The Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey (ZDHS) is currently being conducted in the country with technical support from the United Nations Population Fund and funding from several development partners, including Health Resilience Fund partners. The survey being conducted by the Zimbabwe Statistical Agency (ZIMSTAT) aims to collect accurate and current data on the country's population, health and demographic trends.
Support being provided to the ZDHS is ongoing, encompassing various activities such as conducting household listings, delivering training on data collection, and undertaking extensive awareness-raising efforts regarding the survey.
By proactively undertaking awareness raising campaigns before and during the data collection process, the ZDHS has achieved several positive outcomes including increase in participation. These campaigns encouraged more individuals to take part in the survey, resulting in a higher response rate and more representative data.
Furthermore, the heightened awareness has facilitated enhanced community engagement, ownership, greater cooperation, transparency and trust in the survey process, subsequently reducing scepticism and mistrust.
The ongoing data collection is expected to be concluded at the end of May 2024. Thereafter, the data will undergo cleaning, editing, and analysis.
The Health Resilience Fund is a coordinated effort by the Government of Zimbabwe and Development Partners in support of the Ministry of Health and Child Care, to improve health systems resilience to shocks, equitable access to quality health care in Zimbabwe, with special emphasis on women, new-borns, children, adolescents, youth, and health emergencies running from 2022 to 2025.
It is led by the Ministry of Health and Child Care with financial contributions from the European Union, the Governments of Ireland and the United Kingdom, and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and technical support from UNFPA, UNICEF, and the WHO.
