Chitungwiza Community Development Network (CCDN) joins the international community in commemorating the World Population Day, a day to focus attention on the urgency and importance of population issues. This year’s theme is “Family Planning: Empowering People, Developing Nations”.
Access to family planning is part of women’s sexual and reproductive health rights which should be accessed by all despite marital status and age. Yet in Zimbabwe there is a high rate of unmet needs of family planning information and methods especially amongst the young women who are unmarried.
Fulfilling the sexual and reproductive health rights of young people is critical in achieving the new Sustainable Development Goals.
The agenda which calls for ensuring comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education and services, increasing gender equality, reducing poverty and economic empowerment cannot be achieved without improving young people’s access to family planning methods and information.
CCDN urges the government of Zimbabwe improve to planning methods and information access to adolescents to yield economic and other gains that can propel development in the country.
Accessing family planning information and needs can keep girls in schools and help them in pursuing their dreams. Women can build better future for themselves, their families and the whole nation through family planning.
Family planning preserves women and girls’ health empowering them to pursue education and work instead of focusing on having children for families.
Meeting the family planning needs of young women can help avert thousands of unwanted pregnancies every year thereby reducing maternal mortality from pregnancy and child birth related complications.
