Preamble:

As VicFallsLive and its staff, we commit ourselves to the highest standards of independent journalism.  We serve the public’s right to know in line with Section 20 of Zimbabwe’s donstitution which guarantees this fundamental right in order to allow citizens to make informed decisions and judgments about their society. We pledge to exercise our role with care and responsibility to safeguard public trust in our integrity.

1.  Accuracy & sourcing

Our first duty is to report accurately. We will take care to evaluate information provided to us and to cross-check it as much as possible before publishing. We will show readers the chain of evidence we have.

1.1 The more serious and controversial a claim is, the more corroboration will be required before it can be published. A single source will not usually be sufficient. Secondary sources like other newspaper reports will be treated with caution, and clearly identified.

1.2 Anonymous sources will be avoided unless there is no other way to handle a story and there is extensive additional evidence available. Where sources cannot be named, they will still be identified as closely as possible by reference to their organisation, position, relevance to the story or similar safeguards.

1.3 Anonymity will only be granted if the source can persuade us that they have sound reasons for the request. It is not available to people peddling rumour, comment or spin. However, once it has been granted, the newspaper will protect the identity of the source.  

1.4 We will take particular care with information that is passed on to us in furtherance of a particular agenda, and will seek additional corroboration in the light of the motives and interests of a source.

1.5 Plagiarism will not be tolerated.

1.6 Headlines, captions and posters will fairly reflect the content of articles.

1.7 Special care will be taken with details like numbers, dates, names and words from languages other than English.

2. Fairness

We will treat the sources and subjects of our reporting fairly, making sure they have a full opportunity to respond to reporting that may affect them.

This means actively seeking out all relevant views and giving people sufficient time to formulate a response. A report can only go ahead without relevant responses if the opportunity to comment has been declined, or if the editor is satisfied that all reasonable measures have been exhausted. In this case, the situation will be explained to readers.

3. Independence

Our journalistic duty to inform the public trumps all other considerations, whether they are financial, political, personal or any other non-professional interests. This includes the business interests of the platform itself. We will avoid conflicts of interest as well as the appearance of conflicts of interest.

3.1 Editorial material will be kept clearly distinct from advertising or any paid-for content. Any outside support for editorial work, such as through sponsored travel, will be declared in the relevant report.

3.2 Gifts, favours and freebies will be handled in accordance with the platform‘s policy, which is designed to underline that our goodwill cannot be bought through these means.

3.3 Journalists may only take on outside paid work if it does not impact on their primary responsibilities or create a perception of a conflict of interest, and then only with the permission of the editor.

3.4 Journalists will bear in mind that their private activities can impact on their and the platform‘s reputation. This extends to opinions expressed on public or semi-public social networking platforms.

4. Minimising harm

We recognise that the media can have a harmful impact on the subjects of our reports, our sources, our audiences and society in general, and pledge to minimise it. We will take particular care when dealing with vulnerable people and groups.

4.1 We will not fuel racism or racist stereotypes and will not tolerate any form of hate speech. However, we will not shy away from reporting issues involving race.

4.3 We will avoid racial labels unless they are essential to understanding. Similarly, we will avoid other labels that may feed into social prejudices of various kinds, around religion, culture, gender, sexual orientation, HIV status and many others. We will be careful to avoid anything that fuels xenophobia.

4.4 We will take note of social sensitivities around religion, death, the portrayal of nudity, sex and violence, the use of strong language and others. We will not offend these sensitivities gratuitously.

4.5 Any infringement of an individual’s privacy – a right guaranteed by law – must be fully justified by a clear and strong public interest. It must be carefully considered, and proportionate to the level of public interest. We recognise that people in positions of importance or who have sought a life in the public eye have a reduced right to privacy and indeed require greater scrutiny.  

4.6 We will take great care to avoid the possibility of direct harm to a source.  Where this seems possible, extra steps will be taken to make sure the source understands the dangers and gives informed consent, and steps to mitigate the danger are put in place.

4.7 We will take particular care to avoid harm to children.  While it is important to seek out the views of children, we will not do anything that may expose them to abuse, discrimination, retribution, embarrassment or any other risk. We will make sure that we consult with a parent or guardian about any impact our reporting may have on the child. We will not use sexualised images of children.

4.8 We will take great care when publishing pictures of children, the disabled, and people in difficult circumstances.

4.9 We will avoid wherever possible publishing photos of corpses or other gruesome pictures which readers may deem offensive. Publication of such photos will only be done when there is a compelling reason to do so.

5.  Reporting methods

We will use open, honest means to gather information. Exceptions can only be made when there is strong public interest in a story and there are no alternative methods available.

5.1 We will identify ourselves as reporters to potential sources.  We respect the law, and our reporters are required to have a good understanding of relevant legal provisions.  

5.2 We will respect off-the-record and similar arrangements.  Agreements with sources must be clear, and are binding on the newspaper and its journalists.

5.3 We do not pay for information.

5.4 We do not allow sources to vet our reports before publication. Sometimes, however, it is advisable for reporters to check back to ensure the accuracy of technically complex information, quotes and the like.

5.5 We will keep detailed records of all interviews we conduct, either in note form or preferably as a recording.  

6. Accountability

We accept the same level of public scrutiny and accountability as we subject others to. At all times, responses to complaints will be generous, helpful and governed by the need to make sure readers get the fullest information available.

6.1 We will correct errors with due prominence as soon as we become aware of them. Errors online will not be invisibly corrected. Instead, a note with the correction will be posted with the original article.

6.2 In addition to corrections of factual errors, the platformoffers the following corrective measures:

These measures can be used in conjunction, and are at the editor’s discretion.

6.2 We accept the jurisdiction of the Voluntary Media Council

7. General

7.1 VicFallsLive reviews of artistic work are written fairly, in order to help readers decide what to see and how to understand it. They do not offer an opportunity to degrade or humiliate.  

7.2 Columnists and commentators are expected to write fairly and honestly, but this does not suggest a bar on strongly opinionated writing. Fact and opinion will be clearly distinguishable.  The platform will seek out a wide range of views, including particularly voices not often heard.

7.3 The platform will encourage readers’ involvement in discussion through the feedback on social media pagesetc. Criticism of the platform and its approach is welcome, but basic standards of decency will be enforced.

7.4 This code applies to all staff. Where there is doubt about how to proceed, journalists must take advice from section heads or the editor.

: Gifts, freebies and outside interests policy

This policy is designed to manage the issue of gifts and freebies, in order to avoid an impression of conflicts of interest impacting on the reputation of VicFallsLive and its staff.

1. Gifts and freebies:

1.1 In general, staff are not allowed to accept gifts with a value of over $20.

1.2 Gifts can include cash, items of value, loans, travel, hospitality or other things.  Where they are offered for review purposes, tickets to events, books, computer games or similar are not seen as gifts.

1.3 Where practicable and where it would not cause offence, a gift should be returned promptly and with a polite explanation.

1.4 PR handouts that come into the newsroom or to individual journalists must be handed to the managing editor.  From time to time, s/he will organise an auction in the newsroom, and the proceeds will be donated to a charity.

1.5 An offer of funded or subsidised travel or hospitality for an editorial purposes can only be accepted with the permission of the editor, who will decide which reporter will take up the offer. Such offers will only be accepted if there is a legitimate news story to write, which the paper otherwise would not be able to afford to cover. Where such an offer is accepted, a note at the end of the report will explain the situation.

1.6 A staffer may not solicit free or discounted food, drink, gifts or similar benefits on the basis of his or her employment as a journalist.

2. Register of interests:

2.1 The managing editor will be in charge of a register of interests, where all editorial staff are required to declare any outside interests, including but not limited to:

BY LINDA MUJURU

This story was originally published by Global Press Journal.

Agnes Tauzeni stands on her parched field. She is a mother to two children, and is expecting another. But now, in a time that might otherwise have been joyful, her hopes wither like the struggling crops before her.

Three times she’s gambled on the rains; three times the sky has betrayed her. Her first two plantings failed. The soil was too dry to sustain life. Though her third attempt yielded a few weak shoots, they offered little promise of a meaningful harvest. El Niño-driven droughts have disrupted once-reliable rains, leaving Tauzeni’s family and many like hers struggling to feed themselves.

“I am always hungry,” Tauzeni says.

She worries about the health of her unborn child, based on how little nutrition she consumes herself.

Adding to this, food aid, previously funded by the US Agency for International Development, halted suddenly in January. That transformed what was already a struggle into a desperate battle for survival.

The food aid ended when US President Donald Trump, on his first day in office, issued an executive order that paused nearly all US foreign aid, most of which was administered by USAID. That agency is now all but defunct.

Food aid in Zimbabwe was an ongoing area of funding for USAID. In November 2024, the agency announced $130 million for two seven-year programs, implemented by CARE and Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture, that would provide food aid and other related support to areas of Zimbabwe most in need. The programs, which stopped, were just part of an ongoing slate of activities designed to help Zimbabwe’s neediest people.

About 7.6 million people in Zimbabwe — nearly half the country’s population — need humanitarian assistance, according to a 2025 UNICEF report. Of those, nearly 6 million, like Tauzeni, rely on subsistence farming.

Through the support of organizations with funding from USAID, people previously received cereals, edible seeds, oil and food vouchers.

“A sudden withdrawal can put the entire community in a dire situation,” says Hilton Mbozi, a seed systems and climate change expert.

Tauzeni recalls that her community used to receive food supplies such as beans, cooking oil and peanut butter to help combat malnutrition.

When Tauzeni got married in 2017, her fields promised abundance. Her harvests were plentiful, and her family never lacked food. Now, those memories feel like whispers from another world. The past two agricultural seasons, those harvests have been devastatingly poor.

With an empty granary and dwindling options, Tauzeni’s family survives on the same food every day: baobab porridge in the morning and sadza with wild okra in the evening. But Tauzeniworries whether even this will be on the table in the coming months.

“The little maize I have, I got after weeding someone else’s crops, but that won’t take us far,” she says.

Tauzeni says a 20-kilogram (44-pound) bag of maize costs US$13 in her village, an amount out of reach for her. Her only source of income is farming. When that fails, she has no money at all.

Hunger like Tauzeni experiences is widespread. Some families now eat just once a day.

Headman David Musau, leader of Musau village where Tauzenilives, says some people in his village did not plant any seeds this season, fearing losses due to the low rainfall. The government provides food aid inconsistently, usually 7 kilograms (15 pounds) of wheat per person for three months.

“It’s not enough, but it helps,” he says.

But without any other food aid, survival is at stake, he says. “People will die in the near future.”

BY GAMUCHIRAI MASIYIWA

Summary: The quiet return of maternity fees and the black-market sale of essential documents put extra burdens on mothers as they struggle to navigate a broken system.

First-time mother Connie Jowastands with her 3-month-old baby nestled against her back, chatting with other mothers in line. Like many women at this crowded clinic in Harare’s Mabvuku suburb, Jowa is trying to get a Child Health Card, which was unavailable when she gave birth at a public hospital, and was still out of reach at her local clinic. Health cards are mysteriously out of stock.

But they can be bought under the table, if you know who to ask and are willing to pay.

Zimbabwe’s Child Health Cards, meant to be free to new mothers, are crucial documents that track babies’ growth, vaccinations and medical histories. Without them, each clinic visit becomes a reset button. Inquiry into the child’s medical history starts from scratch. Since July 2024, the cards have disappeared from health facilities across Harare’s central hospitals and 42 council clinics — even though the card’s producers say they’re making enough to meet demand. This artificial shortage has birthed a shadow market where clinic staff quietly sell this essential document to desperate mothers. This sort of nickel-and-dime bribery exposes deep cracks in a health care system that’s already failing the most vulnerable people.

What started as a clandestine operation has become an open secret.

“When cards arrive at a clinic, they’re kept by the sister in charge. But it’s usually nurse aides or junior staff who sell them, working in cahoots with other staff members,” says Simbarashe James Tafirenyika, who leads the Zimbabwe Municipality’s Nurses and Allied Workers Union.

Someone who sells 100 cards can pocket around US$500, she says, and none of that money goes to the government of the council.

The going rate for the Child Health Card is US$5, say several mothers who spoke to Global Press Journal.

Medical Histories on Scraps of Paper

When the system works as designed, every mother receives a Child Health Card when her baby is born. Now, most mothers must track their infants’ medical histories on scraps of paper.

Harare’s council clinics alone deliver more than 3,000 babies every month, with each mother left scrambling for documentation.

“I feel hurt,” Jowa says. “I want to know what vaccines my child has received and their purposes, but I just can’t get that information.”

A nurse aide assistant at one of the council clinics has witnessed this shadow market.

“If a nurse is selling, they ask the mother to be ‘skillful’ if they need the card,” says the assistant, who requested anonymity for fear of retribution. In Zimbabwe, “skillful” is a common euphemism for paying small bribes.

While the Ministry of Health and Child Care is supposed to supply the cards for free, Prosper Chonzi, the City of Harare’s director of health, admits supplies have been erratic for six months and that people have complained about being forced to purchase these cards. Clinic workers may be exploiting the known shortage and coordinating among themselves to sell the cards rather than providing them for free, he says.

“We can’t rule that out,” he says.

The card shortage coincides with the quiet return of maternity fees in public hospitals. Though not officially announced, hospitals have begun billing mothers after delivery — a policy change the government would neither confirm nor deny.

High Inflation, More Corruption

Between 2011 and 2024, more than 1 million pregnant women in the country delivered babies for free at health care clinics, under a scheme called results-based financing. Maternal mortality rates dropped during that time.

But these gains, partly achieved through better access to safe delivery services, face new hurdles as budget constraints and economic pressures reshape the health care landscape.

Even in 2021, a study from Transparency International Zimbabwe surveyed over 1,000 people in Zimbabwe and found that 74% had been asked to pay a bribe while trying to access health care services. A feeling of being underpaid amidst a deteriorating economy and high inflation was a key driver among health workers who solicitated bribes, which has been a rising trend, according to the study.

“The motivation for earning an extra income is strong especially in countries with a high rate of inflation,” the study states.

Zimbabwe’s health care system faces chronic challenges, including an exodus of health workers to other countries, inadequate funding, drug shortages, obsolete infrastructure and more. In 1991, the government introduced user fees across public institutions as part of an economic structural adjustment program. The government abolished the fees in 2011, only to partially reinstate them around 2013.

Prudence Hanyani, a community activist in Harare, says the reintroduction of user fees in public hospitals will burden women who already shoulder extra costs, like paying for midwives, so they can get better treatment when giving birth.

“Maternal health services should be free,” she says, “because giving birth is a service for the nation that contributes to the country’s population.”

Mothers Pay the Price

Valerie Shangwa, who gave birth four and a half months ago at a private maternity hospital, still has no card for her daughter.

“You know how difficult it is to keep a paper,” she says. “When nurses ask about last month’s weight, you end up guessing, and that distorts the whole record.”

Charlton Prickise, technical director at Print Flow, says his company sells Child Health Cards only to government-authorized health facilities and faces no shortages.

“The shortages mean health facilities simply aren’t coming to get them,” he says.

Though Print Flow hasn’t detected leaks, Prickise recalls finding other versions of this card on the market two years ago, possibly from a nongovernmental organization. Print Flow isn’t the sole supplier of the cards, and they haven’t received any government orders recently.

In a written response to Global Press Journal, Donald Mujiri, spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Child Care, said the shortage of Child Health Cards is due to supply chain inefficiencies and insufficient donor funding. The cards, he says, are procured with government funding and aid from supporting partners such as the United Nations Children’s Fund. Nevertheless, Mujiri says, the ministry needs to strengthen the supply chain management system at all levels and proactively mobilize resources for procuring the cards.

Meanwhile, mothers wait — or pay the price. Faith Musinami, 26, delivered her daughter in July 2024. An orderly told her the clinic only had cards for boys, but if she wanted, they could organize one for US$5. Musinami had not budgeted for the cost. She sacrificed the last penny she had.

This story was originally published by Global Press Journal.