Japan assists Zim in HIV/AIDS monitoring
THE Japanese government, through Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), has improved Zimbabwe’s HIV/ AIDS monitoring and evaluation capacity skills through training health workers on strategic use of information through data analysis.
JICA coordinates Official Development Assistance (ODA) for the government of Japan, particularly in developing countries.
The three-day workshop for strengthening, monitoring and evaluating capacity for HIV/AIDS response was held in Kadoma last week.
JICA resident representative Mr Shumon MASHONALAND Central’s Mazowe District lands committee yesterday resolved to identity large and underutilised farms for redistribution.
This follows an address by President Emmerson Mnangagwa in Mvuma recently where he said big farms should be downsized to enable more people to benefit from land redistribution.
Some of the farms include the 205-hectare Elephant Trust Farm underutilisation, 1 800 hectare Chadsley Farm and Protea Farm, which has 1 061 hectares.
Speaking at the lands committee meeting at Mazowe Rural District Council last week, the district lands officer Mr Mark Kadaira said Chief Makope, Chief Nembire and Member of Parliament for Mazowe South Cde Fortune Chasi, among other people, did not have farms.
He added that rampant squatting, which was rife in the area, would only be addressed through redistribution of land.
“There is an issue of illegal settlers at Jumbo Mine and we need to find alternative land for those people,” said Mr Kadaira. “We are hopeful that through the downsizing of farms exercise, we will get adequate land to relocate people at Manzou Farm and give them a hectare each.
“In 2002 and 2004, A2 farmers were given land without offer letters; we Yoshiara said the project came after Zimbabwe requested bilateral assistance from Japan.
“This technical cooperation was initiated upon the request by the Government of Zimbabwe for bilateral assistance from the government of Japan, through JICA, which is the implementing agency,” said Mr Yoshiara.
“The capacity building collaboration’s aim was to help improve monitoring and evaluation (M&E) across the country, thereby improving the generation, dissemination and use of strategic information.”
The project, said Mr Yoshiara, was implemented in three phases, with the first phase having commenced in 2008 up to 2011.
Zimbabwe joined the project during the second phase of the project in 2013, which covers six other participating countries.
Mr Yoshiara said the Ministry of Health and Child Care managed to train and appoint HIV/AIDS focal persons, including monitoring and evaluation mentors, from the country’s provinces and districts.
“For JICA, its mission is completed as all outcomes of the project were met, but for the ministry, the journey continues to demonstrate its effectiveness and delivery of results,” he said.
Senior monitoring and evaluation officer in the Ministry of Health and Child Care (AIDS and TB Programme) Mr Ngwarai Sithole applauded JICA for its efforts.
“We are grateful for the support we are getting from JICA to improve the HIV/AIDS monitoring and evaluation skills in our country,” he said. “The district health information system lacked adequate information on HIV/AIDS as people do not come to get facilities available for HIV/ AIDS testing.”
Kwekwe District health information officer Mr Kizito Mupunga said the project by JICA was effective in the monitoring and evaluating capacity for HIV/AIDS response in their district and they were going to engage local authorities to correct data discrepancies.