A youth-led initiative supported by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is complementing Government efforts to end child marriages and teenage pregnancies in Zimbabwe by mobilising traditional leaders and local communities.
The “Not in My Village” campaign, spearheaded by the Young People’s Network for Health and Wellness, empowers chiefs, village heads, and other community leaders to challenge harmful practices that put young girls at risk.
Speaking at the Conference on Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Nutrition (RMNCAH+N) held in Harare, yesterday, the network’s national facilitator, Dumisani Ngwenya, said the initiative is designed to support Government programmes aimed at safeguarding children.
“We are complementing the Government’s efforts in the fight to end early child marriages,” Ngwenya said.
He noted that the campaign relies heavily on the influence of traditional leaders, who play a critical role in shaping community norms and practices.
“Our approach is to utilise traditional leaders as change-makers and ambassadors because they hold authority in our societies and are a reliable source of influence within communities,” he said.
Ngwenya said the campaign has already engaged several chiefs and community leaders across the country.
“We have capacitated more than 52 chiefs and reached over 1,000 traditional leaders, including headmen and village heads,” he said.
Some traditional leaders have also introduced local guidelines aimed at discouraging child marriage and teenage pregnancy in their communities.
“They have developed guidelines — what we can describe as local governing policies — in their respective areas, and so far we have recorded 16 such guidelines,” Ngwenya said.
The initiative also involves training traditional leaders, their secretaries, community health workers and child protection committees so they can cascade information and awareness programmes within their communities.
Ngwenya said the campaign demonstrates that cultural change is achievable when communities take collective ownership of solutions.
The “Not in My Village” campaign is currently being implemented in districts including Chipinge, Mutare, Hurungwe, Chegutu, Murehwa, Goromonzi, Beitbridge and Insiza, which were identified through a baseline survey on the prevalence of child marriages and teenage pregnancies.
Through community dialogues, school engagement programmes and youth empowerment initiatives, the campaign aims to strengthen awareness and encourage communities to take collective responsibility in protecting children.
