By Hamu Madzedze
Sweden and Canada have reiterated their support towards championing Sexual Reproductive Health Rights (SHRH) and gender based violence prevention and mitigation,providing significant financial support and consistently advocating for these issues on the global stage.
This was revealed by the Ambassadors of the two countries in their solidarity remarks at a High Level Meeting held in Harare Zimbabwe on the International Conference on Population Development (ICPD30) and launch of the 2024 State of the World Population Report.
The International Conference on Population Development prioritises human rights including reproductive health rights,empowering women and girls ,addressing inequalities as well as the needs ,aspirations and rights of women and men.
The Swedish Ambassador to Zimbabwe His Excellency Per Lingarde said through their bilateral development strategy they are providing support to more than 10 different projects contributing to SRHR and the reduction of gender based violence.
"In addition to the bilateral cooperation ,our regional SRHR strategy supports several other regional programmes that trickle down to Zimbabwe with substantial results" said Ambassador Per Lingarde.
He added that Sweden is proud to be fulfilling commitments it made at the ICPD25 in Nairobi of advocating for SRHR for everyone with a strong focus on marginalised groups globally.
"Sweden is a longstanding partner of Zimbabwe working through various partners and remains a leading donor on SRHR" highlighted Ambassador Lingarde.
Ambassador Lingarde also commended the Government of Zimbabwe for the progress it has made towards the provision of universal access to sexual and reproductive health information and services.
"Zimbabwe has seen a considerable decline in maternal mortality rates and significant increases in modern contraceptive prevalence rate which is highly commendable" he said .
He added that Sweden will continue supporting the achievement of the ICPD agenda in Zimbabwe and fostering strong partnerships with government,UN agencies and civil society in achieving these goals.
Meanwhile Canada's Ambassador to Zimbabwe His Excellency Adler Aristilde said sexual and reproductive health is a precondition for women's empowerment and a crucial link to all aspects of development.
"Canada supports the goal of ensuring that women and girls in all their diversity can decide what to do with their bodies, their lives and future" said Ambassador Aristilde.
He added that globally Canada commits an average of 1.4 billion dollars annually aimed at improving the health and rights of women and girls , half of which is dedicated to sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Ambassador Aristilde also pointed out that Canada stands with the Government of Zimbabwe ,UNFPA ,local civil society and women's organisations,advocates ,activists, private sector enterprises and international NGOs that are working in collaboration or in their own way here in Zimbabwe to meet the shared goals of zero maternal deaths ,zero unmnet need for family planning ,zero gender -based violence and harmful practices and zero new HIV infections.
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