By a Correspondent
Zimbabwe’s child protection system is under increasing strain as the country battles a growing exodus of social workers while grappling with a surge in violence against children, adolescent pregnancies and drug abuse.
Government officials have warned that the loss of skilled social service professionals is weakening efforts to protect vulnerable children despite years of legislative and policy reforms.
Speaking at the National Child Protection Conference in Harare, the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare’s Deputy Director for Child Protection, Shingirai Paungano, described the retention of qualified social workers as one of the country’s most urgent challenges.
“We are seeing a serious brain drain in our nation,” said Paungano.
He revealed that although the ministry recently inducted about 80 newly recruited social development officers, high staff turnover continues to undermine the delivery of child protection services.
“Government is making strenuous efforts to ensure that we retain the social service workforce. I am glad that the Public Service Commission has categorised social workers among the critical skills in government, but more needs to be done in terms of retention of the social service workforce,” he said.
Paungano said social workers remain the backbone of Zimbabwe’s child protection system and called for urgent measures to retain and strengthen the workforce.
“What we now need is to come up with strategies that ensure that we retain and capacitate the current social service workforce because they are a key enabler in everything that we are doing, a key enabler in the provision of child protection,” he said.
His remarks come as Zimbabwe rolls out reforms aimed at strengthening child welfare through expanded social protection programmes, digital social registries and improved case management systems.
However, Paungano warned that the country’s policy gains are being overshadowed by a worrying rise in child abuse and adolescent pregnancies.
“Irrespective of the progress that we have made as a country through legislative and policy reforms, ironically, we have been seeing an increase in violence against children. We have been seeing an increase in adolescent pregnancy,” he said.
He attributed the trend largely to weak enforcement of existing child protection laws and policies.
“More needs to be done in terms of enforcement and implementation of the current laws and policies that we have as a country,” he said.
Paungano also raised concern over the growing scourge of drug and substance abuse among young people, describing it as an existential threat to Zimbabwe’s future.
“Drug and substance abuse is now coming in as an existential threat to our nation, and this needs to be addressed,” he said.
He noted that Zimbabwe has long been recognised for producing highly skilled professionals who are sought after across the world, but warned that rising substance abuse could undermine the country’s human capital if left unchecked.
The ministry is also confronting other pressing child protection challenges, including child labour and soaring adolescent pregnancy rates.
Paungano said government recently launched a Multi-Sectoral Framework on the Prevention and Management of Adolescent Pregnancy following a nationwide assessment conducted in 2023.
“This framework seeks to address the current gaps that we are faced with as a nation, where we have a prevalence of adolescent pregnancies rising by more than 144 percent over a period of about five to ten years,” he said.
The issue has become so severe that it has been identified as a key priority under the newly launched National Action Plan for Children 2026-2030.
Government has also approved an Early Childhood Development Coordination Framework designed to improve nutrition, healthcare, education and caregiver support during a child’s formative years.
Paungano stressed that investing in children from conception through early childhood is essential for Zimbabwe’s long-term social and economic development.
“The first 1,000 days of a child’s life are very, very critical. We need to be intentional in ensuring that our children live in a safe and secure environment and receive the nurturing care that they require,” he said.
The concerns were raised during the launch of the National Action Plan for Children 2026-2030, a strategy developed by the Government and its development partners to strengthen child protection systems and tackle the growing threats facing children across Zimbabwe.
