Minister on demographics affecting families
Sibahle Ndlovu
Nuptiality, fertility, mortality and ageing patterns have been identified as key demographic trends affecting the development of families globally and locally.
This was revealed by the Minister of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Hon. Dr Sithembiso Nyoni at the national launch of the International Day of Families (IDF 2023) in Gwanda today.
This year’s commemoration of the International Day of Families ran under the international theme “Demographic Trends and Families”
Minister Nyoni said there is need for all stakeholders to unite in addressing the trends identified by the United Nations so as to ensure full functionality of the family unit.
According to official statistics,Total Fertility Rate was higher in rural areas at 4.2 children per woman as compared to 2.8 children per woman in urban areas, a situation which the Minister identified as requiring urgent attention.
“Interventions are therefore necessary to increase the age of first child birth for young women, and to facilitate more educational and economic opportunities to capacitate them. This will help develop more viable families as better educated and economically empowered mothers will ensure that their families experience access to key social and economic services for their good,” she said.
Minister Nyoni emphasised the importance of addressing issues that contribute to non-natural mortalities.
“It is important to tackle disease, crime, GBV, unsafe work spaces and road safety issues, and to improve health and wellness interventions. This will play its part in increasing life expectancy and reducing the mortality rates in the country. This will invariably impact positively on families and help them stand as the strongest social safety net available.
2. It is therefore important to tackle issues that contribute to non-natural mortalities such as disease, crime, GBV, unsafe work spaces and road safety issues, and to improve health and wellness interventions. This will invariably impact positively on families and help them stand as the strongest social safety net available,” she said.
The current life expectancy for Zimbabwe in 2023 stands at 62.16 years, which is a 0.43% increase from 2022. According to the UNFPA, life expectancy for females is 64 years and for men it is 59 years.
She added : “On the issue of ageing as a demographic trend, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), in 2023, 3% of the national population in Zimbabwe is over 65 years of age. The elderly in this age group are playing the role of household heads and caregivers. This is in addition to economic migration by the economically active population that leaves many elderly people heading households.”
She implored all stakeholders to stamp out the vice of child marriages to enable families to be fully functional.
In Zimbabwe 1.0% of women aged 20–24 years, got married before attaining age 15, with 1.6% of these women being from the rural areas compared to 0.3% in urban areas. Additionally, the national child marriage rate from 2006 to 2022 stands at 34%.
Nyoni added that, “these figures give credence to the reality that early marriages stand as a negative nuptial variable that impedes on the socio-economic development.”
