Country Office Annual Report 2022

Zimbabwe - 6260
Update on the context and situation of children
Zimbabwe has a population of 15.1 million inhabitants with a growth rate of 1.5 per cent. More than
half (52 per cent) of the population are female and 61.4 per cent live in rural areas. (Zimbabwe 2022
Population and Housing Census Preliminary Report).

The National Development Strategy 1 (2021-2025) of the Government is aimed at achieving a middle-
income country status by 2030, anchored on the devolution to promote inclusive local governance and
decentralized service delivery. The next harmonized elections are planned for 2023.

The economy slowed from a Real Gross Domestic Product growth rate of 7.8 per cent (2021) to a 4.6
per cent projection for 2022 by the Ministry of Finance. The exchange rate depreciated by more than
500 per cent and inflation increased to over 250 per cent, impacting the economy negatively, eroding
purchasing power and limiting provision of social services, with increased burden on vulnerable
households and children. The situation was worsened by the residual effects of COVID-19 and the
impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on the supply chain for food, fuel and commodities.

Overall Government spending on the social sector in 2022 was at 36.6 per cent of the national budget.
Health sector spending was 12.7 per cent, below the 15 per cent Abuja Declaration target. Expenditure
in water, hygiene and sanitation (WASH) stood at 4.8 per cent and education was at 12.8 per cent,
below the Dakar Framework for Action goal of 20 per cent.

Zimbabwe ranks 146th out of a total of 191 countries on the Human Development Index and 61 per
cent of children experience multidimensional poverty - worse in rural areas, high-density and peri-
urban informal settlements, and for those with disabilities.

The maternal mortality ratio decreased from 462 to 363 per 100,000 live births; and under-five
mortality declined from 65 to 39.8 deaths per 1,000 live births between 2019 and 2022, respectively
(MICS, 2019 and Census 2022). Neo-natal mortality rate has remained static at 31 deaths per 1,000
live births (MICS, 2019). Health service coverage, particularly in remote and urban poor areas remains
low due to weak and underfunded health systems and insufficient human resources, the impact of the
COVID-19 pandemic, and harmful social norms, including religious beliefs and practices that exclude
women and girls.

Malnutrition remains a key cause of the health burden in Zimbabwe. Stunting rates are at 23.5 per cent
amongst children aged 0-5 years (MICS 2019). Wasting significantly increased from 4.5 to 7.2 per
cent, and severe wasting increased from 2.1 to 4 per cent, respectively, between 2020 and 2022
(ZIMVAC 2022) representing the highest prevalence in the last 15 years. Poor dietary intake is
influenced by inadequate knowledge, cultural and gender norms, breaks in the global food supply
chain and inadequate financing, and the sub-optimal coverage and quality of nutrition services.

Adult HIV prevalence is at 11.6 per cent (UNAIDS, 2021). Against the UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets,
Zimbabwe is on track: 96 per cent of people living with HIV know their HIV status; 96 per cent of
people who know their status are on anti-retroviral treatment (ART); and 93 per cent of people on
treatment have achieved viral suppression (2021 HIV estimates). However, only 71 per cent of
children and adolescents (0-14 years) are on ART. The majority of new HIV infections are among
adolescent girls and young women (15-24 years) with an HIV prevalence of 5.15 per cent compared to
2.86 per cent amongst males. Key bottlenecks include low uptake of antenatal care by pregnant
women, high staff turnover and the limited participation of men and boys in HIV/AIDS services.
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Equitable access to WASH services remains a challenge for the rural and peri-urban population.
Nationally, 63.6 per cent of the population uses basic drinking water services. In urban areas, 92 per
cent of the population have access to basic water supply and 43 per cent to basic sanitation compared
to 51 per cent and 34 per cent, respectively, in rural areas (MICS 2019). Compared to the national
average of 22 per cent, more households (31 per cent) still practice open defecation in Matabeleland
North province (MICS 2019). Despite modest increases since 2020, current WASH investments fall
short of sector financing needs and there is inadequate maintenance and upgrading of WASH
infrastructure.

The receding effects of COVID 19 facilitated learning for students in 2022. Net Enrolment Rates for
primary education remained high at 90.3 per cent (up from 85.7 per cent in early 2020). A significant
improvement (63 per cent up from 32 per cent in 2019) was seen in the enrolment of age-appropriate
early learners. Despite these achievements, the percentage of primary and lower secondary school-age
populations who are out of school remain high at 10 and 17 per cent respectively. Schools lack
resources to deliver quality education, and parents and communities continue to pay school fees and
levies.

The child marriage rate remains high at 21.2 per cent for adolescent girls aged 15-18 (MICS 2019),
driven largely by poverty and social norms. Under-5 birth registration has risen to 49 per cent (MICS
2019) yet is among the lowest in the region (World Population Prospects, 2019). Violence against
children remains a concern with 64.1 per cent of children experiencing violent discipline (MICS 2019)
and 26 per cent working in hazardous situations in agriculture, artisanal mining and waste management
sectors (Labour Force and Child Labour Survey, ZIMSTAT 2020). Progress is constrained by limited
resources for child protection services and a shortage of social workers.

In 2022, donors supported UNICEF with over US$137 million for programming. Support from
traditional donors, development partners and United Nations (UN) joint programmes continues but is
impacted by the economic impact of COVID-19 and the Ukraine-Russia conflict. New opportunities in
private sector partnership, engagement of non-traditional partners and joined-up UN approaches also
contributed to results achieved for children.

Major contributions and drivers of results

The UNICEF Zimbabwe Country Programme (2022-2026) is aligned to the National Development
Strategy (NDS1) (2021-2025) of the Government of Zimbabwe and contributes towards the Zimbabwe
United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (2022-2026) and UNICEF Global
Strategic Plan (2022–2025).

Social Policy

UNICEF’s evidence-based advocacy informed by policy briefs on WASH, Education, and Social
Protection, and quarterly socio-economic analyses contributed towards the increase in public spending
on the social sector from 28 to 33.6 per cent of the national budget between 2021 and 2022. To
increase fiscal space in the 2023 national budget compared to 2022, advocacy through the UNICEF
‘Child Budgeting Series on child protection’ – a knowledge platform on public finance - resulted in an
increase in social welfare budget from 0.6 to 2 per cent. Likewise, the country’s engagement in the
Transformative Education Summit, with UNICEF’s support, contributed towards an increased in the
budget allocation to education from 12.2 to 15 per cent in 2023.

Technical support towards budget transparency improved Zimbabwe’s score under the Open Budget
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Survey (OBS) from 49 (2021) to 59 (2022) out of a score of 100. Ongoing work to strengthen child
sensitive service delivery at subnational level resulted in the production of capacity building modules
on planning, budgeting and equity-based service delivery.

UNICEF continued to co-chair the Social Protection Steering Committee with the Government to
sustain oversight and partnerships and supported system strengthening to improve targeting and shock
responsiveness of the system and development of policy options to strengthen social protection for
persons with disabilities (PwD).

The UNICEF-supported Emergency Social Cash Transfer (ESCT) programme was expanded from
three to eight districts reaching over 58,000 children, (above the 25,000 target) and transitioned 7,176
households in 2 districts to the national programme. Through a combination of cash transfers and
complementary nutrition and child protection services, the ESCT contributed to improved food
security and protection services for 26,000 households. UNICEF’s advocacy and technical assistance
to the Government resulted in an estimated 1.8 million children (24 per cent of the child population)
being reached through various social assistance programmes, indexed to the US dollar value to protect
against inflation.

In collaboration with the World Bank and ZIMSTAT, UNICEF supported high-frequency telephone
surveys (Rapid PICES) on the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19, which informed food insecurity
projections, child vulnerability monitoring and COVID-19 response. UNICEF established a new
academic partnership with Midlands State University to enhance evidence generation for child
sensitive research, policy and programmes.

Health

In 2022, UNICEF supported heath system strengthening and service coverage improvement. Technical
and financial support to the Health Labour Market Analysis informed finalization of the Human
Resources for Health (HRH) Policy, a critical instrument to address staff attrition. UNICEF supported
the development of the Zimbabwe’s National Surgical, Obstetric and Anesthesia Strategy and the
Quality of Care and Patient Safety Implementation Framework to improve quality of surgical care
including caesarian sections for pregnant women and care for newborns.
The multi-donor Health Development Fund (HDF), managed by UNICEF, contributed towards an
increase in the ante-natal care coverage from 39 to 58.9 per cent, and skilled birth attendance rate from
86 to 91.5 per cent, between 2021 and 2022 respectively, in 14 districts, through provision of medical
supplies and equipment, operational budgets and quality improvement initiatives. UNICEF’s
partnership with UNFPA and WHO in clinical mentorship and on the job training of health workers in
five provinces contributed to the availability of BEmONC in 94.62% of primary health care (PHC)
facilities and CEmONC in 93.3% of district hospitals.

Under the HDF, UNICEF procured essential medicines and commodities worth US$6 million,
managed results-based financing (RBF) in 42 districts and supported the training of 20,212 village
health workers (VHWs). Consequently, 96.3% of health facilities maintained over 80% availability of
essential drugs, only 0.37% of facilities were charging user-fees, and 8.7 million people (2.2 million
women 15-49 years and 1.4 million children under 5 years) accessed primary health care. UNICEF
supported 16,000 VHW’s with training and kits, resulting in 57,000 children (27,000 boys: 30,000
girls) with diarrhea receiving oral rehydration solution and Zinc at community level.

UNICEF procured and deployed 144 new Solar Direct Drive vaccine fridges and 2 incinerators that
improved cold chain coverage to 99.2 per cent of facilities. UNICEF’s technical and financial support
for out-reach and vaccination campaigns resulted in 1.98 million under-5 children (85.9 per cent
coverage) vaccinated for measles, and 86 per cent of children under-1 receiving at least 3 doses of
Diphteria-Pertusis-Tetanus-containing vaccine. UNICEF reached 2.6 million people with COVID-19
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prevention messages and with vaccination contributed to a decrease from 24,557 new-cases and 21
deaths in December 2021 to 187 new-cases and 2 deaths in December 2022.

HIV and Adolescent Participation

To improve HIV coordination and programme, UNICEF provided technical support for the review and
extension of the Zimbabwe National AIDS Strategic Plan (ZNASP) 2022-2025 to 2026, consolidated
HIV prevention and treatment guidelines, and integrated mental health for adolescents living with HIV
(ALHIV) into the national package for mental health. Deliberate alignment of the ZNASP with the
Global Fund application process is enabling the Country to access US$433 million in the new grant.

UNICEF contributed to HIV treatment coverage by strengthening the capacity of service providers
with new tools, knowledge and skills. UNICEF trained 68 medical doctors on the effective transition
of children and adolescents to optimal treatment regimen resulting in over 36,000 pregnant and
breastfeeding women and 50,000 children and adolescents living with HIV receiving services. This
contributed to 90 per cent of anti-retroviral (ART) coverage in pregnant women (meeting target) and
71 per cent ART coverage amongst children and adolescents, against the targets of 75 and 90 per cent
in 0-14 years and 15-19 years old, respectively.

To enhance adolescent participation, UNICEF trained 290 child parliamentarians, engaged junior
councils and established an Adolescents and Youth Advisory Committee (AYAC), resulting in
meaningful engagement of 109,000 adolescents and youth (target of 125,000). UNICEF, in
collaboration with the Government, UNFPA, UNESCO and WHO, supported the design and
implementation of an adolescent pregnancy study to better understand the prevalence and root causes
of adolescent pregnancies in Zimbabwe. The study findings will inform policy and programme action
in 2023.

Nutrition

To enhance access to multi-sectoral nutrition services including for adolescents, UNICEF’s technical
and financial support contributed to the finalization of the Multisectoral Food and Nutrition Security
Strategy; the Food Fortification Strategy; the Adolescent Nutrition Social and Behavioural Change
Communication (SBCC) strategy and drafting of the School Nutrition Guidelines. UNICEF and WHO
supported the revision of Statutory Instrument 46 of 1988 on the Code of Marketing of Breastmilk
Substitutes to strengthen support for breastfeeding. UNICEF convened high-level engagement on
Early Childhood Development (ECD), resulting in the formalization of the ECD coordination body
chaired by the Office of the President and Cabinet.

UNICEF supported nutrition counselling to strengthen resilience of communities, established 9,055

care groups in 18 districts and integrated early childhood development support, including responsive
caregiving and nurturing care, reaching over 546,000 mothers and caregivers (against a target of
400,000). Through UNICEF’s procurement and distribution of therapeutic feeding to health centers,
11,449 children (6388 girls and 5061 boys, against annual target of 12,685) with moderate and severe
malnutrition received treatment with a 70 per cent cure rate. Nutrition messages covering maternal
nutrition, infant and young child feeding, and micronutrient supplementation were rolled out through
the weekly radio shows, reaching over 1.5 million listeners. UNICEF scaled up Vitamin A
supplementation (VAS) to reach 1.7 million children (above 670,748 target, semester one) through
integrating nutrition into national immunization campaigns and strengthening community VAS
through VHWs.

WASH

UNICEF supported the Government to utilize the African Sanitation Policy Guidelines to develop a
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policy discussion paper to guide the development of the National Sanitation and Hygiene Policy that
will support elimination of open defecation in Zimbabwe by 2030. UNICEF’s advocacy contributed to
the national WASH budget increase from 2.8 to 4.8 per cent between 2021 and 2022. To enhance
quality, UNICEF in partnership with Stockholm International Water Institute and the Government, is
developing the National WASH Service Standards to improve performance measurement.

Although UNICEF/WHO Joint Monitoring Programme data shows stagnation of the WASH indicators
in 2022, at service delivery level, UNICEF provided 563,353 people (113% of target) with basic water
services and 134,771 people with basic sanitation services through the construction and rehabilitation
of infrastructure, behaviour change communication and community and district level systems
building. A total of 259,570 people in emergencies were reached with critical supplies. To address
sustainability and climate-resilience, UNICEF established 78 solar powered piped water schemes and
trained 478 communities in eight districts to assess water supply climate risks, identify climate-
resilient infrastructure improvements, and develop drinking water safety and security plans for
sustainability. Overall, 1.3 million people (670,000 female; 3,602 PwD) gained improved knowledge
on safe hygiene practices through UNICEF-supported hygiene promotion.

UNICEF provided climate-resilient water supply and/or gender and disability-inclusive latrines and
piloted climate resilient low-water use group handwashing facilities in 97 schools, benefiting over
50,000 learners. WASH infrastructure upgrades were provided in 95 health care facilities, benefiting
256,000 people.

Education

UNICEF supported the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (MoPSE) to conduct a second
Joint Sector Review and developed the School Financing and the Early Learning and Inclusive
Education Policies – awaiting Cabinet approval. UNICEF supported the Government’s preparation
and participation in the Transforming Education Summit which has improved political commitments to
state funded free basic education, implementation of inclusive education policies and reimagining
education, including broadening access to e-learning.

Provision of teaching and learning materials and sensitization on disability inclusion reached 9,778
schools and benefited over 4.5 million learners. UNICEF’s efforts contributed to an increase in
enrolment rate for early childhood development from 45 to 63 per cent and stabilized primary school
enrolment at 90 per cent, similar to 2021.

The School Improvement Grants (SIG) under the Education Development Fund, managed by
UNICEF, disbursed to 4,283 schools (98 per cent of the target) improved the learning conditions for
nearly 1.5 million learners (49.8 per cent girls). A further 836 schools benefitted from Complementary
SIG (supported by the Global Partnership for Education) for infrastructure upgrades.

Approximately 640,000 leaners benefited from the printing and distribution of 70,000 learning
materials distributed to 1,294 schools. In addition, 77,000 children with disabilities - CwD (42,000
boys, 35,000 girls) received assistive devices with UNICEF support, enabling continued access to
education. UNICEF provided technical and financial support to MoPSE for the production and
broadcasting of 385 Cycle 5 Radio Lessons, benefiting 3.1 million learners. To support digital
learning, UNICEF led the installation of internet and solar energy in schools contributing to an
increase in schools with internet connectivity from a baseline of 26 to 28 per cent in 2022. The
Learning Passport, a digital learning platform developed by UNICEF and Microsoft, provided online
lessons to 109,000 learners. UNICEF supported MoPSE to provide WASH facilities in 190 schools in
19 districts, resulting in more than 73 per cent (against a baseline of 69 per cent) of schools having
functional water sources.

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Child Protection

UNICEF’s advocacy and support to improve legal protection for children resulted in the passage of the
Marriages Act that prohibits child marriage, the Guardianship of Minors Amendment Act that
considers the best interest of the child in access to guardianship and development of a five-year Costed
Strategic Action Plan on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics system to scale up birth registration.
The second periodic report to the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child was finalized
and approved by the Cabinet to improve child rights monitoring.

UNICEF’s support to the strengthening of the social welfare system, including placement of Case
Management Officers (CMO) in 23 districts and mentoring of 3,857 community case workers (69 per
cent female), resulted in in 68,000 children (27,000 males and 41,000 females) including 7,000 CwD
accessing care and protection services surpassing the 65,000 target. Together with Civil Society
Organization (CSO) partners, a comprehensive package of services was provided to 38,000
adolescents (aged 15-19) who are gender-based violence (GBV) survivors, meeting the target.
UNICEF’s training of 1,245 justice professionals (710 females) resulted in 17,000 child offenders and
victims receiving child friendly justice services.

Through development of social mobilization tools and support for community caseworkers, UNICEF
reached 75 per cent of children in 32 target districts with information and messaging on protection
risks and reporting of child rights violations, resulting in an increase from 40 to 73 per cent in
adolescents who felt it was appropriate to report sexual abuse.

UNICEF trained 285 social workers in 65 districts and supported secondment of 14 Case Management
Officers to emergency prone areas resulting in 46,000 girls (against 60,000 target) who received
critical child protection services and another 57,000 people, against a target of 70,000, who accessed
GBV risk mitigation, prevention and response interventions. UNICEF trained 55 social workers
resulting in 41,000 children and caregivers (45,000 target), accessing community based mental health
and psychosocial services.

Cross-cutting issues

The launch of the office Climate, Energy and Environment Strategy and the Clean Green Zimbabwe
Initiative and the development of the child sensitive Nationally Determined Contribution
Implementation Plan, with the government has positioned children in the climate change agenda. To
implement the National Disability Policy, a national coordination committee was inaugurated. The
office developed the Gender Action Plan (GAP) to address child marriage, prevent and respond to
GBV and address adolescent pregnancy, being implemented with partners; and the Resilience Strategy
to guide risk informed programming towards multiple vulnerabilities and building capacity for
humanitarian-development nexus. To address harmful social norms, including stigma against PWD,
UNICEF coordinated Risk Communication and Community Engagement efforts, oriented 1,800
interfaith champions, 6,000 social mobilisers and 60 youth ambassadors across 40 districts to support
social mobilization across all programme areas.

Emergencies

UNICEF mobilized US$11.1 million, (33 per cent of the 2022 Appeal) and reached 2.2 million
children with assistance and over 5 million people with key messages in response to multi-hazards of
drought, floods, epidemics (including cholera) and the economic crisis.

Enablers

Budget utilization was 99 per cent and HACT implementation at 100 per cent for programmatic visits
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(181) and spot checks (66). The country office audit was completed with a partially satisfactory rating,
evaluation plan implementation was 75 per cent and 93 per cent completion rate for management
responses.

Public engagement reached over 6.5 million people through UNICEF’s digital media (Twitter,
Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube), a 20 per cent increase from 2021. Media mentions
grew from 134 to 240, and 32 stories were posted. Effective partnerships with donors resulted in
US$107.7 million being mobilized (67 per cent of plan). Prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse
(PSEA) assessments and actions plans were completed which lowered PSEA risk ratings of CSO
partners; and 1.5 million beneficiaries accessed community-based feedback mechanisms to provide
feedback to UNICEF.

The office had an overall satisfactory rating (72 per cent) in the people management key performance
indicator. Programme delivery was supported with procurement of supplies and services worth US$61
million, bulk direct payments of US$22.5 million in cash transfers to 24,000 recipients and deployment
of technology solutions.

UN Collaboration and Other Partnerships

In 2022, UNICEF collaborated with the Ministry of Health and Child Care, UN Population Fund
(UNFPA, World Health Organization (WHO) and development partners Foreign, Commonwealth &
Development Office, European Union, the Embassy of Ireland and Gavi to deliver critical health
services through the Health Development Fund. UNICEF led the Nutrition Cluster, and the UN
Network for Scaling Up Nutrition and worked with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to support
nutrition programmes.

UNICEF collaborated with International Labour Organization (ILO) and UN Development Programme
(UNDP), to design a programme under the Generation Unlimited partnership investing in adolescents
and youth skilling, entrepreneurship, employability, and social impact. Through this partnership, a
team of young people in Zimbabwe won a Youth Challenge global award on their innovative lighting
project in schools. UNICEF worked with UNFPA, UNAIDS and WHO under the Swedish
Government-funded UN 2Gether4SRHR programme to deliver sexual and reproductive health, HIV
and GBV services.

UNICEF co-convened the Child Budgeting Series with the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and
Social Welfare and Zimbabwe Economics Society, contributing to increased Government allocation to
protection. UNICEF collaborated with World Food Programme on joint social protection programming
and with GOAL and World Vision on cash transfers. UNICEF led the Development Partners Social
Protection coordination platform and co-chaired the National Development Strategy (NDS) Social
Protection Cluster.

UNICEF’s partnership with Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Education contributed to the

Government’s announcement of free basic education. Partnership with the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) resulted in capacity strengthening of Government in
research skills. UNICEF led the Education Cluster and was secretariat of the Education Coordination
Group to strengthen sector coordination. UNICEF worked with UNESCO and the Ministry of Primary
and Secondary Education to conduct a “Re-Imagine Education” workshop to garner political and
financial support for solarization and internet connectivity for schools nationwide.

UNICEF continued its partnership with ILO, UNDP, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNICEF and UN WOMEN
under the Spotlight Initiative to address Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and harmful practices
affecting children. UNICEF partnered with International Organization for Migration to support
evidence generation and progamming for Children on the Move.
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UNICEF worked with multiple CSO partners including OXFAM, Mercy Corps, Africa Ahead and the
National Action Committee for WASH (a multi-stakeholder coordination structure) on service
delivery.

To support resilience, UNICEF worked with UNDP and other UN agencies under the Zimbabwe
Resilience Building Fund in the areas of nutrition and WASH. UNICEF entered partnerships with
UNDP and Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) for the integration of nutrition and WASH into
resilience under the Enhancing Resilience for Vulnerable Households in Zimbabwe programme. Under
the World Bank-funded Zimbabwe Cyclone Idai Recovery Programme, UNICEF, with UN Agencies,
including the UN Office for Project Services, the national Government, local authorities and CSOs,
supported communities to strengthen resilience, including through the risk-informed Drinking Water
Safety and Security Planning approach. UNICEF also partnered with WHO to support COVID-19
social behaviour change programming and WASH in institutions strengthening.

UNICEF led the UN Programme Management Team for enhanced inter-agency collaboration.

Lessons Learned and Innovations

UNICEF’s experience in Zimbabwe in 2022 in implementing the new Country Programme 2022-2026
produced numerous lessons learned that offer great potential to accelerate results, at scale, going
forward.

Cross-sectoral and Integrated Programming

UNICEF has increasingly moved towards a cross-sectoral programming approach to support social
services delivery and achieve optimal results for children. Building from the Country Programme (CP)
Document 2022-2026 and the work done under the last CP, UNICEF developed specific work plans
for cross-cutting issues such as adolescents and young people, disabilities, climate, mental health and
psychosocial support and gender, in order to focus and coordinate efforts to achieving results in these
areas, as part of the broader rolling work plans. This work has enabled UNICEF to better plan and
monitor for results in these areas.

UNICEF has also progressed in implementing convergent and integrated approaches across sectors.
The Emergency Social Cash Transfer programme has provided an important platform to scale up
results for children across health and nutrition and child protection, using social cash transfers as the
entry point, utilizing data collected through the programme to target housholds with information and
other referral services. UNICEF utilized integrated outreach services to reach more children and
families with services, particularly remote communities, combining health and nutrition services,
including Vitamin A Supplementation to extend reach to 1.7 million children. The office has harnessed
data from the 2022 Census as well as ZIMVAC 2022 to identify key deprivations at district level
which will also inform UNICEF’s approach to enhance convergence and integrated programming in
2023, leveraging also on the devolution and decentralisation agenda of the Government which
provides entry points for strengthening collaboration and convergence programming at subnational
levels.

Innovative approaches

UNICEF continued to lead innovative approaches to improve programming and data systems in 2022.
In the area of technology for development, UNICEF supported the use of Computer Assisted Personal
Interviewing during the 2022 National Census, which enabled timely dissemination of key statistics to
inform programme planning as the average waiting time for results was reduced from at least three
months to one month from Census completion. The supply chain management system in the health
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sector was strengthened through support for the rolling out of the electronic Logistics Management
Information System (eLMIS) to all Health Development Fund (HDF) districts (42), provincial (8) and
central (6) hospitals as well as all 59 health facilities in Makoni district. The eLMIS enables health
facilities to efficiently manage supply chain management through timely ordering, stock management
as well improving LMIS data quality for accurate national forecasting. In education, UNICEF
supported the development of 4,152 lessons based on the curriculum, uploaded onto Learning Passport
(LP) and more than 15,000 teachers were trained on remote teaching and learning in collaboration with
UNESCO while 50 schools received basic Information Technology hardware to promote use of the LP,
providing online lessons to 108,934 active users.

Programmatic innovation has also been taken forward in 2022. Implementation of nutrition SMART
surveys enabled UNICEF to validate and improve the ZIMVAC methodology for increased reliability
of wasting and acute malnutrition prevalence estimates at district levels, providing a better
understanding of nutrition situation at sub national levels. The establishment of the young mentor dads
(YMDs) approach drawing lessons from successful young mentor mother models was another major
milestone to strengthen male engagement in pediatric and Prevention of Mother-to-Child HIV
Treatment services, which had been one of the key barriers to women and children’s access to timely
diagnosis treatment and care. Further, community engagement in climate resilient WASH services is
leading to sustainable solutions. In particular, the UNICEF-supported climate risk insurance schemes
for solarized piped water initiatives established by water point committees, wholly funded by
communities, will replace or repair high value components of the solar piped water system to reduce
the impact of loss in unforeseen circumstances.

Social analytics and community feedback

Social listening and community feedback in the COVID 19 response promoted rapid use of
information for informed decision making, responding to evolving needs. COVID-19 social listening
enabled identification of community fears, rumours and misinformation contributing to vaccine refusal
and hesitancy, thus provided UNICEF and partners with the foundation for reviewing, updating and
adapting the national risk communication and community engagement strategy and communication
assets. Based on feedback from social listening mechanisms, UNICEF supported the production and
dissemination of key facts debunking rumours and providing factual information on vaccine safety
how vaccines work; UNICEF also used information to update key messaging and vaccine Frequently
Asked Questions - reference documents for community volunteers conducting vaccine demand
promotion; and finally UNICEF used multi-media platforms to share life experiences and positive
vaccination stories to build vaccine acceptance among hesitant populations.

UNICEF harnessed feedback also from other platforms to inform programming approaches. UNICEF
supported the 393 Youth Help Line as platform for adolescents and youth to share their concerns and
seek referrals for essential services, receiving an average of 200 calls a day. UNICEF supported
Helpline Counsellors - available 24/7 - to listen to issues affecting young people’s mental health and
offer counselling and referral services; as a result, 270 cases on mental disorders were referred to
therapy sessions. The Helpline has proved to be a confidential and safe platform preferred by
adolescents and young people; 86 per cent of calls to the Helpline are from the 10-24 years age group,
sharing their concerns and questions on access counselling services. In 2023, UNICEF will scale up
social listening through the 393 Youth Help Line to identify, track and respond to issues affecting
children, adolescent health and well-being, including drug and substance abuse.

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