in nearly a quarter of the state.

Alphonce Chimangaisu, the School Development Committee chairperson at Chiyambiro Secondary School, said parents hoped the initiative would make children safer.“Some parents have stopped their children from going to school because they don’t know what might happen,” he said.

Esther Bote, 14, attends class on the periphery of Save Valley Conservancy, Zimbabwe on Tuesday, July 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)Esther Bote, 14, attends class on the periphery of Save Valley Conservancy, Zimbabwe on Tuesday, July 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)Although there is no concrete data yet on the effectiveness of the initiative, Chimangaisu said the school has been using it to convince some previously reluctant parents to change their attitudes. Many agree with the training but still ask for concessions, such as the school allowing their children to arrive later for class, he said.

School authorities in affected rural areas are often forced to delay the start of classes and end them early to allow affected children to walk to and from school during daylight when wild animals are unlikely to be roaming around communities, said Obert Masaraure, president of the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe.“We have reports of learners who have completely withdrawn from school fearing for their lives,” he said, adding that teachers who live far from schools are also increasingly not turning up for work. “These challenges are compounding other existing vulnerabilities for rural learners further denying them access to quality education.”

Esther Bote, 14, walks to school with her friends on the periphery of Save Valley Conservancy, Zimbabwe on Wednesday, July 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

Esther Bote, 14, walks to school with her friends on the periphery of Save Valley Conservancy, Zimbabwe on Wednesday, July 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)A review in March of publicly available data by the Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center indicates that nearly 17,000 health and safety inspections were conducted from the beginning of 2024 through February 2025 by staff at MSHA offices in the facilities on the chopping block. MSHA, which also oversees metal and nonmetal mines, already was understaffed. Over the past decade, it has seen a 27% reduction in total staff, including 30% of enforcement staff in general and 50% of enforcement staff for coal mines, the law center said.

Coal industry advocates are also trying to save hundreds of jobs within the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Some estimates had about 850 of the agency’s roughly 1,000 employees being cut by the Trump administration.Earlier this month, a federal judge ordered the restoration of a health monitoring program for coal miners and rescinded layoffs within NIOSH’s respiratory health division in Morgantown, West Virginia. The division is responsible for screening and reviewing medical exams to determine whether there is evidence that coal miners have developed a respiratory ailment, commonly known as black lung disease.

At a May 14 Congressional hearing, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he was reversing the firing of about 330 NIOSH workers. That same day, the United Mine Workers of America was among several groups that filed a lawsuit seeking to reinstate all NIOSH staff and functions.“For months, coal communities have been raising the alarm about how cuts to MSHA and NIOSH would be disastrous for our miners,” said Vonda Robinson, vice president of the National Black Lung Association. “We’re glad that the administration has listened and restored these offices, keeping mine inspectors in place.”