Ms Esther Zinyoro of Mbare, Harare, also known as Mbuya
Gwena, has become an overnight sensation due to the assistance she has been
rendering to expecting mothers, most of whom were stranded after council nurses
went on strike citing incapacitation.
Most people have spoken glowingly about the work she has
been doing under challenging circumstances.
Between Sunday night and mid-morning on Monday, Mbuya
Gwena, who stays a stone’s throw from Edith Opperman maternity clinic, has
assisted 17 women. On average, Mbuya Gwena is assisting 13 women to deliver on
a daily basis.
Her case highlights what has been happening in different
parts of the city, where expecting mothers are now resorting to home deliveries
in the wake of the strike by council nurses.
While Mbuya Gwena is doing a great job, the challenge that
her “clients” face is that of obtaining documentation for the newborn babies.
A lot of babies that were delivered at home have not yet
been issued with birth certificates largely due to differences in processes
followed regarding births at hospitals and at home. When birth has been given
at a hospital or clinic, getting documentation is relatively easy as the health
institution issues a birth record.
The birth record is immediately taken to the
Registrar-General’s Office for the issuance of a birth certificate. Larger hospitals
like Parirenyatwa have an even simpler way as the office is within the
hospital.
If the parents are legally married, the father or mother’s
national identity document is required, together with the couple’s marriage
certificate.
For home births, the parents of the baby have to be
accompanied by the person who would have assisted them to deliver.
Just as in the case with hospital births, the parent’s
national identification documents, marriage certificate (if available) and the
birth attendant’s ID is required.
Although some parents take long before starting the process
of securing birth certificates for their children, the process is usually done
within the first weeks of delivery.
However, under the present scenario, indications are that it
might take even more days for those who delivered at home to obtain the
documents.
In the case of Mbuya Gwena, there are fears that she might
fail to accompany the mothers she helped to deliver because of their huge
number and her busy schedule.
“Imagine if we had given birth in a health facility, we
could have just gotten the birth records before we are even discharged. Now
this situation will force us to come back again requesting Mbuya Gwena to
accompany us to the RG’s office, which is cumbersome,” said Mrs Appronia Jela
of Hatfield.
Mrs Maud Siyakurima of Epworth said there was no hope of
them getting birth certificates until normal services resume in council
clinics, arguing that the same person who is supposed to accompany them to the
RG’s office will be busy assisting other women.
“This place is always busy. I doubt it very much that
ambuya will find time to accompany someone to the RG’s office. Who would she
leave the other expecting women with? So until services normalise in clinics,
that’s when we can ask her to assist us to get birth certificates,” said Mrs
Siyakurima.
Other women were concerned on what would happen if they
lose the children before getting birth certificates.
“The situation is really tricky. What if one loses their
child before getting a birth certificate, what happens then? Does one then
apply for a birth certificate or a death certificate? responsible authorities
should solve this issue as a matter of urgency”
Mbuya Gwena was however, forthcoming on the issue.
“They will have to come back so that I accompany them to
the Registrar-General’s department for issuance of a birth certificate. That is
how I have dealt with other women from my church whom I assisted to deliver
before,” she said.
Women interviewed urged responsible authorities to “find
each other” with striking health workers including those at Government
institutions saying ordinary people were now bearing the brunt of the strike.
According to the RG’s Office, if a child is born out of a
health facility, a witness, preferably a midwife is required to be present on
birth registration.
Although The Herald could not establish the magnitude of
women who could be in this scenario owing to lack of accurate information on
who is giving birth at home and who is not, a number of women could be in
similar circumstances as most are not giving birth in health facilities.
Gukurahundi and Cyclone Idai victims are also set to be
assisted with registration of identity particulars, including birth
certificates and national identity cards, following recommendations by the
Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC).
Some victims of Gukurahundi lost their parents, relatives
and in some instances traditional leaders, making it difficult for them to
access identity particulars due to lack of immediate witnesses, since the era
of civil disturbances that affected Midlands and south-western provinces in the
early years of independence.
Fielding questions from journalists on Monday, ZHRC
chairperson Dr Elasto Mugwadi: “For Gukurahundi victims, the issue of witnesses
or parents is no longer applicable. We are making certain recommendations to
have the issuance facilitated.
“The same goes to those who lost their documentation in
Manicaland, particularly in Chimanimani and Chipinge; we recommended the
waiving of the conventional requirements.”
Dr Mugwadi said on challenges related to Harare Metropolitan Province,
preliminary findings indicate that the main documents which people were failing
to access are birth certificates, identity cards, passports and citizenship.
“Birth certificates challenges were experienced across the
age ranges from children to the elderly. Challenges included difficulties in
registering children delivered at home due to unavailability of birth records.
This was a main challenge cited across all the districts.
“Long distances and costs of accessing the Registrar’s
Offices were also cited as hindering ease access of documents by citizens, as
was highlighted by residents of Crest Breeders in Harare South, who are
advocating for a sub-office instead of them travelling to Highfield suburb for
services,” he said.
Dr Mugwadi said in Harare, the lack of documentation has
also been attributed to the withholding of birth records by health institutions
due to failure by parents to settle hospital bills.
Failure to appreciate the importance of birth registration
by communities, coupled with some religious beliefs that do not allow mothers
to deliver at health institutions, also complicated access to identity
particulars.
Further, the departure by parents to seek employment in
other countries has also been cited as a hindrance to access to identity
documents. Dr Mugwadi said other challenges included alleged corruption by
staff in the RG’s office, lack of documentation caused by parents of foreign
origin especially those from Malawi and Mozambique in areas such as Mufakose,
Highfield and Harare South, and the prohibitive cost of citizenship
certificates.
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), a
birth registration provides permanent, official and visible evidence of a
state’s legal recognition of any person’s existence as a member of society.
Undocumented people find it difficult to access basic human
rights such as health, education, social protection, housing, travel documents
and political rights. Herald
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