In Zimbabwe, where nearly three-quarters of the population regularly attend religious services, faith communities hold extraordinary influence over how people think, act, and live. For decades, the conversation around sexuality, HIV, and reproductive health was either muted or shrouded in stigma, especially for young people growing up in conservative congregations.
But in 2023 to this day, something has begun to change.
INERELA+ Zimbabwe embarked on a bold accompanying journey to bring SRHR through Comprehensive Sexuality Education and Information (CSE&I) and life skills training in churches in Harare, Norton, Domboshava, and Chitungwiza. The goal is to empower adolescents and young people to take charge of their health while working with pastors and church elders to break the silence, stigma, and harmful cultural practices.
Congregational Outreach in Harare has been a success, for the first time, congregations that unusually participate in subjects such as SRHR or HIV/Aids because of their unflexible doctrines, like the Methodist Church of Zimbabwe, Apostolic sect churches, opened their doors to frank discussions on HIV, teenage pregnancy, gender-based violence, and reproductive health rights. Religious leaders were trained, not only to preach faith, but to guide young people towards safe, informed, and dignified choices.
One youth leader described the SRHR sessions, “Before the coming in of ZINERELA, we were afraid to ask questions about relationships, sexual reproductive health and rights in church. Now, our pastors encourage us to speak openly, and we feel protected. ” Holding HIV and SRHR Open Day at the Methodist Church during the Women’s month and Youth Calendar Meetings proved to be an eye opener not only to the church but also to the community members who were reached with the awareness message from enlightened congregants. The sessions attended by Religious leaders, men, women, boys, and girls raised awareness on HIV prevention, testing, treatment, and SRHR, awareness on the need to reduce stigma and discrimination associated with HIV, fostering open dialogue and promoting healthy behaviours among congregants, and encouraging faith-based spaces to be inclusive, safe, and proactive in SRH programming.
Beyond numbers, INERELA+ Zimbabwe is now proud of a culture shift at congregational and community levels towards SRHR issues. The most profound success is not just in the statistics but in the cultural shift. Congregations once bound by silence are beginning to embrace conversations about sexuality and health. Harmful socio-cultural practices that had silenced girls and stigmatised HIV are beginning to lose ground. Uptake of health services by young people in churches is steadily growing.
One of INERELA+ Zimbabwe’s Religious leader attest to this shift as he reflected that, “We thought silence was protecting our children. Now we see that silence was exposing them. Knowledge and openness are the true pillars of protection.”
INERELA+ Zimbabwe believes that with every initiative, campaign, dialogue, every leaflet, every young voice heard in a church hall, a stronger, healthier generation is rising, which is a reminder that true transformation begins when communities of faith dare to break silence, embrace compassion, and walk alongside their youth toward a future free of stigma, violence, and preventable illness.