Thousands of women still living under emergency plastic sheeting without access to medical services in settlement outside Harare
NAIROBI (AlertNet) – There is a “shocking” rate of death among newborn babies born to women who were forcibly evicted from their homes by the Zimbabwean government five years ago, Amnesty International said in a report on Thursday.
Thousands of women are still living under emergency plastic sheeting without access to medical services following the nationwide mass eviction campaign of 2005, known as Operation Murambatsvina/Restore Order.
“For those women, dying of babies is actually very common within those settlements,” said the report’s author, Simeon Mawanza of Amnesty International.
“We believe that most of those deaths could have been prevented had the women been able to deliver within the hospital.”
Amnesty recorded 21 newborn deaths in five months in Hopley settlement some 10 kms south of the Zimbabwean capital Harare. The settlement was created to rehouse 5,000 out of the 700,000 people who lost their homes during the 2005 campaign.
Most of the babies died within 48 hours of birth. Many had been premature.
“They (the mothers) are not able to keep their babies warm because all the elements just attack them from all angles within their shacks,” said Mawanza.
The nearest maternity clinic is 8 km away but it is often impossible for women in labour to get there. High crime rates in Hopley settlement deter most transport operators from working during the night.
Many of the women cannot afford the $50 required to register for antenatal care because they have not been able to find alternative sources of income to replace the businesses that were destroyed in 2005.
“They lost everything. When people lose everything they need some kind of support or even compensation for their losses,” Mawanza said.
Formal unemployment in Zimbabwe is 80 percent and most people work informally. Many women try to earn money by selling vegetables on the streets of Harare because they cannot afford the licence fees that the local authorities charge to run market stalls.
“They find it difficult to earn a living through the informal sector because they have to play cat and mouse with the police who sometimes seize the goods from women, fine them for selling things illegally,” said Mawanza.
Non-governmental organisations (NGO) struggle to support the impoverished families living in Hopley settlement without access to clean water, medical services or decent shelter. It can be hard to get approval from partisan community leaders.
“Such communities are politicised. The government tries to control access to these communities,” said Mawanza.
“NGOs do not have the kind of independence or freedom to go about their legitimate work without interference, or without being subjected to political scrutiny, some of which is unwarranted.”
The Zimbabwean government is continuing to forcibly evict people, Mawanza said.
In August, 250 people were forced out of their homes by the police in Dunhill, a suburb of Harare, Amnesty said. About 55 people were arrested, including five children.
“The police came at around midnight, gave the people 10 minutes to remove their goods from their shacks and set them on fire,” Mawanza added.
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