title: Falling fertility and increase in use of contraception in Zimbabwe.
abstract: Zimbabwe does not feature much on the current debate of fertility transition in sub-Saharan Africa. This article is trying to fill this gap by analysing the ZDHS data. The total fertility rate of Zimbabwe was close to 7 births during independence in 1980. However, it has declined to 3.8 in 2006. This does not only show that fertility in Zimbabwe has been declining over the years, but it is one of the lowest in the region. The fertility trend observed is mainly explained by use of contraception. The contraceptive prevalence rate was 60 percent in 2006. It is noted that the contraceptive uptake has continued to increase even during the years when Zimbabwe was going through serious political, economic, social and health challenges. This is because the groundwork done on the family planning programme soon after independence put a solid foundation in motivating women to use contraception.
authors.affiliation: Population Training and Research Unit, Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, North-West University (Mafikeng Campus), Mafikeng, South Africa. Akim.Mturi@nwu.ac.za
authors.forename: Akim
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mturi
authors.forename: Kembo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Joshua
mesh_terms: D001723:Birth Rate / Q000639:trends*; D003267:Contraception; D003268:Contraception Behavior / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D003270:Contraceptive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003273:Contraceptive Devices; D003906:Developing Countries; D005193:Family Planning Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility; D006801:Humans; D009042:Motivation; D011155:Population Control / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D015030:Zimbabwe
chemical_list: D003270:Contraceptive Agents