Parenting Goes Digital as Zimbabwe Tests Technology’s Role in Child Health

A Smart Solution in an Unconnected Country? Zimbabwe’s Rerai Umntwana Test

By Evans Jona

At a time when Zimbabwe continues to wrestle with stubbornly high levels of child malnutrition, widening inequality in access to health information and a deepening digital divide between urban and rural communities, the launch of the Rerai Umntwana Parenting Application has been welcomed as both a bold innovation and a revealing test of the country’s readiness to deliver digital solutions at scale.

The application, officially launched in Harare on February 12, is a joint initiative by the Ministry of Health and Child Care, UNICEF and the Government of Japan. It is designed to place trusted, evidence-based parenting guidance directly into the hands of caregivers, offering advice on pregnancy, breastfeeding, child nutrition, immunisation, early learning, safety and positive parenting.

For a country where nearly one in four children under the age of five is stunted and more than 4 percent suffer from wasting, the app arrives against a backdrop of urgent need. Health experts have long warned that poor nutrition and lack of early stimulation in the first 1 000 days of life have lifelong consequences, affecting not only physical growth but cognitive development, school performance and future productivity.

As mobile phone usage and internet connectivity continue to expand across Zimbabwe, parents are increasingly turning to digital platforms for advice. But with that access has come a flood of unverified information, myths and sometimes dangerous misinformation around child health and development.

Rerai Umntwana, a blend of Shona and Ndebele meaning “Nurture the Child”, seeks to cut through that noise. Built on UNICEF’s global Bebbo platform and adapted for local conditions, the application brings together guidance from local and international experts in a format designed to be simple, practical and culturally relevant.

Crucially, the app allows users to switch between English, Shona and Ndebele, and once downloaded, it can be used offline, a feature that developers say was deliberately prioritised in recognition of Zimbabwe’s high data costs and uneven network coverage.

“This is parenting in your pocket,” said Etona Ekole, the UNICEF Zimbabwe Representative, during the launch. “By equipping caregivers with trusted information, we are strengthening national systems, countering misinformation and advancing Zimbabwe’s priorities for child survival, nutrition and early childhood development.”

Yet while the launch has been widely praised, it has also highlighted enduring structural challenges that could limit the app’s reach, particularly among the very communities it aims to serve.

Affordable mobile data remains out of reach for many Zimbabweans, especially in rural areas where poverty levels are highest and child malnutrition most severe. Smartphones, though increasingly common, are still considered a luxury in many households, while electricity shortages and poor network coverage further complicate access.

For caregivers in remote districts, owning a compatible device and finding the data to download an application can be a significant barrier. Civil society organisations have warned that without parallel investments in affordable connectivity and digital inclusion, innovations like Rerai Umntwana risk reinforcing, rather than narrowing, the urban-rural gap.

Government officials, however, argue that the application is aligned with broader policy goals under Zimbabwe’s National Development Strategy 2, which prioritises digital transformation and closing the ICT divide.

“This innovation complements existing health facility and community-based interventions,” officials said, adding that the app is intended to reinforce messages delivered by nurses, village health workers and nutrition officers, rather than replace face-to-face services.

At the Glenview Polyclinic in Harare, where the launch was hosted, city authorities underscored how digital tools could strengthen preventive healthcare in overstretched facilities.

Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume noted that the city’s network of 42 clinics and hospitals serves tens of thousands of women and children each year, with antenatal visits alone exceeding 50 000 in 2025.

Despite this reach, the capital is not immune to malnutrition. More than 1 000 children under five are treated annually for undernutrition in Harare’s clinics, particularly in peri-urban settlements, while micronutrient deficiencies and rising obesity point to what health experts describe as a “triple burden” of malnutrition.

“The Rerai Umntwana application strengthens prevention,” Mafume said. “It gives families timely, reliable guidance and empowers them to make informed decisions before health problems escalate.”

Frontline health workers are also expected to benefit, using the app as a follow-up tool to support families at home, improve continuity of care and flag early warning signs of malnutrition or developmental delays.

Zimbabwe’s decision to become the first African country to localise UNICEF’s Bebbo parenting platform has been hailed as a milestone in digital health innovation. But its long-term success will depend on whether broader systemic issues, high data costs, device affordability and rural connectivity, are addressed with the same urgency as software development.

For now, Rerai Umntwana stands as a symbol of both progress and paradox, a powerful tool with the potential to transform parenting support nationwide, yet operating in a context where access to technology remains uneven.

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