the 22 high-burden TB countries, accounting for 80 percent of new cases in the world annually.

The proportion of all TB patients tested for HIV was 61 percent, of whom 78 percent were HIV-infected, according to statistics released by the Population Services International. Challenges to TB control are multifaceted, ranging from socio-economic factors, limited access to convenient TB diagnostic centres and lack of sensitive and rapid TB tests.

Sandy said there were a number of gaps that needed urgent redress in the fight against TB in Zimbabwe. “Stigma, knowledge, attitude, demand and rights are some of the gaps that need to be addressed to ensure that government and implementing partners’ interventions realise the intended goals,” he said.

Commenting on what Chitungwiza referral hospital was doing to follow up on the patients who were defaulting on treatment, an official who spoke on condition of anonymity said they had failed to locate the defaulters.

“We tried making follow ups on the defaulters on the addresses that they had given, but it could be that they moved to other locations or they deliberately gave us wrong addresses,” he said.

A new study by Canadian researchers from the University of Toronto, linked the rise of TB in Zimbabwe during the socio-economic crisis of 2008-9 to widespread food shortages.

A senior author of the study, assistant professor Michael Silverman, said the study established that TB in Zimbabwe was associated with the national economic decline.

“Zimbabwe may have been predisposed to TB due to the presence of a large HIV-positive people who were particularly vulnerable to the effects of food shortages, which led to malnutrition and further damage to already weakened immune systems,” said Silverman.

by Regerai Tukutuku

Hunger and starvation have tightened their grip at the Chingwizi holding camp where more than 3,000 people displaced by the floods along the Tokwe Mukosi basin are now living.

It has emerged that the food donations that have been pouring in were damaged due to poor storage facilities at the holding camp, leaving the villagers with nothing to eat.

Despite the serious food shortages at the camp, the villagers have vowed to stay put until government fulfils all its promises to them. Mwenezi district administrator Stanely Chamisa said the situation at the holding camp was deplorable, as food had run out. Chamisa said that about 30 tonnes of donated food was damaged by damp and wasn’t fit for people to eat. “We are now managing the food rations because the food we have cannot sustain the villagers any longer,” he said.

In an effort to ease the hunger problem, the government is planning to hurriedly remove the villagers by allocating them a hectare of land. However, this has not gone down well with the flood victims who have vowed to stay until they are given four hectares of land as initially agreed.

“We are not going to leave this camp until we are given compensation and the promised four hectares of land,” said Bright Mutumbe. “The government promised us four hectares of land in addition to compensation, and we are prepared to die here if all our concerns are not addressed.”

Masvingo provincial administrator Felix Chikovo confirmed the impasse between the villagers and the government.

“We will keep on persuading them to leave,” said Chikovo. Government sources said that a high-powered ministerial delegation had visited Chingwizi this week to try to convince the villagers to leave.

It has also emerged that the government has no money to pay the villagers in compensation. At least $21mis required to pay compensation to the flood victims.

Heavy rains pounded Masvingo province this year, resulting in thousands of villagers living along the Tokwe Mukosi basin being affected by floods.

by Pamenus Tuso

When Portia Mucharemba and other ward 19 villagers in Shurugwi were relocated from their homesteads and farming plots in 2000 to pave the way for the Anglo-Platinum Unki Mine, their world seemed to have collapsed.

Mucharemba and other farmers were settled in the area in 1982 during the first and orderly phase of the government’s resettlement programme. Until their relocation from the area, the farmers had been surviving thanks to an old irrigation scheme left by the previous white owner of the farm.

“This irrigation scheme, though dilapidated, has been supporting our families since the time we were resettled in the area. In 2000, Unki Mine moved us to a new place and built us modern houses, but this compensation meant nothing because we were deprived of our source of income,” said Mucharemba in an interview with The Zimbabwean.

Last week, however, the mine handed over a modern, overhead irrigation system to the farmers, which will benefit 107 farmers, including 35 young people and 35 women.

The Shungudzevhu irrigation project has cost $550,000 and covers 21 hectares. It draws water from a nearby dam, whose wall was rehabilitated by Unki Mine, which also bought pumps.

“The youths and women have got their own portions of land, which they manage on their own. We also have the main committee, which oversees the general operation of scheme,” explained Joseph Dendere, the scheme’s chair.

This year, the farmers have already planted a variety of cash crops, including maize, potatoes and beans.

“Following the establishment of this scheme, most of the youths here have now ventured into serious farming. They used to spend most of their time either gold-panning or looking for employment at the mine,” said Evans

Ndlovu, youth chair at the scheme. This year, young farmers have planted around three hectares of potatoes and are expecting around $5,000 from the crop.

Sibusisiwe Dera, the women’s chair, said following the commissi-oning of the new irrigation scheme, the lives of women in the area had changed for the better. “In terms of efficiency and output, the new irrigation is very effective. We are now able to venture into cash -crop farming, such as butternuts and tomatoes,” she said. “

Dera said the lifestyles of many women had changed overnight, as they could now afford to send their children to school, to buy clothes and some luxuries.

According to Dendere, the scheme is expecting to harvest 70 tonnes of maize this year. Dendere added that by getting young people involved, they hoped crime rates would drop.

“On top of involving vulnerable people, we plan to draft more youths into the project so that they are not idle – something that can make them think of committing crimes,” he said.

61-year-old Melisa Huruva has been a resident of Shurugwi’s Ward 17 since birth, but her last 13 years in the mining district have been marked by hunger. None of her surviving four children have work, and she is also responsible for eight grandchildren.

Farming was the widow’s only source of livelihood, but erratic rainfall over the years left her without decent crops and still with mouths to feed.

“In a few weeks’ time, we will start harvesting our crops. That will mean more food for me and my grandchildren and money for them to re-enrol at primary school because they had dropped out,” said Huruva.

Another project beneficiary, widower Tukunda Bere said that in homes close to starvation, there were always tensions and conflicts. The project had brought peace to many households in the area.

“We now have hope for an exciting life in this community. The project has also shown those who were without hope that life can be sweeter, because everyone involved in the project now looks forward to adequate food and cash from sale of surplus,” said Tonderai Nyika, another beneficiary.

Speaking at the handover ceremony last week, Unki board chair July Ndlovu reaffirmed his company’s commitment to economic empowerment for the communities where his company operates. Ndlovu added that the mine would continue making checks to ensure that the efforts didn’t die.

“We are committed to making sure that the lives of the people in the areas where we operate are lifted up. The wish is to make sure that the presence of the mine is felt in all the 14 wards of Shurugwi district. This project may be the first, but it won’t be the last,” he said.

Over the years, Unki has made other contributions towards helping the needy. The mine came to the aid of Gweru provincial hospital last year by constructing a casualty ward with modern emergency treatment facilities. The mine donated tens of blankets to the same institution, and also constructed a modern hospital incinerator at Shurugwi district hospital.

Unki reduced by more than 95 per cent the incidence of home deliveries by constructing a mother’s waiting shelter at Chironde clinic in Shurugwi. In Gweru, Isolation Hospital, Mkoba 1 Clinic and Mkoba Polyclinic were refurbished.

Recently, the platinum mine also joined the corporate world in assisting victims of the Tokwe-Mukosi floods through a donation of blankets and fuel worth $60 000.

A serious health hazard is looming at Arda Transau where villagers who were relocated from Chiadzwa by Anjin Investments have been without access to clean water after the Zimbabwe National Water Authority disconnected the company for non-payment.

Over 400 households have been relocated in recent years to make way for mining activities.

Villagers told The Zimbabwean that they had resorted to unprotected sources such as wells and streams. The diamond mining companies pledged to assist the villagers with the provision of clean water, education and food until they are able to sustain themselves.

But villagers said Anjin had reneged on all its promises - especially on the provision of clean water and food rations.

“We have been with water for a long time because Zinwa disconnected us long back owing to non payment of water by Anjin,”said Misheck Mupunzi (33).

“Access to clean water is a basic human right,” said Charity Mwamuka who was pushing a wheelbarrow with a 25-litre bucket of water.

Anjin constructed a water purification centre and handed it over to Zinwa to supply villagers with water while they pay for the service.

The most affected by this crisis are women who are forced to walk long distance in search of water for domestic consumption. “We don’t know whether government knows that we are suffering here. Anjin should honour its pledge to supply clean water,” said another woman who declined to be named.

The Minister of State for Provincial Affairs Manicaland province, Chris Mushohwe, told Vice President Joice Mujuru on her recent tour of Mutare that one of the major problems facing the province was of villagers who had their water supplies disconnected after Anjin failed to service its debt for bulk water to Zinwa. He said a meeting with stakeholders had been scheduled to resolve the matter.

Zinwa public relations officer, Tsungirayi Shoriwa, said he was yet to receive a response from the catchment manager.

In Zimbabwe, 1.2 million people are living with HIV, and there are around 100,000 new infections every year. Despite this, some sex workers are having unprotected sex - and taking antiretroviral drugs afterwards to cut the risk of infection. RUZVIDZO MANDIZHA investigates.

“Let me tell you the truth about why many of us don’t use condoms,” says Sheila, who has been a prostitute in Mufakose slum for six years. We don’t have money, and when you meet a client who offers to give you more money than you usually get, you have sex without protection even when you don’t know his HIV status.”

Sheila says she and other prostitutes can go to a clinic the next morning to get emergency anti-retrovirals, drugs that suppress the virus, if taken within 72 hours of infection.

“We use this medicine like condoms,” says another sex worker, Pamela. “It is intended to be used in emergencies. For example, it is given to victims of rape if their attacker is thought to be HIV-positive, or to medics who have been pricked by a potentially infected needle.”

Some clinics will only give clients one course of PEP a year. They worry that if they hand the drugs out too freely, prostitutes will stop using condoms altogether.

This hasn’t stopped Pamela using PEP four times in the past year.

“I didn’t go to the same clinic where I got the first PEP tablets. I went to a different clinic where they don’t have my records and lied that I was forced into unprotected sex,” she says.

She didn’t finish the full course because of the side-effects. “You feel bad, like vomiting, dizziness, and generally you just feel sick,” she says. “So I stopped taking them.”

Experts at the Aids Council of Zimbabwe say there is a place for anti-retrovirals among sex workers, but only when used in the right way.

“We know that despite fairly high rates of condom use in many sex-work communities, we still have very high rates of HIV so we need additional tools as well as what’s already happening,” says one expert, adding that emergency use of PEP was not the best approach

Instead, says the Council, it would be better for prostitutes to take a type of anti-retroviral designed to be taken before exposure to HIV, known as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).

These are taken daily, and contain fewer drugs than PEP, so there are fewer side-effects. But Dr Chiura, a specialist in HIV and AIDS related illness, says “they must be used as part of a wider package, including regular HIV testing to make sure that the patient is on the correct medication”.

There are plans to run a pilot programme with sex workers in Zimbabwe to see if it could be practical for them to use PrEP as an extra layer of defence.

“Condoms are the single most effective way of preventing HIV, sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy,” says Chiura. “PrEP is not a silver bullet that will suddenly take away all those other issues.”

Zimbabwe’s maize production is still far below the country’s consumption figures, says the Commercial Farmers Union President, Charles Taffs.

Failure by government to come up with agricultural policies that work in the interest of growers would condemn the country to continue importing maize for local consumption, he said. Taffs expressed concern at the huge shortfall between this year’s crop output and the required tonnage to feed the country.

“We are still in distress. Close to 1,3 million hectares of maize were planted during last farming season . But 50 percent of that was planted after December 15, which is too late to realise a decent crop,” he said.

Zimbabwe has for close to 14 years faced grain shortages and it has had to rely on imports to meet the annual human and livestock demand of an estimated 2,4 million metric tonnes.

Taffs urged government to give productive farmers security of tenure to ensure that they have access to financial capital from local institutions to enable them to boost crop production.

“Every single farmer in the country is insecure. The land has been taken from the commercial sector and it has not been given to anybody else. It belongs to the state. People have access to it at the discretion of the State and it can be taken away from them at any time,” he said.

He also urged government to come up with agricultural policies that supported land utilisation as a way of boosting crop production. “Crop diversification has shrunk over the years and farmers are mainly planting maize, tobacco and cotton. We are all aware that cotton is in distress and it is now 50 percent of where it was,” he said.

Taffs said although there had been a huge expansion in small-scale tobacco production, the price for the golden leaf had fallen because the farmers produced a single type of tobacco, which was of poor quality and had no market internationally.

“There is need for us to come up with the basic orderly marketing strategies and agricultural policies where we can demand positions and policies that are in favour of growers,” he said.

According to a recent report by the CFU, about 7,000 farms with title deeds measuring over 11 million hectares have been gazetted for resettlement. By September 2005 only 186 farmers had been paid compensation. Very few additional payments have been made since then.

“Only a handful of farmers were compensated and this was during the Zimbabwean dollar era where the value of that money was not equivalent to the value of the property,” said Taffs, adding that there was need for confidence building to ensure growth in commercial agriculture. “Policy inconsistencies discourage both local and foreign direct investment and the breakdown of the rule of law and the obvious lack of property rights keeps investors away,” he said.

by Sofia Mapuranga

People living with HIV (PLWHIV) in urban areas are appealing to the government to allocate them residential stands because they are being discriminated against by their landlords because of their HIV status, reports SOFIA MAPURANGA.

PLWHIV in suburbs such as Budiriro, Chitungwiza, Glen Norah, Mabvuku and Glen View told The Zimbabwean of some of the challenges they face at the hands of their landlords, some of whom even give them timetables to use the toilet.

“I am not allowed to use the toilet any time that I want because my landlord believes that because of the water challenges, I may not be able to perfectly clean the toilet,” said Getrude Mukanga from Chitungwiza.

“She prefers that I use the toilet first thing in the morning and she ensures that I clean it thoroughly before she allows her family, especially her children, to use it.”

In December 2012 The National Aids Council reported that an estimated 1,2 million people were living with HIV. Zimbabwe is one of the few African countries that has over the years managed to reduce the HIV infection rate by 50%.

But PLWHIV face a myriad of challenges, including lack of access to quality and affordable treatment, social services, basic healthcare, education and other socio-economic rights.

Institutionalised stigma

Emmanuel Gasa, the Executive Director of The AIDS and Arts Foundation, said government should put up policies to guard against discrimination of PLWHIV. “The problem in Zimbabwe is that we now have institutionalised stigma and the systems are not conducive for those living positively,” said Gasa. “There should be cluster specific allocation of accommodation. We will take this with reservations because it can also be used by others to discriminate against people living with HIV,” he added.

He urged young people to open up and reveal their status as a way of dealing with stigma and discrimination saying such a move would ensure a responsible future generation who are able to stand up for what they represent.

Fair share

“In other countries such as South Africa, young people who are living with HIV are open and they get their fair share of resources based on their status,” he said, adding that poverty and discrimination of PLWHIV has remained a major challenge in Zimbabwe and lack of accommodation affected their well-being. The national housing backlog is estimated at 1,2 million applicants, a figure government says could soar if a proper survey was conducted.

Gasa urged government to come up with interventions and ensure that PLWHIV were allocated affordable residential stands. Trymore Chiswa, who resides in Glen Norah, said the discrimination suffered at the hands of her landlord is affecting her children who are restricted to their two rooms and are not allowed to interact with the landlord’s children. “The assumption is that my children are living with HIV because they are not allowed anywhere near my landlord’s children although as children, they would want to play together,” she said.

Affordable

Chipo Vhiriri, 39 from Budiriro urged government to address accommodation challenges for PLWHIV saying that because the majority of them were living under difficult circumstances, they should be allocated affordable accommodation as stipulated in the new Constitution.

“Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo last year set up timelines and said he would avail residential stands for urbanites but to date, nothing has materialised,” she said.

No progress

“Government should seriously reconsider the plight of PLWHIV because we are sometimes forced to disclose our status because of the circumstances that we are living under, something which is being used against us in the long run.”

Chombo last year revealed that government had engaged a Chinese firm, Henan Guoji, to build 10,000 low-cost houses in a move aimed at curbing the scourge of homelessness in cities and towns. However, to date, there is no information regarding the progress of the project. Efforts to get a comment from Chombo were futile as his mobile was not answered. Chapter 28 of the Constitution obliges government to ensure the provision of adequate shelter to its citizens.

Mabvuku resident, Chanise Mhosva said she was not allowed to get water from the borehole sunk by her landlord. “The borehole is kept under lock and key and we are not allowed to get water from it. My landlord said she is not comfortable because she fears that she may contract diseases if we use the same well,” she said.

Lois Mazikana, a social worker in Budiriro said PLWHIV faced a lot of challenges and the majority of them were indirectly forced to disclose their status. “We have witnessed a lot of cases where people who are living with HIV are cornered to disclose their status. We offer them support on how they can best integrate into society, regardless of their circumstances,” said Mazikana.

She said PLWHIV need support and should not be discriminated against based on their status. “The majority of them cannot afford to own houses and they should be allocated affordable residential stands so that they are better positioned to lead decent lives,” she said.

Mabvuku residents have been hit by another deadly diarrhoea outbreak which has infected more than 900 people with women and children being the worst affected.

This was revealed from our community monitoring report for the week ending Saturday the 21st of June by our ward coordinators. Mabvuku Poly Clinic recorded 530 cases with Mabvuku Satellite Clinic recording 372 patients by midday Thursday last week and the situation indicates that more people are still trickling at the health centres for medical check-ups.

A quick survey conducted revealed that the outbreak emanates from the inefficient supply of clean water and the use of unprotected water sources by residents.

Residents suspect that the outbreak emerged after municipal water supply resumed last week in areas that had not been receiving municipal water for more than eight months which could be attributed to rusting infrastructure.

CHRA is in possession of records of some people who have been treated of diarrhoea at Mabvuku Clinic which were randomly collected from houses in different areas in the suburb. Meanwhile Council clinics are giving chlorine tablets to treat the “dirty” water supplied to them by the municipality, a scenario which could be an indicator that the Municipality acknowledges that the water being supplied to residents is not safe.

Efforts to get information and comments from the Public Relations Department of the City of Harare were fruitless as their phones went unanswered and recent correspondence with the department head Mr Leslie Gwindi has failed to bear positive fruits pertaining access to public information.

In previous months, we reported that Diarrheal outbreaks were becoming endemic in Mabvuku, a statement which was solidly refuted by the City officials. We will continue to conduct community monitoring on health and publish our findings for purposes of saving lives of innocent residents which continue to be compromised by inefficient service delivery.

Rural community meetings, such as one held recently in Mpudzi Resettlement Scheme south of Mutare, are usually placid affairs dealing with mundane matters. Not any more.

by Andrew Mambondiyani

In the province, known for its highlands, good rains and rich soils, the meetings have increasingly taken on a belligerent edge, due to the influx of land invaders settling upstream and clogging water sources.

This is largely the consequence of climate change-induced migration as new settlers leave their low-lying dry regions for areas with better rains and prospects for agriculture.

The Mpudzi meeting almost degenerated into a mass brawl, as villagers accused local traditional leaders of illegally settling newcomers in undesignated areas and threatening the livelihoods of the original communities. Some of the illegal settlers have been irregularly resettled or allocated themselves land on areas set aside for grazing.

Choked with silt

“We no longer have pastures for our livestock and most of the rivers around here are now drying up halfway through the dry season. These rivers used to be perennial but these people are choking them with silt,” one visibly angry village elder, Nekias Mkwindidza said.

But Hamudi Munyama, a former assistant to Village Head Gwaku in Mpudzi Resettlement Scheme, who was fingered in the illegal land deals, defended himself saying that traditional leaders had the authority to resettle people in the area.

“What we did was above board. We were given the authority to resettle some of these people,” he said, but stopped short of saying who granted the authority, only choosing to cite ‘top people’. It did emerge that some of these illegal allocations of land happened just before the 2013 general elections with the blessings of local political leaders.

Munyama has since been relieved of his duties as a representative of the village head.

Major drivers

The conflict in Mpudzi Resettlement scheme is symptomatic of an emerging, climate change-induced problem, according to a 2011 United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report, which identifies environmental degradation and climate change as major drivers in both forced and voluntary migration.

Climate change threatens to cause one of the biggest refugee crises of all time, though various figures have been bandied about, climate change experts have warned that up to 200 million people would be forced to abandon their homes over the course of the century the world over.

And in an interview with this reporter recently, renowned USA-based climate change expert and author, Ross Gelbspan weighed in, warning that: “As we experience more crop failures, water shortages and uncontrolled migrations by people whose lands become less able to support them, that governments will become more totalitarian in their efforts to keep order in the face of chaos. So it's really the political and economic aspects that I've been thinking about.”

Farmer’s dream

Owning a piece of land where there is perennial water supply, rich soils and reliable rainfall is every farmer’s dream. As such, Lloyd Gweshe, 30, a settler at Ndorwe area in the eastern highlands of Manicaland province, has every right to blow his own trumpet. His piece of land is every farmer’s dream. It has perennial water supply from various streams and rivers which originate from the area and the soils are good.

The Eastern Highlands, which stretch from Nyanga in the north through Vumba down to Chimanimani in the south, prides itself for having some of the best weather conditions in the country. These include high rainfall, low level cloud and heavy mists and dew as moisture moves inland from the Indian Ocean. Many streams and rivers begin from these mountains, which form the watershed between the Zambezi and Save River systems.

But as the climate is changing, the area has become a target for thousands of illegal settlers from lower and hotter areas. The mass movement of people has brewed conflict as the illegal and legal settlers fight over pastures, water and other resources. Timber plantations and national parks have not been spared either.

“I now own a rich piece of land, a wife and a bouncing baby,” Gweshe crows to anyone who cares to listen to him, mostly at traditional beer drinking spots. But what he seldom reveals is that he is one of the many people who have of late invaded the eastern highlands in search of water and good soils. The local people call these new comers ‘squatters’, a disparaging term which the new settlers detest.

Not a squatter

“I am not a squatter,” Gweshe defends himself when the subject of illegal settlers in the area is raised. “How can I be a squatter in my country of birth?” he asks sarcastically, much to the chagrin of the people who were legally resettled in the area by the government during the land reform programme. “And I will not leave this place,” he vows.

Many of the illegal settlers have invaded Nyamakari and Nyamataka river sources, wetlands and banks of Chitora, Mushaamhuru and Murare rivers, threatening the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people living downstream who depend on the rivers for irrigation.

And the future of the rich banana farming belt in Burma Valley looks bleak as water sources are diminishing, particularly during the dry season as Manyera, Zonwe and Musapa dams have been heavily silted. There are growing fears that the new wave of mass movement of people from lower dry areas to the rich highlands might trigger serious clashes.

A banana farmer in Burma Valley, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals from the illegal settlers, said the ‘squatters’ were threatening the viability of agricultural activities in the rich farming area.

No water

“These illegal settlers have invaded sources of water for the banana plantations, and our future as farmers is under threat. Water is no longer available for us to sustain a good banana crop. Despite efforts by the government to remove them they have remained defiant. They have been evicted about four times and they have returned in bigger numbers,” the farmer revealed.

However, even with the conflict, the illegal settlers have vowed to stay as they argue that they have nowhere else to go, with some claiming that it was their ancestral land from which they were evicted back in the 1940s by the colonial administration.

They say the low-lying areas in Manicaland, such as Marange and Buhera, have been receiving erratic rainfall since the devastating drought of 1992. Crop yields have been poor, farmers have lost their livestock and water sources have dried up, hence the new wave of migration in search of greener pastures.

More than a decade old political polarisation has a become a cancer that is fast tearing apart the once united rural community thwarting development, villagers under chief Zindi in Honde Valley have bewailed.

Villagers said instead of being united for the sake of development people value political differences at the expense of development resulting in abject poverty for many. Since 2000 when the opposition MDC started to contest in election both ZANU PF and MDC have won the constituency interchangeably.

“At times MPs donate food and other things but the Chief or the headman and other villagers just say this one belongs to ZANU PF or MDC depending on who donated and you do not benefit,” bemoaned youth Joseph Mambodo of Chapinduka village.

Mambodo, who has a plantation of 750 banana fruit trees, said his wife has been working hard for years to ensure that they get water into the plantation from the nearby mountains but they are yet to benefit from the project despite their hard work. “Segregation is the major problem here. We cannot develop because of the division that is among us as a result of political differences,” said the 29-year-old Mambodo.

Speaking at a public meeting organised by the Election Resource Centre (ERC) at Zindi Primary School recently, villagers said there is need for leaders to lead by example educating communities that political differences matters less.

ZANU PF and President Robert Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe since 1980, in a bid to maintain his grip on power - facing intense opposition after the birth of the MDC in 1999 led by former trade union leader Morgan Tsvangirai used land and food distribution as a political weapons dividing communities for many years.

“If we submit written petitions highlighting our grievances our local leaders here don’t submit the petitions to desired authorities because they accuse us of belonging to a certain political party,” said Tsitsi Dembaremba. She added that chief and the headman are perpetuating divisions among them emphasizing that they should not lead development programmes.

Charles Nyakunhuwa from Nyakunhuwa village under Chief Mutasa said they are sometimes sidelined from projects because the headman demands a high joining fee from them.

“These MPs during election time they come to us and ask us what we want in the area for it to develop but they don’t come back once voted into office,” said Hamutsari Bvitira.

Bvitira said irrigation pipes her village had requested were diverted to another group because her group was viewed to be belonging to a wrong political party.

Villagers, however, appealed to Chiefs and headmen to champion unity through encouraging communities to desist from hate speech in the wake of the continued falling apart of communities.

by Brenna Matendere Munyati

A $15,000 market gardening project was formally initiated by British Ambassador Deborah Bronnert last week.

The Gwemombe Women’s Group Initiative is located in the southern part of Shurugwi and aims to help women support their families as many have lost their husbands to disease or migration. Women living with HIV are also targeted beneficiaries.

So far, 45 families have started engaging in bee-keeping, fruit and vegetable farming. Fencing, watering mechanisms and harvesting infrastructure has been put in place with donor funding.

The National Association of Non-Governmental Organisations (NANGO) regional coordinator Vimbai Nhutsve-Musengi said it has been difficult to find partners who could help the women, and hailed the British intervention as a milestone achievement in fighting gender imbalance.

She urged the women to work hard, saying “The project should succeed in becoming a food breadbasket for the district and surrounding areas. If its success story reaches a level where mines in the area, like Anglo-Platinum Unki Mines, and local boarding schools start to depend on its produce, then it could be an encouragement for other organisations to come and start other projects.”

Findings have shown that women mired in poverty are particularly vulnerable to domestic violence, immoral behaviour and manipulation by unscrupulous politicians. Economic empowerment of the women in the district goes a long way to setting them free from these ills.

Bronnert applauded Zimbabwe’s new constitution for addressing gender equality and said the objectives of the project were to support income generating initiatives by educating women on economic and business issues while also helping them achieve food security.

by Pamenus Tuso

Vana VeZimbabwe (Vavez) has embarked on the distribution of sanitary wear to disadvantaged girls in Matabeleland South.

The director, Josh Nyapimbi, told The Zimbabwean the project was in response to a baseline survey carried out in selected schools last year that revealed that 98% of girls need help with sanitary wear.

“A survey in schools in Umzingwane and Umguza rural districts survey revealed that 52 percent of all schools had no doors on their latrines and 92 percent had no soap. This makes it very difficult for young girls to manage their menstrual periods,” said Nyapimbi.

“The survey clearly showed that there is need to empower local communities, particularly women or school health clubs, on how to produce local, cost-effective, sustainable and environmentally friendly sanitary wear,” he said.

Adolescence and puberty are challenging development stages for girls in Zimbabwe particularly those in poor families or rural communities. The silence, stigma and taboos surrounding menstruation keep many young girls ignorant about how to handle menstruation.

Nyapimbi bemoaned the lack of adequate puberty and menstruation education in schools. “Many school teachers have limited understanding of sanitary health.

All this can lead to absence from school and can contribute to girls ‘school dropout .The situation is further compounded by lack of sanitation, hand–washing facilities and hygiene education in schools,” said Nyapimbi.

The organisation is planning to produce a booklet with basic information about menstruation and hygiene. Nyapimbi said the distribution of the booklet would not only empower girls with the necessary knowledge, but would also increase their self–esteem and ultimately their school attendance.

“It will clarify myths and taboos that often surround menstruation. We expect that the recipients will share it with their siblings, female relatives and girls who are not in school,” he added.

Small holder farmers have criticised the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) for ripping them off by levying the water they are harvesting from mountains using their own resources.

Disgruntled villagers told The Zimbabwean that the water utility was a stumbling block to the development of irrigation schemes in the area.

They said it defied logic for Zinwa to levy them for flowing water, which they harvesting using their own equipment. They said the water, if not utilised, would just flow into Mozambique.

Sacrificed

“We have sacrificed our resources to buy pumps to draw water from the Mountains. But we are surprised that Zinwa is penalising us. We are poor and we can`t pay for the water. Water is a natural resource that we should use to empower ourselves,” said Clever Sakupwanya, a small-scale farmer from Gaerezi.

Farmers called on government to intervene to save the situation, saying the levy fee should be scrapped to allow farmers to recover from the economic meltdown.

“Foreign currency is scarce this side and where do these people expect us to get the money to pay for free water? It’s unheard of in this world. They are not offering us any service so why should we pay?” said another villager.

Threat

Other farmers said Zinwa’s water pricing system had become a threat to sustainable agricultural productivity for both small-scale and commercial irrigation farming communities.

Zinwa, which is mandated by the government to distribute raw water to irrigation farms, has recently come under scrutiny regarding how it charges for the resource.

Farmers argue that the authority’s system is negatively impacting on agricultural production with most complaining the resource is way too expensive.

Nyanga South legislator Supa Mandiwanzira, who is also Deputy Information minister, last week said it did not make sense for Zinwa to levy small scale farmers who would have dug deep into their own pockets to raise funds to procure water pumps to improve their farming activities.

“Zinwa should not levy small-scale farmers who would have pulled their resources to buy equipment to harvest water from the mountains to irrigate their crops,” Mandiwanzira said.

“That should be an incentive to encourage farmers to venture into irrigation projects to boost food security. The water could have been let to flow into Mozambique but locals are utilising it to their own advantage.”

Water for free

The deputy minister said the water utility should only levy for water in dams. He promised to take the matter up with the relevant authorities.

Joseph Chinotimba, the Buhera South Member of Parliament (MP) last week queried why Zinwa was charging for water that it gets from the Zambezi River’s catchment area for free.

Contributing to debate on government’s policy on agricultural financing, Chinotimba said Zinwa had no right to charge for water it obtained from a shared river basin.

“Let us take an example of the water in the Zambezi River that originates from DRC,” Chinotimba said.

“Zinwa expects us to pay for water that is coming from DRC and yet it is not their water. We do not pay a single cent to DRC, where the water is coming from,” he said.

“We are not saying that we should not pay, but we are saying charges should be minimal,” he said. Most irrigation schemes in Manicaland province are lying idle as Zinwa has either disconnected supplies or levied exorbitant charges in situations where the farmers draw water straight from rivers or boreholes.

Defence for Children International Zimbabwe (DCIZ) has blamed ‘well-wishers’ for the rising cases of child abuse.

The chief executive, Elfas Mcloud Zadzagomo, said some 'co-called' well-wishers who visit desperate people in places such as Chingwizi Transit Camp and children on the streets, allegedly to help, end up abusing the intended beneficiaries.

“We have learnt with dismay that people supposedly assisting people at Chingwizi were among those accused in the rising number of cases of sexual abuse,” he said.

At Chingwizi, villagers accused soldiers and other government officials responsible for the distribution of food rations and rescue operations of luring hungry, under-age victims with food rations and then abusing them. Fearing arrests, sources said, perpetrators have since offered to marry some of the girls.

On the streets, Zadzagomo said, perpetrators target girl vendors and those living on the streets. They abuse them using money as bait. The prevailing harsh economic situation forces victims to comply.

According to the NGO, abuse is also rampant at mines where ‘illegal’ miners ‘Makorokoza’ coerce girls into sexual relations. According to police statistics, some 5,000 children are sexually abused annually.

To fight the abuse, DCIZ has embarked on a nationwide Child Rights and Advocacy Campaign, to inform children and parents about the importance of child protection. The campaign covers topics such as Child Growth and Development, Children’s rights and a Child Friendly Environment.

The DCIZ's target is 15,000 children for the campaign. The children will, in turn, enlighten their peers on relevant issues. It is estimated that one informed child could spread the message to 30 others downstream. Perpetrators will be among the participants as some of them were once victims themselves.

The Zimbabwe National Council for the Welfare of Children recently said it would roll out a campaign to educate communities about the need to protect the vulnerable, which includes children.

Cultural values, child abuse and economic hardship have forced 31% of young girls into traumatic, early marriages, according to the ZNCWC.With such sad developments there is a need to scale up child protection through the assistance of relevant preventive committees.

“Committees should be set up to expose cases of child abuse lest perpetrators go unpunished,” said Taylor Nyanhete, ZNCWC national director.

UNICEF, in partnership with some NGOs, supports a national campaign of 'Zero Tolerance to Child Abuse.' As part of the campaign UNICEF supports training workshops and contributed towards the production and distribution of 10,000 music cassettes with messages linking HIV/AIDS to child abuse.

The health ministry says the rotavirus vaccine, which fights diarrhoea in children, is now available at most health centres for children under five.

“There has been a remarkable improvement of vaccination coverage from 28 percent DPT3 in 1982, 89 percent in 2006 and 95 percent in 2013,” said Christopher Tapfumaneyi, the principal director Curative Services at the launch of the vaccine.

“The rotavirus has been proven effective and efficient in all countries that introduced it.”

Rotavirus causes vomiting and severe diarrhoea that can lead to dehydration and death. Children aged six months to two years are particularly vulnerable to infection.

Tapfumaneyi said 9 out of the 10 countries with the highest rate of rotavirus mortality were in Africa while globally, 453,000 deaths in children under five were due to rotavirus diarrhoea.

“Rotavirus hospitalisations occur mostly in young children. Those under one year of age account for the majority of all childhood hospitalisations. It accounts for 230,000 deaths among children in Africa,” said Tapfumaneyi.

He emphasised the importance of access to clean water as a strategy of reducing the transmission of the disease, saying “Good sanitation and access to clean water does greatly reduce the rate of infection.”

Two years ago, the Zimbabwean government, with assistance from Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation, an organisation which supports the acquisition of vaccines by low-income countries, introduced three new vaccines - pneumococcal, rotavirus and Human Papilloma Vaccines.

However, when the country submitted its funding proposal to GAVI, one of the conditions was for Zimbabwe to expand its drug storage facilities. The pneumoccocal vaccine was introduced in 2012, but the rotavirus vaccine could not be introduced because there were no adequate storage facilities.

A team of 11 volunteer doctors has been dispatched to Chingwizi area where over 2,500 families displaced by the Tokwe Mukosi dam flooding are currently staying amid fears of a disease outbreak.

The doctors will be in the area for two weeks and will ensure that the victims have access to medical services .

The doctors are part of humanitarian assistance being offered by companies,churches, and individual who have taken heed to calls by the state to offer help to move more than 60,000 people affected directly or indirectly by the flooding.

Econet wireless in partenership with Higher Life Foundation HLF and the Reformed Church in Zimbabwe RCZ this week funded the dispatch of the doctors who will assist other government doctors already there .

The dispatched medial personnel will make sure that the area is disease free amid reports that there were fears of an outbreak of cholera and other water born disease in the area.

"We have dispatched doctors and drugs to make sure that the victims do have access to medical services", said Petronella Maramba an official with HLF.

"In addition we have also given Bibles to the people affected by the floods to ensure that they always remember that Jesus and God is with them during these hard times",said Maramba.

Churches have also dispatched evangelists who would hold crusades and church services to the affected people.

Sources within the healthy sector have warned of a disease our break at Chingwizi holding camp where thousands of displaced flood victims are currently being held.

The flood victims at Chingwizi are getting food rations from the state in addition to blankets and other essentials.

"We have already given government advice that there should be doctors and nurses in the area to avoid disease outbreaks,"said the source.

Donations for the flood victims have been pouring in and Zimbabweans have since called on the government to be transparent in the distribution of the donated goods.

Masvingo Provincial Affairs minister Kudakwashe Bhasikiti has been receiving donations on behalf of the victims.

Humanitarian assistance intended for flood-hit areas of Zimbabwe remains stuck in South Africa for lack of transport.

The assistance was mobilised by the Barbara Nyagomo Foundation, founded and run by Zimbabwean philanthropist, Barbara Nyagomo in the UK.

“We have managed to acquire more than 100 tents for shelter from our partners in South Africa, but we don’t have transport to send the them to the victims,” said the Manchester-based Nyagomo.

“We have been charged R30,000 (about $3,000) to carry the tents from Durban to Beitbridge, then from Beitbridge to the affected areas it will be an average of $1,200,” she added.

According to Jabulani Charlie, Operations Director of the Zimbabwe Muslim Youth Foundation, there is still much assistance required for victims of the Tokwe Mukosi disaster in Masvingo.

This includes tents to cover 2,114 families, water tablets, 99,360 blankets 9,375 mosquito nets, food and sanitary wear. BNF also assists disadvantaged communities in Tsholotsho.

“Generally, people need basics like food, clothes, sanitary pads, water, medication, pots, utensils, toiletries, water tablets, water purifier, toilets, blankets and bags to pack the little they still have,” said Nyagomo.

by CHRA

A Typhoid outbreak has hit Mabvuku high density suburb with at least nine cases confirmed so far. The suburb, which has been prone to typhoid outbreaks on a yearly basis, especially during the rainy season, has gone for four months without water supplies.

CHRA local ward leaders noted an influx in diarrheal related diseases which prompted them to make enquiries on the issue from the Mabvuku Poly clinic officials who admitted that they have treated typhoid patients and are suspecting that more residents could be affected.

Typhoid outbreaks in Mabvuku are not new especially during the times when the suburb is faced with acute water shortages. Last year, Harare City Council Town Clerk, Dr Tendai Mahachi promised Harare residents that water supply would normalise but according to our service delivery implementation tracker, nothing of that sort has materialised. Residents in Mabvuku have resorted to getting water from unprotected wells that surround the Chizhanje area.

Reports coming from Harare City Council indicate that some top council directors have swindled part of the USD$144 million loan received from Afrexim bank in China meant for the rehabilitation of water infrastructure. This comes against a background of mega salaries being paid to them while residents languish due to water shortages.

For more information you can call Mabvuku Poly Clinic on this landline number: 04 491 068 or alternatively email chrafeedback@gmail.com for this and other issues.