The 1994 Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey (ZDHS) is a nationally representative survey of 6,128 women age 15-49 and 2,141 men age 15-54. The ZDHS was implemented by the Central Statistical Office (CSO), with significant technical guidance provided by the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare (MOH&CW) and the Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council (ZNFPC). Macro International Inc. (U.S.A.) provided technical assistance throughout the course of the project in the context of the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) programme, while financial assistance was provided by the U.S, Agency for International Development (USAID/Harare). Data collection for the ZDHS was conducted from July to November 1994. As in the 1988 ZDHS, the 1994 ZDHS was designed to provide information on levels and trends in fertility, family planning knowledge and use, infant and child mortality, and maternal and child health. How- ever, the 1994 ZDHS went further, collecting data on: compliance with contraceptive pill use, knowledge and behaviours related to AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, and mortality related to pregnancy and childbearing (i.e., maternal mortality). The ZDHS data are intended for use by programme managers and policymakers to evaluate and improve family planning and health programmes in Zimbabwe. The primary objectives of the 1994 ZDHS were to provide up-to-date information on: fertility levels; nuptiality; sexual activity; fertility preferences; awareness and use of family planning methods; breastfeeding practices; nutritional status of mothers and young children; early childhood mortality and maternal mortality; maternal and child health, and awareness and behaviour regarding AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. The 1994 ZDHS is a follow-up of the 1988 ZDHS, also implemented by CSO. While significantly expanded in scope, the 1994 ZDHS provides updated estimates of basic demographic and health indicators covered in the earlier survey. MAIN RESULTS FERTILITY Survey results show that Zimbabwe has experienced a fairly rapid decline in fertility over the past decade. Despite the decline in fertility, childbearing still begins early for many women. One in five women age 15-19 has begun childbearing (i.e., has already given birth or is pregnant with her first child). More than half of women have had a child before age 20. Births that occur too soon after a previous birth face higher risks of undemutrition, illness, and death. The 1994 ZDHS indicates that 12 percent of births in Zimbabwe take place less than two years after a prior birth. Marriage. The age at which women and men marry has risen slowly over the past 20 years. Nineteen percent of currently married women are in a polygynous union (i.e., their husband has at least one other wife). This represents a small rise in polygyny since the 1988 ZDHS when 17 percent of married women were in polygynous unions. Fertility Preferences. Around one-third of both women and men in Zimbabwe want no more children. The survey results show that, of births in the last three years, 1 in 10 was unwanted and in 1 in three was mistimed. If all unwanted births were avoided, the fertility rate in Zimbabwe would fall from 4.3 to 3.5 children per woman. FAMILY PLANNING Knowledge and use of family planning in Zimbabwe has continued to rise over the last several years. The 1994 ZDHS shows that virtually all married women (99 percent) and men (100 percent) were able to cite at least one modem method of contraception. Contraceptive use varies widely among geographic and socioeconomic subgroups. Fifty-eight per- cent of married women in Harare are using a modem method versus 28 percent in Manicaland. Government-sponsored providers remain the chief source of contraceptive methods in Zimbabwe. Survey results show that 15 percent of married women have an unmet need for family planning (either for spacing or limiting births). CHILDHOOD MORTALITY One of the main objectives of the ZDHS was to document the levels and trends in mortality among children under age five. The 1994 ZDHS results show that child survival prospects have not improved since the late 1980s. The ZDHS results show that childhood mortality is especially high when associated with two factors: short preceding birth interval and low level of maternal education. MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH Utilisation of antenatal services is high in Zimbabwe; in the three years before the survey, mothers received antenatal care for 93 percent of births. About 70 percent of births take place in health facilities; however, this figure varies from around 53 percent in Manicaland and Mashonaland Central to 94 percent in Bulawayo. It is important for the health of both the mother and child that trained medical personnel are available in cases of prolonged or obstructed delivery, which are major causes of maternal morbidity and mortality. Twenty-four percent of children under age three were reported to have had diarrhoea in the two weeks preceding the survey. Nutrition. Almost all children (99 percent) are breastfed for some period of time; When food supplementation begins, wide disparity exists in the types of food received by children in different geographic and socioecoaomic groups. Generally, children living in urban areas (Harare and Bulawayo, in particular) and children of more educated women receive protein-rich foods (e.g., meat, eggs, etc.) on a more regular basis than other children. AIDS AIDS-related Knowledge and Behaviour. All but a fraction of Zimbabwean women and men have heard of AIDS, but the quality of that knowledge is sometimes poor. Condom use and limiting the number of sexual partners were cited most frequently by both women and men as ways to avoid the AIDS Virus. While general knowledge of condoms is nearly universal among both women and men, when asked where they could get a condom, 30 Percent of women and 20 percent of men could not cite a single source.
