In Zimbabwe women experience higher poverty levels than men, and poverty is particularly prevalent among individuals living in female-headed households, disproportionately surpassing their population share.

To address this, it is essential to prioritize closing the existing gender gap in employment, education and other opportunities through inclusive strategies for women. Zimbabwe's National Strategy for 2021-2025 emphasizes the need for integrated approaches to promote gender equality and to create greater opportunities, especially for young people.

Furthermore, a robust social protection programme targeting women and that leverages the potential of the digital can empower women by enabling them to succeed in the future of work, to access essential digital services, including those for education and health care, and to increase their civic and political engagement.

Unemployment and poverty are high in Zimbabwe  due to a weak job market, high informality, low investment and limited structural transformation. The national expanded unemployment rate was around  47.3 percent in 2021, with an estimated 39.8 percent of the population living below the US$2.15/day (2017 PPP) international poverty line in 2019. 

To  promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, it is critical to  prioritize  increasing labour productivity through capital deepening and structural transformation  to generate productive jobs for all which is key to reducing poverty and inequality. 

By investing in SDG 8 (Decent work and economic growth), Zimbabwe  can improve on its current employment, inequality and poverty  challenges. Progress on Target 8.5 should be supported with policies to reduce energy intensity and to increase energy efficiency  to mitigate the negative impact on the share of renewable energy (Target 7.2) and energy  efficiency (Target 7.3).

Zimbabwe ranks 114th out of 152 countries in the United Nations Industrial Development Organization’s 2020 Competitive Industrial Performance Index, down from 112th in 2019. Zimbabwe’s industry faces several challenges: macroeconomic instability, inadequate access to affordable and reliable infrastructure, such as electricity, transport and water supply. To spur industrialization, the government should prioritize macroeconomic stability, supporting  export diversification and participation in Global Value Chains (GVCs), and enhance the productivity of the informal sector and linkages with the formal sector.

By investing in SDG 9.1 (Industry, infrastructure and innovation), Zimbabwe can improve on its current employment challenges and focus on key priorities around the eradication of poverty, thereby reducing inequality. This, complemented with formalization of informal firms and state support for services trade, will increase the economy’s ability to absorb the ever-increasing ranks of youth and increase the productivity and competitiveness of local firms. 

Urbanization and rapid population growth present challenges in providing adequate housing, water, basic services and infrastructure in Zimbabwe's  cities. To tackle these issues, the Zimbabwe Government has come up with the Zimbabwe National Human Settlements Policy (ZNHSP) which will impact more than three million people. 

Progress in achieving SDG 11 (Sustainable cities and communities), aligns with the ZNHSP's  national priorities for social progress.  The ZNHSP is  anchored on the New Urban Agenda (NUA) aspects as follows: i) local economic development; ii) sustainable land use and security of tenure; iii) preserving socio-ecological functions of land and related resources through, inter alia, effective waste management; iv) appropriate spatial development strategies, including densification, avoiding sprawl and renewing settlements; and v) promoting sound socio-economic linkages within and between rural and urban areas.

Additionally, efforts should be made to integrate sustainable transportation systems and to enhance disaster preparedness to ensure resilient and sustainable urban development. Investing in Target 11.1 can advance the objectives of the NUA emphasizing the importance of improving the quality of settlements and of ensuring access to essential services, such as electricity, water, sanitation, education, health care, roads and the internet.

In Zimbabwe, approximately 42.1 percent of the population are satisfied with the public services they receive. By focusing on SDG 16 ( eace, justice, and strong institutions), and specifically Target 16.6, measures can be implemented to cut across all goals and pillars outlined in the National Development Strategy, where public services are provided.

This offers Zimbabwe the opportunity to set a higher goal, for example increasing the percentage of the population satisfied with the public services received.This increase will have a positive multiplier effect on the progress of other SDGs.

However, it is crucial to ensure that this objective is accompanied by safeguards to prevent the deepening of inequalities and poverty.