This story is an account of Bindura young women who are conducting training on Devolution in their communities. Under a program entitled Creating demand for devolution by young women, the young women went through training on Social Accountability, Devolution and Leadership. This news story is a witness of how the training increased their agency, we hope it will inspire young women to participate actively in governance processes.
Read MoreThis short report is one section from a forthcoming monograph. The monograph is a detailed overview of the organised violence and torture that has afflicted Zimbabwe from 1980, as well as the violations that took place in the country known during the time as Rhodesia from 1972 to 1980 when independence finally came. The rationale for including the pre-Independence period, and a restricted one at that, is to illuminate the fact that some things never change: governments under threat have a propensity for resorting to coercive control. Obviously, war is one of those threats in which governments adopt coercive strategies, and the civil war that escalated in 1972 provides a graphic example of the way in which human rights violations escalate, but it is not only civil war that prompts the committing of gross human rights violations. As will be seen, the history of the past 49 years contains multiple periods in which Organised Violence and Torture (OVT) has proliferated. The issue is not so much the absence of OVT in some periods, but the frequency found overall in the past five decades.
Read MoreMental Health is too frequently the poor sister of medical care. Less money is devoted to mental health than many other areas in health, and, too frequently, it is not recognised how common are mental health problems. As pointed out last year in the Lancet:
From addiction to dementia to schizophrenia, almost 1 billion people worldwide suffer from a mental disorder. Lost productivity as a result of two of the most common mental disorders, anxiety and depression, costs the global economy US$ 1 trillion each year. In total, poor mental health was estimated to cost the world economy approximately $2·5 trillion per year in poor health and reduced productivity in 2010, a cost projected to rise to $6 trillion by 2030.
Zimbabwe is no different to most countries. In the 1980s, Zimbabwean researchers estimated that between 30 to 30% of people attending primary care facilities were suffering from some form of mental health problem. By 2005, this figure had grown significantly, and it was now estimated that this had grown to nearly 40% of primary care patients.
In addition to all the factors that generally underpin mental ill-health in Zimbabwe, must be added the twin burdens of high levels of poverty and the trauma of organised violence.
Mental Health is too frequently the poor sister of medical care. Less money is devoted to mental health than many other areas in health, and, too frequently, it is not recognised how common are mental health problems. As pointed out last year in the Lancet:
From addiction to dementia to schizophrenia, almost 1 billion people worldwide suffer from a mental disorder. Lost productivity as a result of two of the most common mental disorders, anxiety and depression, costs the global economy US$ 1 trillion each year. In total, poor mental health was estimated to cost the world economy approximately $2·5 trillion per year in poor health and reduced productivity in 2010, a cost projected to rise to $6 trillion by 2030.
Zimbabwe is no different to most countries. In the 1980s, Zimbabwean researchers estimated that between 30 to 30% of people attending primary care facilities were suffering from some form of mental health problem. By 2005, this figure had grown significantly, and it was now estimated that this had grown to nearly 40% of primary care patients.
In addition to all the factors that generally underpin mental ill-health in Zimbabwe, must be added the twin burdens of high levels of poverty and the trauma of organised violence.
Mental Health is too frequently the poor sister of medical care. Less money is devoted to mental health than many other areas in health, and, too frequently, it is not recognised how common are mental health problems. As pointed out last year in the Lancet:
From addiction to dementia to schizophrenia, almost 1 billion people worldwide suffer from a mental disorder. Lost productivity as a result of two of the most common mental disorders, anxiety and depression, costs the global economy US$ 1 trillion each year. In total, poor mental health was estimated to cost the world economy approximately $2·5 trillion per year in poor health and reduced productivity in 2010, a cost projected to rise to $6 trillion by 2030.
Zimbabwe is no different to most countries. In the 1980s, Zimbabwean researchers estimated that between 30 to 30% of people attending primary care facilities were suffering from some form of mental health problem. By 2005, this figure had grown significantly, and it was now estimated that this had grown to nearly 40% of primary care patients.
In addition to all the factors that generally underpin mental ill-health in Zimbabwe, must be added the twin burdens of high levels of poverty and the trauma of organised violence.
Violence against women and the marginalization of women’s participation in decision making is on the rise in Zimbabwe and globally.This problem manifests itself in terrifying varieties throughout the world. Women and girls experience verbal, sexual, physical, psychosocial, and other forms of violations in the fabric of their everyday lives in societies around the world. They are excluded from the decision making spheres. Marginalization, violence, and exclusion are affecting their efficacy in the economic, social, and political spheres, leading to their underrepresented.
Read MoreThere is no doubt that young people across Zimbabwe can play a critical role in, economic social, and political development at a national level. A close examination of Zimbabwe’s history will reveal that young people have been active as agents of social change since the struggle for Independence. However, over time, young people in Zimbabwe have become increasingly exploited as a vehicle for violence by diverse political actors regardless of race, party or ideology.
Read MoreThe Research and Advocacy Unit (RAU) is currently implementing a programme entitled “Creating Demand for Devolution by Young Women”. It seeks to empower young women to lead advocacy efforts calling for devolution within their communities. Devolution, which is provided for in Section 264 of the Zimbabwe Constitution, enables citizens to have greater agency in effecting better, autonomous representation, which, in turn, will ensure better accountability. Under the project, six community-working groups were formed made up mainly of young women between the ages of 18 and 35 years old. Amongst the objectives of the working group is to hold duty bearers to account on the use of public resources and delivery of services to citizens.
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