FOR any nation to lose four women everyday while giving birth is unsustainable and totally unacceptable.
Unfortunately, this is the sad case for Zimbabwe, where the death of four women while giving life everyday is an awfully huge number for a country that claims it subscribes to global sustainable development and the 2030 Agenda aimed at creating “a world of universal respect for human rights and human dignity, the rule of law, justice, equality and non-discrimination”.
For a nation like Zimbabwe to be losing women in such huge numbers while giving life speaks to the many challenges it is facing in trying to navigate the complexities and interconnectedness of issues that inform its desire not to be left behind by the rest of the world.
The number of women dying while giving birth in Zimbabwe is indicative of the fact that the southern Africa country is dismally performing in six critical areas of the 17 sustainable development goals.
The critical areas that have created this unsustainable state of affairs in Zimbabwe are poverty, hunger, poor health and well-being, poor education, gender inequality and lack of access to clean water and sanitation.
While most of the world is making commendable progress in ending poverty, hunger, poor health and well-being, poor education, gender inequality and inability to access clean water and sanitation, Zimbabwe is evidently found wanting in all these areas because if it was making any reasonable progress not so many women would be dying while giving life.
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It is, therefore, incumbent on Zimbabwe to seriously act on this very critical issue and spare no effort in making sure that no woman dies while giving birth.
In fact, this is quite embarrassing and an indictment for a country capable of ending poverty, hunger, poor health and well-being, poor education, gender inequality and poor access to clean water and sanitation if it chooses to do so.
It is anomalous, if not scandalous, for a country endowed with vast resources — human, mineral, flora and fauna, arable soils, and abundant underground and surface water, to allow so many of its women to die giving birth.
There is definitely no reason or excuse for Zimbabwe to lose four women each day given that its health, education, agriculture and potable water systems were once upon a time world class.
There is obviously something wrong in the manner this country is being run because, honestly speaking, no government, which is very clear on its obligations, cannot be jolted into action when women — who are a vital resource of any nation — die in such large numbers while giving life for that matter.
These large numbers of women dying while giving life must jolt the government into taking immediate action.