Category: News

Residents doubt city leaders’ new levy will help pay for more critically-needed ambulances

By Gamuchirai Masiyiwa

Shirley Celebrate Mkono sits with her daughters, Marcia Nokutenda Chimambo, 1, and Princess Anashe Chimambo, 3, at their home in Glen View. Following childbirth last year, Mkono experienced severe headaches and waited four hours for an ambulance to arrive. She is among many Harare residents skeptical of a new emergency services levy, citing corruption and poor delivery of public services.

HARARE, ZIMBABWE — A few days after giving birth to her youngest daughter in May 2024, Shirley Celebrate Mkono, a 34-year-old mother of four, went to her local clinic to seek help for persistent headaches. Nursing staff worried she could have uncontrolled hypertension, recalls Mkono as she cradles her daughter, now 1 year old.

“The attending nurse informed me that my blood pressure was extremely high and I could collapse at any point,” she says.

After a few minutes, Mkono agreed to call a private ambulance for US$30. Even so, she waited four distressing hours for help to come.

“If the clinic had an ambulance in sight, it could not have taken this long,” she says. “I could have died.”

Only four public ambulances serve Harare’s over 2.4 million people, far short of the 32 ambulances the city says it needs; it would take a fleet of 48 to bring Harare in line with international guidelines of one ambulance for every 50,000 people.

In February, the city council introduced a monthly emergency services levy of US$1 per household to fund additional ambulances for council clinics, collected as part of the monthly electric bill. However, the council’s poor track record in managing public funds has made residents and watchdog groups skeptical that the money raised will be deployed with transparency and accountability.

The local authority has been grappling with health care financing for a long time, says Reuben Akili, director of Combined Harare Residents Association. Akili says the emergency levy will only be effective if it is collected and spent locally to stop funds from being diverted.

“There must be a mechanism in place that ensures the money is ring-fenced to buy ambulances in places where that money was collected,” he says.

Mkono, who lives in the suburb of Glen View, is doubtful the levy will serve its purpose.

“There is a lot of corruption at the local authority. We pay for refuse collection about $8 per month, but they don’t carry the refuse. I remember I last saw a refuse truck in my area in October last year after the mayor visited our area,” she says.

Embezzlement is a persistent problem in local councils, as highlighted in a 2024 analysis of local authorities conducted by the Southern African Parliamentary Support Trust and a coalition of local nongovernmental organizations. Diversion of funds from critical services like health care and sanitation has contributed to a cycle of mistrust and disillusionment, where citizens are reluctant to pay toward public expenditures that don’t actually improve local services.
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“If the clinic had an ambulance in sight, it could not have taken this long. I could have died.”Shirley Celebrate Mkono

Akili says the scarcity of public ambulance services has led people who can afford it to use private taxis, which can cost US$10 to US$20.

In May 2024, President Emmerson Mnangagwa set up an inquiry into the opposition-led Harare City Council following reports of corruption and financial mismanagement. The inquiry revealed that the city council has misspent more than US$1 million, with executives spending over US$125,000 per year on holidays even as the city fails to provide adequate services.

Mkono questions why the local authority is adding another levy on residents who already pay user fees when they seek medical care in council clinics.

“They should buy ambulances with that money,” she says.

In a written update to residents on recently introduced levies, which also include a US$1 streetlight levy and US$1 water levy, Precious Shumba, director of Harare Residents’ Trust, says the new fees were never presented and discussed during the annual budget consultations the city council held across Harare in September 2024. Without an accurate, transparent and functional billing system in place, Shumba writes, the levies “add to a long list of revenue streams that have the potential to be abused by the cartels running the affairs of the City of Harare.”

Caroline Machivenyika accompanied her 17-year-old pregnant daughter to the local clinic in December last year. When they got there, her daughter was referred to a hospital because she was underage, but Machivenyika learned she’d need US$70 to get a private ambulance to take them; the city ambulances were unavailable.

“I only had US$50 on me; I explained my situation, and after an hour, a private ambulance arrived,” she recalls.

Transfers of expectant mothers and traffic collisions constitute the bulk of emergency incidents that require ambulance services in the city.

Like many other residents, Machivenyika has doubts about whether any funds raised through the levy will genuinely buy ambulances.

“We have lost trust in the local authority because the necessities that we are paying for are not being adequately provided. For instance, we only get water three times a week, but we pay for these services each month,” says the mother of four.

Caroline Machivenyika, right, with her mother, Esther Machivenyika, at their home in Glen Norah.

Caroline Machivenyika had to wait an hour and pay US$50 for a private ambulance because there wasn’t a public one available. Like many residents, she questions whether Harare’s new monthly emergency levy will lead to real improvements in ambulance service.

But she says residents’ unpaid bills are also an important reason the local authority struggles to provide adequate services.

“They are supposed to close access to water for houses with unpaid bills, but when council workers come, people pay $5 bribes and they leave. Others are not even moved because they do not have access to water daily and do not care even if their water meters are disconnected by the council,” she says.

Stanley Gama, head of corporate communications for Harare City Council, did not respond to several requests for comment.

Only one-third of African countries have emergency medical services, and most of them require patients to pay a fee.

Upon reaching the hospital, Mkono was cared for and sent home within 30 minutes. She got a prescription for a month’s worth of medication to take at home, and her condition quickly resolved.

Ambulances used to arrive promptly when there was a need, recalls Machivenyika’s mother, Esther Machivenyika, 75.

“I remember in 1995 when my husband got sick at home, we called in an ambulance and it did not take an hour to come through and he was immediately taken to the hospital,” she says as she shells peanuts.

In the 1980s, Zimbabwe had a strong ambulance system with well-trained personnel, including a public service in Harare. But decades of economic instability have left emergency services unable to maintain or procure modern equipment.

Now, Esther Machivenyika says a patient has to pay cash up front to get assistance.

“You can die while negotiating payment,” she says.

Even if people pay the emergency levy, she has no hope of a change in the situation because of what she sees as a culture of greed in public service.

“They are now seeing money as more important than a person’s health,” she says. “Even at health facilities, you have to pay a bribe to get good service from nurses.”

The article was first published in the Global Press Journal.

Pictures Credit: Gamuchirai Masiyiwa

Gamuchirai Masiyiwa is a Reporter-in-Residence based in Harare, Zimbabwe. An internationally acclaimed economic reporter, her award-winning work includes a Clarion Award for her innovative comic feature on Zimbabwean currency. Gamuchirai holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and a diploma in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Zimbabwe. She brings deep expertise and a fresh perspective to reporting on economic issues impacting her community.

A shortage of pathologists and a culture of corruption have made mortuaries sites of extortion and grief.

By Linda Mujuru

Emily Muchabaiwa comforts her sister-in-law, Antonette Chisango, as she mourns the loss of her husband. Muchabaiwa wasn’t satisfied with her brother’s postmortem results, and like many in Zimbabwe, they were left with more questions than answers in a health system plagued by corruption and understaffing.

HARARE, ZIMBABWE — Blessing Mucharambei’s uncle was just having lunch when he stood up, then collapsed. “[He] started bleeding from the nose,” she says, “and died on the spot.”

As far as his family knew, he had no health problems. As they struggled to make sense of the news, Chitungwiza Hospital — where his body had been taken to a mortuary — told them that a forensic postmortem would be required.

Zimbabwean law mandates postmortems for sudden or unexplained deaths, and public hospitals offer them for free. But there are only five qualified pathologists in Zimbabwe serving a population of close to 17 million people. The wait could stretch for days. And each day the funeral was delayed would add to the cost of hosting mourners, as some traditions require.

A police officer stationed at the hospital offered them a workaround. Instead of a forensic postmortem, they could do a general one — an option when no foul play is suspected, and quicker since it doesn’t require a specialist. But even that, he warned, could take days. He offered to fast-track the process for a US$30 fee. Desperate to bury their loved one, they paid.

“We couldn’t afford the time,” Mucharambei says. “We did it because we had no choice.”
A country in freefall

Postmortem bribes are just one element of a health system — and state — in freefall. Hospitals across the country are plagued by chronic underfunding, obsolete infrastructure and the mass emigration of medical professionals seeking better pay abroad. The government estimates that the country needs more than US$1.6 billion for its health sector to recover.

Underpaid and overstretched health workers have come to rely on informal payments as a means of survival, says Dr. Norman Matara, secretary general of the Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association. “People are trying to survive. But over time, corruption becomes part of the culture.”

He says it’s a common problem across hospital services, from the moment a patient is admitted. New mothers, for example, face extortion for birth cards meant to be free. A 2021 study from Transparency International Zimbabwe surveyed over 1,000 people in Zimbabwe and found that 74% had been asked to pay a bribe while trying to access health care services.

In March, a nurses’ protest at Sally Mugabe Central Hospital — the largest referral hospital in the country — exposed how dire the situation is. It was the latest in a long history of strikes by health workers, who have repeatedly protested poor pay and deteriorating working conditions. But their actions are often met with intimidation. In June 2022, the government responded to a strike by passing a law banning health care workers from striking longer than 72 hours, with penalties of up to six months in jail for participants and organizers.

A hospital corridor leads to the mortuary at Parirenyatwa Hospital. Zimbabwe’s public health system faces a severe shortage of pathologists, leading to postmortem delays and widespread bribery. Families say they’re often pressured to pay unofficial fees to expedite the process or obtain basic information about their loved ones.

A manufactured problem

Pathology services are particularly strained, Matara says. The few available specialists are clustered in major hospitals, which creates opportunities for exploitation.

Few medical students choose the career, and those who do face an uphill battle. Training programs are underfunded, mentorship is scarce and working conditions at public hospitals are dismal.

But this is partly a manufactured problem, says Memory, a nurse at Sally Mugabe Central Hospital, who asked to use her middle name for fear of losing her job. Memory has worked at the hospital’s mortuary close to 20 years.

“There isn’t really a backlog but a fake one is created by police officers, the doctors and mortuary staff to pressure families into paying,” she says.

These services are supposed to be easily available, she adds. A Cuban doctor performs the forensic postmortems on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, while the general ones are done daily. But families are often told there are delays. At times, they are asked to pay US$50 to skip it entirely, even when it’s required by law, or US$100 to expedite the process, Memory says.

“It’s a moneymaking scheme at the expense of grieving people,” she says.

Global Press Journal reached out to Sally Mugabe Central Hospital for a response to these allegations. They declined to comment.

Tendai Terrence Mautsi, the public relations officer at Parirenyatwa Hospital, the largest public hospital in Zimbabwe, says there are occasional delays with forensic postmortem cases, mostly due to demand. The hospital, he says, has responded by increasing forensic postmortem days from two to three. They’ve also cut the average waiting time from up to two weeks to just three days. To address the national shortage, Mautsi says, the hospital has partnered with Cuban doctors to fill the skills gap.

He acknowledges that corruption has plagued the process. But, he says, it’s part of a much bigger unravelling, and everyone has become complicit.

“At times you can’t find evidence,” he says. “When you want to investigate it, the patient is complicit. The service provider is also complicit.”

In the end, corruption harms people in need, says Tafadzwa Chikumbu, the executive director of Transparency International Zimbabwe. “For those who can’t afford to pay [a bribe], it means being left unattended,” he says, which erodes the integrity of public institutions.

The solution, he says, is to make ethical conduct — including fair hiring and honest service delivery — the standard.

Emily Muchabaiwa, in hat, Antonette Chisango and Keldon Muchabaiwa sit at their home in Harare. The sudden death of Emily Muchabaiwa’s brother — Chisango’s husband — was marred by irregularities, including the absence of a written report and the lack of a clear explanation from medical staff.

A cover-up?

Postmortem corruption means some families never find out what happened to their loved one. When Emily Muchabaiwa’s brother was found dead in Harare’s industrial area, his family was desperate for answers. The circumstances of his death weren’t clear, and the family hoped a postmortem at Parirenyatwa Hospital would offer closure.

Per standard procedure, a medical doctor or the pathologist should explain the results to the family, Matara says. There should also be a written report. But it was a police officer who delivered the results, verbally, to Muchabaiwa’s family. There was no official report.

“[He] told us my brother had died from tuberculosis and a cold in the lungs, but he struggled to explain the medical terms. Prior to all this, my brother had no signs of sickness,” she says.

The family was suspicious. Muchabaiwa says they believe the death involved foul play and the process was compromised. It would cost the family money to delay the funeral, so they buried her brother, who left behind a young son.

“We had no choice,” she says, voice trembling. “The postmortem failed us. Corruption failed us.”

The article was first published in the Global Press Journal.
Photos Credit: Linda Mujuru

Linda Mujuru is a Reporter-in-Residence for Global Press Journal in Zimbabwe, where she covers foreign direct investment and its effects on local communities. She holds an MBA from Midlands State University and Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Journalism and Media Studies from the National University of Science and Technology. Linda is one of Global Press’ most widely read and syndicated journalists and won the Community Champions Award from the Nonprofit News Awards for her story “Push for Gold Leaves a Toxic Legacy.”

ZIMBABWE recorded at least 38 new suspected measles cases last week from all provinces except Bulawayo metropolitan.

The disease re-emerged several weeks ago and according to the Health and Child Care ministry, 15 suspected cases and zero deaths had been reported by April 3 this year.

The ministry said the cases were reported from Mashonaland East (6), Masvingo (2), Harare (2), Mashonaland Central (1), Mashonaland West (1), Matabeleland North (1), Matabeleland South (1) and one case in Manicaland.

The cumulative figures are 93 cases.

Experts who spoke to NewsDay expressed concern over the re-emergence of the medieval disease.

Johannes Marisa, a medical expert, said there was need for more awareness so that people knew how to prevent the disease.

“Measles has always been there and it can come in outbreaks which can be sporadic like what you highlighted above. What matters for now is for people to be cognisant of the fact that they have to receive a vaccination against measles, especially those that have not been vaccinated,” he said.

Marisa said children should be vaccinated at all costs to limit the risk of contracting the disease.

“Children should not escape vaccination. If one is not vaccinated, they are at a very high risk of mortality since the severity of the disease can be very high.

“I encourage everyone to take vaccination seriously so that we have a milder disease or we can stop the spread of the viral disease,” he said.

Marisa expressed concern over religious sects that do not embrace vaccination, saying this complicates healthcare delivery as it leaves people exposed to preventable diseases like measles.

Community Working Group on Health executive director Itai Rusike described the outbreak as unfortunate, adding it was sad that young Zimbabwean children, mostly those under the age of five, continued to contract measles despite the availability of a vaccine.

“The current measles outbreak in almost all the provinces may be as a result of a drop in vaccination coverage or depressed vaccination coverage post-COVID-19 and other health systems coverage.

“There is a need to accelerate immunisation activities to reduce measles cases and a deliberate effort should be made to reach out to the leadership of the various religious groups so that they can appreciate the benefits of getting their children vaccinated against measles,” he said.

Zimbabwe suffered a severe nationwide measles outbreak in April 2022 that proved to be deadly, particularly for children.

More than 750 children died from the disease within first six months of the outbreak.

By Nhau Mangirazi, Newsday

CWGH Executive Director Itai Rusike

DESPITE putting up a brave front while attending to patients, one of the few doctors assigned to a district hospital in rural Zimbabwe is unhappy.

Speaking in a hushed tone, he confesses that all is not well for the medical staff.

They normally face harsher realities of mental health challenges.

“The sad reality is that many doctors are undergoing mental health challenges fuelled by poor working conditions and lack of innovation and medical equipment to use,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“We are working under stressful conditions.”

Three medical doctors, instead of seven, man the hospital, making the workload unbearable for them.

According to a random survey, doctors have not been spared by mental health challenges which have become a growing concern, amid an economic crisis gripping the nation.

Key stakeholders have challenged government to invest more in the recruitment of medical personnel to ease the burden on the few who are working in the health sector, many of whom are considering migrating to stable economies.

The calls were made as the country commemorated the World Doctors Day on March 30.

Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights executive director Calvin Fambirai confirmed that all is not well in the health sector.

“There is poor and limited recruitment, retention of skilled healthcare professionals,” he said.

“This can be achieved through improved working conditions and fair remuneration.”

Fambirai further explained that shortages of essential medicines and medical supplies have worsened the situation.

“Generally, doctors face shortages of personal protective equipment and it’s a battle for survival,” he said.

“We are committed to doing our best, but these limitations affect our operations.”

Community Working Group on Health executive director Itai Rusike acknowledged that in Zimbabwe, the standards have fallen really low, where doctors suffer burnout, low self-esteem due to the system-wide poverty, limited management support and lack of staff health support.

“While this mostly pertains to the public sector doctors, those in the private sector are also suffering from fatigue and sometimes late or non-payment of claims by medical aid companies, which take advantage of both the service providers and the patients,” Rusike said.

He, however, noted that by design, the work of a physician is mentally challenging as one is always expected to be in the know and to provide solutions, including support to junior staff.

“When no one cares for the carer, this becomes a tall order and results in mental breakdown. The family and other societal expectations also add rather than subtract from this burden,” Rusike said.

“Furthermore, doctors work as multi-professional and multi-disciplinary teams if they are to deliver comprehensive patient management.

“The current situation of a multi-systems collapse exerts undue pressure on clinical and public health physicians and their respective teams as they fail to provide optimal care and yet they too have numerous insufficiencies at personal level.”

According to Rusike, the work of a doctor comes as a package and gets severely disrupted should the tools of trade be unavailable.

“While medical doctors require a hospital environment to deliver effective services, the population health specialists require a conducive framework combining socio-economic, political and environmental provisions in order to function optimally and deliver the full basket of preventive, promotive, therapeutic and rehabilitative services.”

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said the commitment of doctors around the world was under silent crisis.

“Doctors worldwide face high levels of burnout, depression, anxiety and suicide. They dedicate their lives to healing others, yet their own mental health is often overlooked,” the global health body said in a statement on World Doctors Day.

It noted key facts affecting the doctors, including workload, low pay, unsafe environment and stigma that see many struggling in silence.

“WHO warns of a shortfall of 11 million health workers by 2030, where female doctors are 76% more likely to die by suicide than other women,” the statement said.

Globally, there are only 35% of countries that offer national work-related mental health support programmes.

“On this day, let’s raise awareness and celebrate doctors everywhere for the care and dedication they bring to their work everyday,” WHO concluded. -Newsday

By Vanessa Gonye, Newsday

CWGH Executive Director, Itai Rusike

HARARE, Apr. 2, (NewsDayLive) – The Community Working Group on Health (CWGH) says Zimbabwe’s hope of achieving the Abuja Declaration target on healthcare funding will likely remain a pipe dream as allocations and fiscal disbursements to the health sector have remained below 15% of the national budget.

Signed on April 27, 2001 when African governments pledged to allocate at least 15% of their annual budgets to the health sector, the Abuja Declaration was meant to strengthen Africa’s health systems and ensure they are adequately capacitated to manage natural disasters.

Speaking on the country’s failure to meet the allocation as stipulated by the declaration on Tuesday, CWGH executive director Itai Rusike said despite progressive increases in budgetary allocations towards the 15% allocation for health, the fiscal disbursements have been inadequate to keep the system afloat.

“The 15% mark has never been attained, with government spending on health care as a percentage of total public expenditure increasing only from 10.6% in 2022 to 11.2% in 2023,” Rusike said.

“This poor financing for health has been another sore issue for the health workers as they interface with clients they cannot adequately serve.

“The majority of clients seen in the public sector remain without comprehensive healthcare except for a few selected diseases and conditions which receive vertical funding (HIV/Aids, TB, Malaria, maternal and child conditions).

“Despite the recent moves towards integration, community health workers get frustrated rendering inadequate service and have, therefore, been moving to more resourced jurisdictions.”

He said the situation means that universal access to health remains beyond reach, until the budgetary bottlenecks have been adequately addressed .

Rusike also noted that the past two decades have been characterised by massive outward migration of health, education, social and other professionals due to the protracted social, political and economic demise.

“This state of affairs has greatly impacted the government’s functionality with the high levels of corruption taking resources away from where they are needed most,” he said.

“The results have been telling in the multi system collapse including public health infrastructure and services.”

Health minister Douglas Mombeshora last month claimed that several key health indicators had shown notable improvements.

“We are particularly proud of the advancements in areas like maternal and child health, disease prevention, and healthcare infrastructure,” Mombeshora said.

“Looking ahead, we remain fully committed to our shared vision of increasing access to quality healthcare for all Zimbabweans.”

CSOs, women call for amendment of Termination Of Pregnancy Act

By Virginia Njovo, TellZim News

Young women and Civic Society Organisations (CSOs) have called for the amendment of the Termination of Pregnancy Act (TOP) to allow safe abortion services to be accessed widely with studies showing that 25 percent of pregnancies end up getting aborted due to various personal and social circumstances.

Speaking to TellZim News in an interview, Community Working Group on Health (CWGH) Executive Director Itai Rusike, said there was need for the revision of the laws that abolish abortion because despite it being illegal, a large number of women were doing it unsafely.

“Many women and girls are driven into the shadows because of restrictive abortion laws and lack of clarity about their provisions.

“They continue to seek for abortion services outside health facilities, with most of these abortions being done in unhygienic conditions by people who are not trained to do the procedure, let alone address the complications which may arise leading to high morbidity and mortality,” Rusike said.

He said the topic was taboo in Zimbabwe and the African society but abortions continue to happen behind the scenes so revising the legislation would help promote safe practices.

“The topic of abortion is taboo within the African context and cultures, as it is not openly talked about although evidence shows that it happens frequently,” said Rusike.

Adolescent Girls and Women Rights Forum (AGWRF) Executive Director and Sexual Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) advocate Priscilla Mafa told TellZim News that the restrictive laws do not stop the need but promotes unsafe abortions.

“The restrictive abortion laws in Zimbabwe do not stop the need for abortion; they only make it unsafe. People are having backdoor abortions. The fact that 25 percent of pregnancies result in abortion despite legal barriers shows a critical gap in SRHR services, access to contraception, and comprehensive sexuality education,” said Mafa.

She said the restrictions endanger women and violates their bodily autonomy against the Maputo Protocol in which Zimbabwe is a signatory to saying there was need for policies that respect women’s health choices.

“Criminalizing abortion not only endangers women’s health but also violates their right to bodily autonomy as recognized by international agreements like the Maputo Protocol and Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), to which Zimbabwe is a signatory. We need progressive, evidence-based policies that prioritize women’s health and choices, rather than punitive measures that perpetuate stigma and inequality,” she said.

The Maputo Protocol, officially the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, is a landmark human rights instrument adopted in 2003 that guarantees comprehensive rights for women and girls in Africa, including political participation, equality, reproductive health, and freedom from violence

CEDAW was adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly, and is described as an international bill of rights for women, defining discrimination against women and establishing legal obligations for states to end it.

In another interview with TellZim News, My Age Zimbabwe Trust Communications and Advocacy Officer, Veeslee Mhepo, said there was need for legislative reform to expand abortion access as lives were being lost due to unsafe abortion practices.

“We are advocating for the amendment of the TOP Act so that abortion services become available in every healthcare facility. Currently, only Post-Abortion Care (PAC) services are provided, but abortion itself remains largely inaccessible.

“We are losing lives due to unsafe backyard abortions. In addition to advocating for legal changes, we are conducting outreach programs to educate young people on Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) to reduce unwanted pregnancies,” said Mhepo.

Several young women who spoke to TellZim News expressed their desire for legal abortion services to be accessible at public health institutions, as many young girls get pregnant before they are ready for motherhood, leading to an increase in unsafe backyard abortions, which put lives at risk.

“We engage in sex but in most cases pregnancy is not expected. It may be another burden on top of my existing struggles so I may choose to terminate it. In most cases we are forced to do unsafe abortions because of its legality. So we think it the act should be revised so that safe services are provided,” said one young woman.

Another young woman said some were getting pregnant whilst in school thereby affecting their school despite the government allowing them to remain in school. So she said there was need for the law to consider that and allow victims of such situations to have safe abortions.

“I might not have been raped, but if I fall pregnant before finishing my studies, approaching my parents would be difficult so terminating the pregnancy will be the best option. So access to safe abortion should be available for those who need it,” she said.

Another woman said if the government does not want to amend the law, at least there should be more circumstances in which termination is allowed.

“We are having girls below 14 getting pregnant and the law should allow abortion in that circumstance and any other which may be deemed appropriate,” said the young woman.

Despite growing calls for reform, Masvingo Urban MP Martin Mureri, who is also a human rights lawyer, opposed the changes to the law.

“I am against this proposal. We must consider the original intent of the legislature when this law was made. What problem was it meant to address? Has that problem been solved?

“Yes, we know that abortions are happening through the backdoor, but that does not mean they should be legalized. Culturally, this cannot be defended,” said Mureri.

The TOP Act, which was enacted in 1977, has remained unchanged despite significant social and medical advancements. When Zimbabwe’s Constitution was amended in 2013, the law was left intact, despite shifting global perspectives on reproductive rights.

According to the TOP Act, abortion is legally permitted only if the pregnancy poses a serious threat to the mother’s life or could cause permanent physical impairment to the child. Abortion is also permitted if the pregnancy resulted from rape, incest, or intercourse with a mentally disabled woman.-TellZim News