A senior ZANU PF official has urged Zimbabwean women to avoid using contraceptives and to have more children.
ZANU PF Secretary for Women Affairs and Senate President Mabel Chinomona said the country’s birth rate was falling and was a cause for concern.
She was speaking at a recent Women’s League event in Murehwa West constituency.
“Women, please stop using family planning; please go and give birth,” said Chinomona.
“Our soldiers are now few; we need farmers, doctors and nurses while you are busy swallowing those pills.
“We are supposed to build this country, yet you find children of this generation saying a single child is enough. How many siblings do you have?”
At independence in 1980, the fertility rate was close to seven children per woman.
By 1990, it had fallen to about 4.9. By 2006, it was down to between 3.6 and 3.8.
Current estimates put the rate at between 3.2 and 3.6 children per woman, which remains above the replacement level of 2.1.
The decline has been driven mainly by increased access to family planning, the rising cost of raising children, and higher levels of education among women.
More: NewZimbabwe.com
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