‘Zim should have a gender equal society’
ZIMBABWE enjoys cordial relations with Japan which, through its embassy in Harare, has been contributing to socio-economic development initiatives in the country. The Sunday Mail’s Gender and Community Editor, FATIMA BULLA-MUSAKWA (FBM) interviewed the Asian country’s Ambassador to Zimbabwe TANAKA SATOSHI (TS) on a variety of issues.
FBM: Japan has been active in funding massive projects to assist Zimbabwe including in the health delivery system. Please outline some of these programmes you have embarked on over the years.
TS: Yes, we have been funding several large-scale projects through Grant Aid. The health sector is one of our priority areas where we have activities implementing development assistance. Raising prominent works in the health sector, we jointly funded the construction and equipping of Sally Mugabe Children’s Hospital with Canada, which was completed in 1998.
In Bulawayo, we provided funding for the construction and equipping of Mpilo Children’s Hospital and extension of the maternity wing in 1997. These large-scale Grant Aid projects were carried out to improve children’s health and reduce the infant mortality rate. A strong point of our cooperation is that we do not just provide funding for facilities and equipment and leave it at that.
We feel responsible for the proper functioning of these facilities for many years. Therefore, we also provide technical assistance and training, so that the staff can use and maintain the facilities with the utmost care. We also follow up to ensure that the facilities are continuing to provide the intended services to the beneficiaries.
For example, when we saw that the equipment at Sally Mugabe Children’s Hospital had fallen into a state of disrepair and the health delivery service was being compromised, in February 2020 we decided to provide Grant Aid of US$2, 7 million for a complete new range of high-quality medical and hospital equipment.
At Mpilo too, we upgraded the pediatric equipment at the hospital in 2014. Through JICA (Japan International Corporation Agency), Japan is also currently providing technical assistance to staff at these and other hospitals around the country, including four central and eight provincial hospitals, through the “Quality Improvement of Health Services through the 5S-Kaizen-TQM Approach” project.
This project uses a Japanese organisational approach involving all the hospital staff to ensure a clean and organised environment, thereby improving health services delivery.
We would like to see Zimbabwe’s health system attain further improvement for a high standard of care and achieve Universal Health Coverage so that mothers, children and all patients will receive the standard of treatment and care that they deserve. But our development cooperation can only support the efforts of Zimbabweans. Therefore, it is up to the Zimbabwe Government to seriously tackle the issue of health care and come up with ways of ensuring Universal Health Coverage.
FBM: Please elaborate on the delivery of equipment to Sally Mugabe Hospital?
TS: The equipment includes among other items, X-ray systems, bedside ICU and CCU monitors, an ultrasound scope, emergency ventilators, operation and examination equipment, as well as beds, cots, operation and examination tables.
And after the Covid-19 struck in 2020, we provided additional Grant Aid of US$3, 8 million to support Zimbabwe’s Covid19 response by upgrading the medical and hospital equipment at four central and eight provincial hospitals around the country including Sally Mugabe Hospital. These are the same hospitals where JICA is implementing the 5SKaizen-TQM project I mentioned. The equipment will include items such as the latest Japanese-made digital X-ray systems, bedside monitors, defibrillators, electrocardiograms, blood gas analysers, laryngoscopes, and suction units, as well as hospital beds, emergency carts, autoclaves, wheelchairs and IV stands.
The equipment for these two projects is currently at the procurement stage. It is a long process because a lot of equipment needs to be ordered and it involves bidding and purchasing the right equipment that not only satisfies the technical specifications requested by the doctors but also the actual conditions on the ground, such as the room specifications and hospital power supply. As I mentioned, we also provide technical assistance because we would like this equipment to benefit as many people as possible for many years. So, staff will be trained on how to operate it correctly and maintain it well.
FBM: You have also been supporting non-governmental organisations to carry out projects that address gender equality, tell us more about these projects and your expectations in supporting them?
TS: As well as healthcare, another priority area of our cooperation with Zimbabwe is supporting the country to achieve
a gender-equal society. Women’s self-fulfillment and greater participation in the economy, society and political spheres is indispensable for a better society and more prosperous economy. Yet too often, women and girls do not have the same rights.
Many cannot access the necessary Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH), and many find themselves to be victims of Gender-Based Violence. For example, through our grassroots projects, we are currently funding a centre for women’s safety at Overspill Market in Epworth so that women can feel safe while selling their wares or shopping at the market, and also receive SRH support, counselling services and training for their economic empowerment.
It complements the Safe Cities and Safe Public Spaces initiative being carried out in Epworth by UN Women and the local board, and is expected to assist 3 000 women and girls each year. We are also supporting the construction of a clinic for GBV survivors at Mpilo Central Hospital in Bulawayo, which will be a “one-stop” child-friendly clinic providing medical, psychosocial and legal support for sexually abused women and children.
Once completed, it is expected to provide support to 2000 girls and women each year. We have supported 12 such gender-related projects around the country. And to help save the lives of expectant mothers, we just handed over medical and hospital equipment to ensure that they receive the necessary care while giving birth in a project carried out by UNFPA.
It includes anaesthetic machines, operating theatre tables, bedside monitors, heart monitors, delivery beds, ICU beds, delivery kits as well as personal protective equipment (PPE) for Covid-19. It also includes eight new ambulances to decrease delays in transportation of expectant mothers, as well as the training of maternity care providers.
In terms of maternal health, we would like to see Zimbabwe achieve the Sustainable Development Goal three target of reducing the global maternal mortality ratio to under 70 per 100 000 live births by 2030, as well as end preventable deaths of new-borns and children under five years of age.
FBM: From your perspective, has Zimbabwe done enough to improve gender equality?
TS: Achieving a gender-equal and inclusive society is not just an issue for Zimbabwe. It is a worldwide issue. My own country, Japan, is also striving to create a gender-equal society. For example, most sectors of the workforce including in the business, manufacturing and political sectors, have long been dominated by men.
But now, with our shrinking population and ageing workforce as people are having fewer and fewer children, there is an urgent need to increase the workforce to sustain our economy. Women make up more than 50 percent of the population, so one way the Government is trying to do this is by providing incentives for more women to join the workforce.
Having more women playing active roles in all aspects of society, the economy and politics, will be indispensable for Japan’s long-term development. For this reason, we have introduced an initiative to “create a society in which all women can shine”.
FBM: This year, what plans are there, to enhance corporation with Zimbabwe?
TS: The 8th Tokyo International Conference on African Development, (TICAD8), will be held in August this year. The Ministerial TICAD Meeting prior to this conference has already been held online (on the 26th and 27th of March). TICAD will provide a new opportunity for the further deepening of relations between our countries.
We will make the best use of this opportunity to plan and implement new projects for further contribution in the socio-economic field in Zimbabwe and also promote business relationships between Japan and Zimbabwe. To promote investment of the Japanese private sector in Zimbabwe, providing information about business opportunities in Zimbabwe to Japanese companies is one of the Embassy’s top priorities.
Therefore, we are planning to attend the ZITF (Zimbabwe International Trade Fair). Unfortunately, we could not attend for the last two years because of the Covid-19 pandemic. This time, we are also expecting some Japanese companies based in South Africa to attend. And, we are also planning to attend other important economic meetings, such as the ZNCC Congress and CZI Congress, which will resume this year. We are looking forward to these opportunities.
I hope that this year would be an opportunity for us to collaborate to set out a pathway for development looking ahead to the post-Covid 19 era, although the pandemic has had such a huge socio-economic impact on African nations. We would like to make our relationship further diversified and multi-layered this year, through promoting people to people exchanges and cultural activities, such as the Ambassador’s Judo Tournament, the Ambassador’s Karate Tournament and the Japanese Film Festival, among others.
FBM: You also took part in marking the Wangari Maathai Day in Mbare with other diplomats, how important are such engagements for you in this country?
TS: I am actually not a career diplomat, but am originally from the Ministry of Environment in Japan. That’s why I am especially interested in environmental issues. I think Wangari Maathai is a symbol of the environmentalism in Africa and Wangari Maathai Day recognises the Kenyan environmentalist’s tireless contribution to protecting the environment in Kenya and Africa.
I remember that she visited Japan in 2005 and deeply sympathised with the basic principle of waste treatment policy, “3R initiative,” that is to reduce, reuse and recycle as much waste as possible. The clean-up in Mbare was just a small action to follow in her footsteps, but very important in the sense that we actually do something for the environment.
The environment is not something distant from us. It is something we depend on. I think that climate change and environmental degradation will be Zimbabwe’s greatest challenges from now on. As shown by the many parts of the country experiencing drought and erratic rainy seasons in recent years, Zimbabwe is no exception when it comes to climate change.
Therefore, I believe that protecting the environment and mitigating and adapting to the impacts of climate change are the most urgent issues that this country has to tackle. Otherwise, there will soon be many communities struggling to survive without clean water, clean air or fertile soil. Development must happen in a sustainable manner. I would like to continue to join others to raise awareness of the importance of the environment and take action to prevent environmental degradation.
FBM: Last week, Zimbabwe celebrated attainment of its Independence on April 18, what message would you like to share.
TS: I would like to express really my congratulations on the occasion of the Independence Day. It’s very important for any country and we were proud to have been part of the celebrations in Bulawayo.