Women interviewed for the report said the problem was their lack of access to healthcare at the settlement and some said it was the cold living conditions they experienced in plastic shacks in winter.
As a result Amnesty has called on the government to urgently investigate the newborn deaths at this settlement, where the Mugabe regime dumped many families after it demolished their homes and businesses during the so-called Operation Murambatsvina in 2005.
Nearly one million people were displaced countrywide during the forced evictions. Many of the Hopley women said they also lost their livelihood when market places were destroyed. This meant they could not afford to pay the $50 required to register for antenatal care.
Amnesty researcher Simeon Mawanza told SW Radio Africa that the group had gone to Hopley to assess the living conditions of families under the governments Operation Garikai, which means better lives. It was in talking to the women that the issue of newborn deaths came up, so we decided to investigate further, said Mawanza.
He explained that the women were more than willing to share the stories of how they lost their babies, because it was a traumatic experience and they just wanted someone to listen. Mawanza said the chronic shortage of ambulances was also to blame.
The ambulance situation in the city of Harare in general is desperate, and officials at the council told us only 4 ambulances are working, said Mawanza. The nearest clinic is 8 kilometers away in Glen Norah and private ambulances and transport operators will not go into Hopley at night for fear of crime. They also demand cash upfront.
Mawanza said the Amnesty team met with local authorities as well as government officials, to see if any responses to the Hopley crisis had been put in place. He stressed the need for government to ensure that these women have access to maternal and newborn healthcare.
In his national budget announced last week, Finance Minister Tendai Biti included funds meant for the rehabilitation of clinics and hospitals. This would be a welcome improvement but it would not affect the families at informal settlements like Hopley, where there are no clinics at all.
Mawanza said Amnesty will continue to meet with the relevant officials to push for massive improvements in services for women in general.
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