Zimbabwe Commits to Stronger School-Based Response to HIV, Teenage Pregnancy and Gender Violence

Nokusa Masuku

Zimbabwe has pledged to strengthen its education sector’s response to HIV, early and unintended pregnancies, and gender-based violence following a UNESCO Ministerial Dialogue held in Livingstone, Zambia.

Primary and Secondary Education Minister Torerayi Moyo represented Zimbabwe at the regional meeting, which brought together education leaders from across Sub-Saharan Africa to address what has been described as a growing crisis affecting young people.

Minister Moyo highlighted alarming trends across the region, including high rates of HIV infections among adolescent girls and young women, increasing school dropouts linked to teenage pregnancies, and persistent gender-based violence in and around schools.

Addressing delegates during the dialogue, Moyo said the region was facing a complex and interconnected crisis affecting millions of young people.

“We recognize with great concern that Sub-Saharan Africa face aninterlinked crisis affecting millions of children and adolescents. Eastern and Southern Africa remain the global epicenter of the HIV epidemic with adolescent girls and young women disproportionately affected by the new HIV infections,” he said.

“Across Sub Saharan Africa early and unintended pregnancies continue to drive school dropout, child marriage, poor health outcomes and poverty,” added Moyo.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Zimbabwe joined other countries in adopting the Livingstone Ministerial Communiqué, committing to strengthen policies, curricula and teacher training to provide learners with scientifically accurate and culturally relevant life skills and health education.

The country also pledged to intensify efforts to keep girls in school by addressing barriers such as early pregnancy, child marriage, stigma, discrimination and violence while expanding support systems for adolescent mothers to complete their education.

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