By a Correspondent
Zimbabwe lost nearly 17 newborn babies every day in 2025 while more than one mother died daily from pregnancy and childbirth-related complications, Parliament has heard, exposing the country’s deepening maternal and child health crisis.
The grim figures, presented by Health and Child Care Minister Dr Douglas Mombeshora, reveal that 6,177 babies died before reaching one month of age, while 563 women lost their lives during pregnancy, childbirth or shortly after delivery.
The statistics translate to an average of 119 newborn deaths every week, laying bare a silent national tragedy that devastated thousands of families across the country.
Out of 410,051 deliveries recorded during the year, the deaths underscore the dangers many Zimbabwean women and babies continue to face despite ongoing efforts to strengthen the healthcare system.
Harare Metropolitan Province recorded the highest number of neonatal deaths, with 2,205 babies dying before their first month of life—more than a third of the national total. Midlands recorded 741 deaths, followed by Bulawayo (624), Mashonaland West (594), Manicaland (493), Mashonaland Central (434), Masvingo (385), Mashonaland East (368), Matabeleland North (175) and Matabeleland South (158).
Behind the devastating statistics are thousands of grieving families whose joy turned into heartbreak within hours or days of childbirth. For many parents, the dream of taking a healthy baby home never became reality.
Responding to concerns from legislators, Dr Mombeshora said government was implementing a multi-pronged strategy to reduce maternal and newborn deaths by improving hospital infrastructure, expanding the health workforce and strengthening referral systems.
“We have a multi-pronged attack to this problem. Firstly, we deal with infrastructure and equipment. Secondly, we deal with health workforce and then thirdly, we deal with the referral system,” he told Parliament.
He said government has rehabilitated health facilities, particularly in rural areas, renovated operating theatres and supplied more than 43 anaesthetic machines to district hospitals to improve access to life-saving Caesarean sections.
Hospitals have also been equipped with neonatal resuscitation equipment to help babies who fail to breathe at birth, while maternity waiting homes are being expanded to enable expectant mothers from remote areas to stay closer to health facilities before delivery.
However, the minister acknowledged that transport challenges remain a major obstacle, with delays in reaching health facilities forcing some women to give birth at home or on the way to hospital, increasing the risk of death for both mother and baby.
Dr Mombeshora also said government has doubled Registered General Nurse training intakes since 2023, opened additional nursing schools and shortened the waiting period for nurses seeking midwifery training.
While conceding that the challenge remains enormous, he said progress was being made.
“It is a long-term project to be able to reduce maternal mortality and neonatal mortality,” he said.
The minister identified birth asphyxia—a condition in which a baby is deprived of oxygen during delivery—as the leading cause of newborn deaths, followed by neonatal infections.
“For the neonates, the commonest cause is birth asphyxia. The second cause is infection, especially neonatal infection,” he said.
Among mothers, postpartum haemorrhage and delays in seeking professional medical care remain the leading causes of death.
The figures presented to Parliament paint a disturbing picture of a healthcare system still struggling to protect mothers and newborns during one of life’s most vulnerable moments.
For thousands of Zimbabwean families, these are not just statistics. They are mothers who never returned home after giving birth and babies who never lived long enough to celebrate their first month.
The starkest number of all remains impossible to ignore: 17 newborn babies died every day in Zimbabwe in 2025.
