Health

Zambia declared polio free

Times of Zambia, 2009
By Doreen Nawa
ZAMBIA’S drive to banish polio is now a reality and the country has been declared polio free.
When Zambia started the ‘Kick Polio Out’ immunisation, little did people know that the ambition would yield positive results and see Zambia declared polio free.
Nobody enjoys injections, so it seemed particularly wonderful to place the sugar cube on your tongue, a quick suck, and hey presto, you’re protected for the next 10 years from a crippling disease without realising that this disease would be history in Zambia.
The power in that sugar coated cube has now saved the Zambian Government from huge costs involved in combating the epidemic.
With the current economic difficulties and competing priorities for health, the immunisation programme experienced several difficulties including lack of transportation especially for conducting out reach services, lack of health worker training, broken cold chain equipments, inadequate supervision and shortage of staff.
But with all these, Zambia managed to kick polio out and secure a future for the children, as polio is known to affect children who later become physically challenged.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) confirmed the last cases of polio in Zambia some years back. Polio remains a once upon a time thing for Zambia.
Recently, Minister of Health, Brian Chituwo said in an interview that the WHO had declared Zambia Polio free.
Dr Chituwo described the immunisation programme as a ‘’mop up operation’’ and the final stepping-stone into a new millennium free of the dreadful disease called polio.
The Health minister says emergency vaccination was planned after polio cases were diagnosed on the Zambian border with Angola where an outbreak of the disease was first recorded in April 1996.
Dr Chituwo recalls that regardless of the challenges that the health authorities were faced with, the remained optimistic that Zambia would still achieve the original aim of a polio-free Africa.
Polio (also know as poliomyelitis) is a contagious viral disease that attacks the central nervous system and that can cause temporary or permanent paralysis and weakness.
Polio is a viral illness that, in about 95 per cent of cases, actually produces no symptoms at all (asymptomatic polio).
In the four per cent to eight per cent of cases in which there are symptoms (symptomatic polio), Polio virus affects mostly children who, as a result of the scourge, have become physically challenged.
A more serious form associated with aseptic meningitis called nonparalytic polio (one per cent to five per cent show neurological symptoms such as sensitivity to light and neck stiffness).
Polio is transmitted primarily through the ingestion of material contaminated with the virus found in stool.
The polio virus lives in the throat and intestinal tract of infected persons. The virus enters the body through the mouth, usually from hands contaminated from an infected person, or not washing hands after using the toilet and drinking contaminated water are common culprits in the transmission of the disease.
Although the acute illness usually lasts less than two weeks, damage to the nerves could last a lifetime. In the past, some patients with polio never regained full use of their limbs, which would appear withered.
Those who did fully recover might go on to develop post-polio syndrome (PPS) as long as 30 to 40 years after contracting polio.
In PPS, the damage done to the nerves during the disease causes an acceleration of the normal, gradual weakness due to aging.
Two types of the polio vaccine are available and they are oral polio vaccine (OPV) and inactivated polio vaccine (IPV).
OPV is made with a live, but weakened, virus. OPV protects vaccinated persons directly. OPV also protects other susceptible persons who care indirectly vaccinated as the vaccine spreads in the community.
Because of widespread OPV no cases of paralytic polio caused by naturally circulating polio virus have been reported in the United States since 1979.
In Africa, the continent where the polio epidemic has been most difficult to control, efforts at disease eradication often work against a backdrop of civil unrest and war. 
In some countries, the end of years of fighting has led to a new push for public health measures, including widespread vaccination. 
Elsewhere, conflict continues to complicate vaccine delivery; temporary cease-fire agreements must be negotiated to allow vaccination and prevent serious outbreaks from occurring.  When the system breaks down, the results can be disastrous.
Among polio-endemic countries in Africa, Zambia and Ethiopia has probably made the most impressive strides toward implementing the WHO plan for the virus eradication.
The campaign, which took place at hospitals, health centers, local government offices, schools, churches, mosques and marketplaces across this southern African country, involved vaccinating over million children against polio and distributing vitamin A capsules to one million children under the age of five and 300,000 lactating mothers. 
In addition, almost 350,000 children less than five years old in selected towns were vaccinated against measles, which the WHO has targeted for eradication after the completion of the polio campaign. 
The effort represents the kind of integrated healthcare programme that many advocates of disease eradication have advocated.
As with other WHO polio vaccination efforts in less-developed countries, the Zambian campaign relied on national immunisation days, in which vaccination of an entire population takes place on one or a few days, rather than trying to deliver vaccines throughout the year.
In June 1996 - when the first anti-polio drive was launched under the slogan “Bye Bye Polio” with under-five children symbolically waving away the disease on national television, a lot of mothers were trapped in the web of lies and unfounded tales.
Among these lies peddled then was that the vaccines used were drugs meant to create impotent baby boys.
Also, the struggle against polio in Zambia had also been held up by traditional beliefs and malicious gossip.
The first of a two-phase immunisation programme for the victims and Zambian children in 38 districts was carried out from 23-24 July and 20-21 August.
Violet Banda, a 40-year-old housewife, in Kamanga Township of Lusaka, sadly recalls how her son became a victim of Polio in early 1995.
Ms Banda had believed that the disease was associated with witchcraft after her neighbour narrated to her how her daughter was bewitched and became crippled.
She says by then, she was living in Shang’ombo with her husband.
She believed that there was nothing better than African medicine for such a disease and opted to visit an African doctor who gave her a concoction of roots, tree bark and leaves.
Ms Banda was told to bath the baby half way (from the lower back up to the feet) early in the morning daily before anyone was up and about in the village.
The roots failed to keep away the alleged evil spirits and her little boy was savaged by polio. Today he is unable to walk without a shoe with calipers on the right leg.
“The secret to polio eradication is in all children under five in the entire country receiving these two extra drops of polio vaccine,”
In spite of these setbacks, Zambia has continued to soldier on, with an eye placed on the possible eradication of polio by 2000.
The WHO confirmed the last cases of polio in Zambia in the year 2002. Polio remains a problem. The reason for the growing number of polio cases confirms the problem of the so-called “imported polio infections”.
This refers to the cases occurring when the polio virus is imported from countries with polio incidence to countries without polio incidence (e.g. by travellers, immigrants, etc.).
Persons without polio immunity run the risk of being infected by the virus and developing polio.
The risk of importing the polio virus will continue until the disease has been eradicated worldwide.
A polio vaccination is therefore strongly recommended for travellers in the current polio risk areas in Africa and Asia as a means of protection against the disease.
Basically this means spacious regions of the tropical parts of Africa and several countries and regions in Asia.

Women

New partners in fighting poverty? 6 Mar 2008, The Times of Zambia
If Zambia and Africa as a whole is looking for partners in combating hunger and poverty, they need look no further. They can find credible partners in rural women. Research shows that rural women, the majority of them farmers, are crucial partners in the fight against hunger and poverty.

Indeed, there have been various commitments and agreements, to enhance the status of rural women and promote gender equality in agriculture and rural development.

The millennium development goals (MDGs) on reducing hunger and poverty by 2015 recognises that in rural areas, where 70 per cent of the poor live, women's equitable access to resources is key to national development.

As the world celebrates this year's International Women's Day, one wonders the significance of this day that seems only to concern the urban womenfolk.

The fight against poverty and hunger will come to nothing unless women, especially those in rural areas are placed at the heart of the process.

Despite all these initiatives and campaigns to better the lives of both rural and urban women, rural women remain voiceless in decision-making processes and are rarely taken into account when it comes to designing, implementing and monitoring agriculture development policies and programmes.

There is nothing posing a greater threat to the fight against hunger in Zambia because of the vast natural resources available in the country.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), about 30 million Africans face starvation. Half of this being in Southern Africa and 50 per cent of the population of Sub-Saharan Africa where Zambia is goes hungry.

Clearly, the need to develop policies and strategies that would shape an enabling environment for the advancement in rural women cannot be over emphasised.

Knowing that the majority entirely relies on agriculture, paramount among these is a comprehensive programme to train women in innovative agricultural practices that will boost productivity.

Access to production-related services and labour-saving technologies will free them from tedious manual farming and go a long way to increase their harvest.

Rural women and rural farmers are even more essential in the globalisation process. As key players in their homes, women need to be empowered to extend their versatile role to the local level.

Despite Africa's close commercial and industrial ties with developed countries in Europe and America, Africa remains poor and one of the least developed continents despite having a wide array of natural resources.

One reason for the imbalance is that presentations of trade means African exports, particularly agricultural produce, command low prices and cannot compete on the world market.

Over the years, farming in Zambia has been based on the weather, any climate change be it bad or good - has an impact on the harvest.

This has contributed a great deal to food crisis in Zambia and many African countries.

Processing and storage of perishable food crops is yet another challenge for not only Zambia but also many other African governments.

Most food is left to rot when in seasons for lack of the technical know-how to preserve it.

Bad roads in rural areas matter too. Yet women may just need trucks to cart their produce from the farm to buying centres.

Women farmers in Gwembe and Lusitu work from sunrise to sunset, only to be forced by circumstances to sell at throw-away price to middlemen from Lusaka and Monze.

For Daina Matongo, the main problem is that half her tomatoes and other foodstuffs go to waste because of poor roads, lack of storage facilities and lack of a market place.

The same tomatoes cost a small fortune when they reach Lusaka because of the bad roads and poor storage facilities.

"We toil for nothing, and we are still waiting for the day when the Government is going to give us the technology to preserve our tomatoes and other foodstuff so that we would not go hungry when certain foodstuff are off season," said Mrs Matongo.

Mrs Matongo says unless women in rural areas were empowered with farming technology and equipment, alleviating poverty and hunger would still be a dream.

She said the zeal for rural women to empower their families was being undermined by lack of facilities where to sell their farm produce.

Marketing their farm produce is another headache. Even after working tirelessly with a hope that when the farm products are ready for sale, their lives would change for the better but this dream is a non-starter.

This is because very little and sometimes nothing gets sold at a reasonable price ideal to make their lives better.

For another farmer of Lusitu in Southern Province, Moddy Mudenda, marketing her produce is another hassle.

She is at the mercy of middlemen from the city of Lusaka who buy her watermelons for as low as K3000 each.

"I wish someone would tell me what to do with my farm produce. I work very hard with my hoe and cutlass all day together with my children but at the end of the day, only less than a quarter gets sold," she said.

These women also live in hope that the Government will fulfill its promise to give them assistance either in monetary or equipment form to ensure that whatever they produce yield the intended results to fight hunger and poverty.

High levels of political will and resources is highly required to put an end to gender inequalities.

The theme for this years International Women's Day, 'Investing in Women and Girls' offers a good opportunity for Zambia and other African governments to pay particular attention to rural women and their contribution to development.

The gathering of gender-specific statistics in recent years has confirmed two facts: the majority of poor people in the world are women, and these women are overwhelmingly responsible for feeding hungry men and children, as well as themselves.

They grow, gather and catch the family meals, bring home water and wood, and prepare and cook the food.

Where the rural poor get enough to eat, it is most often largely through the efforts, skills and knowledge of mothers, wives, sisters and daughters.

Despite this, these women are often the last to gain access to resources, training and financial loans.

In many countries, the plight of rural women is worsening, as young and able-bodied men leave for the cities in search of work. The women left behind struggle to raise families and manage farms alone. Today in some regions of Africa, women head 60 percent of households.

Investing in rural women means investing in food security.

Research indicates that investment activities aimed in various ventures to better the lives of rural women.

Investment in educating women and girls has the highest rate of return of any possible type of investment in developing nations.

Its results include higher productivity, slower population growth, reduced child mortality rates and increased awareness and use of environmental protection measures.

Globally, women produce more than half the food that is grown and are primarily responsible for preparing, storing and processing food.

In many countries, however, women are the last family members to eat, and their nutritional needs are met only when and if the men and children have had enough.

Rural women in developing countries play a crucial role as custodians of genetic diversity and related knowledge on plant varieties and their uses hence the need to invest in them.

Tuberculosis

Zambia commemorates World TB Day

Times of Zambia- March 2008
By DOREEN NAWA
ZAMBIA this week joined the rest of the world in commemorating the World Tuberclosis (TB) Day amid challenges on how to contain the disease.
Zambia like any other southern African country is “struggling to contain” the spread of tuberculosis in the face of the increased cases of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Tuberculosis is back with a new face of the combination of the HIV epidemic with new strains of the disease that are resistant to the existing drugs has seen new TB cases and TB-related deaths in the last decade.
Mycobacterium TB, the bacterium that causes the disease, is ancient. But powerful antibiotics brought it under control in the developed world, scientists largely abandoned efforts to develop new drugs or diagnostics, donors stopped funding TB programmes and the global health community shifted its attention elsewhere.
Tuberculosis affects predominantly young, economically active, adults, on whom the development of the poorest countries like Zambia depends.
The world over, and sub-Saharan Africa in particular, is now paying the price. Very few countries in Africa have the technology to test for drug-resistant TB. Without sophisticated laboratory facilities, TB patients co-infected with HIV also present a diagnostic challenge.
TB control efforts have been hampered by the escalating HIV/AIDS epidemic to an extent that TB has now been declared an emergency on the African continent.
The majority of the 20 countries with the highest TB rates are in sub-Saharan Africa. The increasing occurrence of multiple drug resistant TB and HIV is likely to further worsen both HIV and TB treatment efforts.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) report issued recently warns that drug-resistant tuberculosis is spreading even faster than medical experts had feared.
With growing numbers of drug-resistant TB patients, there is concern some national health systems will soon be overwhelmed.
Experts say new drugs are needed if the outbreak is to be curbed, along with new diagnostic tests to identify drug-resistant TB strains faster and current tests take about a month for results.
In Zambia currently, lack of access to health services in remote, rural areas adds to the likelihood that large numbers of TB infections are going undetected and untreated, including cases of multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extremely drug-resistant (XDR) tuberculosis.
The overcrowding in most remote areas and other cities like the mining towns in Zambia create the perfect breeding ground for MDR-TB, there is some capacity to diagnose drug-resistant strains, but getting treatment from public health services is another hassle as most of these public health centres are not nearer to the people.
Multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis is a form of tuberculosis that is resistant to two or more of the primary drugs used for the treatment of tuberculosis.
Only a handful of patients access the drugs, which sometimes is again a risk because of lack of consistent to treatment for standard TB treatment.
Countries like South Africa, with superior resources and laboratory capacity, is better positioned than most African countries to detect and manage the new, more dangerous forms of TB.
But experts say the country’s TB control programmes have failed to adapt to the new threats of drug-resistance and HIV co-infection.
Some have blamed South Africa’s dismal TB cure rates on poor implementation of the WHO-recommended Directly Observed Short-Course Treatment (DOTS) for TB; others have called for a new, more patient-centered approach drawing on the strategies used for AIDS treatment.
With the outbreak of virtually untreatable XDR-TB in most southern African countries in 2006 the debate has widened to include the issue of infection control at health facilities, and the potential need for forced hospitalization and treatment of infected individuals.
This has since fueled concerted efforts from various organisations that are working to find a lasting solution to this disease in Africa.
Recently Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria’s chairperson, Rajat Gupta, disclosed the organisation hoped to raise over $12 billion by 2012 to help some of the world’s poorest nations fight the diseases.
Sixty eight per cent of all people infected with HIV live in sub-Saharan Africa, where more than three quarters of all AIDS-related deaths in 2007 occurred.
During his visit to Zambia and other southern African countries, Mr Gupta expressed confidence that the fund could raise the money after it secured $100 million in the past 18 months.
Recent data from Central Statistic Office show that about one million Zambians out of the 12 million are HIV positive and about 300,000 are in need of anti-retroviral therapy with more than half being TB infected.
“The money we are mobilising will help us mitigate the effects of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria especially in the worst affected countries,” says Mr Gupta.
Briefing Mr Gupta, President Mwanawasa said the country was making progress in the fight against AIDS but says the 16 per cent HIV/AIDS prevalence rate was still high.
“The HIV prevalence rate in Zambia is unacceptably high and continues to be a source of concern to this nation. The AIDS situation in Zambia is further compounded by co-epidemics of tuberculosis and malaria,” says Dr Mwanawasa.
Talk of quarantine could add to the stigma that already prevents many people from seeking TB treatment.
Already the strong association between TB and HIV means that people suffering TB symptoms often prefer not to seek treatment rather than face the possibility of being HIV-infected.
Mr Gupta further notes that TB has always affected the most marginalised groups of society, which may explain why the disease has fallen off the public agenda.
“This disease has taken a new dimension in Zambia and Africa as a whole because of the increased cases the HIV/AIDS epidemic,” Mr Gupta says.
World TB Day on Monday March 24 was an opportunity for activists, health practitioners and journalists to push for a greater sense of urgency in TB responses, particularly in the context of southern Africa’s already crushing HIV burden.
TB is a contagious disease spread through the air. One third of the world’s population is believed by the WHO to be infected, but the disease lies dormant in most people until their immune system is weakened.
The co-infection of HIV and TB is one of the principal causes of the disease’s spread in Zambia.
Both the highest number of deaths and the highest mortality per capita are in Africa. Africa has the highest incidence of Tuberculosis rate per capita (363 per 100 000 population).
According to a new report by the World Health Organisation (WHO), there were about 14.4 million cases of TB in 2006 and an estimated 0.5 million cases of multi drug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) in 2006.
Targets for global TB control have been set within the framework of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The MDG Six target is to halt and reverse TB incidence by 2015. The Stop TB Partnership has set two additional impact targets: To halve prevalence and death rates by 2015 compared with their level in 1990.
The incidence of tuberculosis in Zambia is on the rise, with new infections fueled by a 70 per cent HIV co-infection rate. USAID helps the ministry of Health strengthen Zambia’s capacity to deliver proven, cost-effective interventions.
USAID’s partners work in three provinces to expand and enhance Directly Observed Treatment Short-course (DOTS) and improve the co-management of tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.
A complete package of measures is needed that takes into account the changes in the epidemiology of TB and that harnesses the community capacity that has arisen in most cities with a high prevalence of HIV.
Such a package would reduce transmission of tuberculosis by improving case finding and treatment, reduce reactivation of tuberculosis by establishing preventive therapy services and reduce transmission of HIV by enhancing voluntary HIV counselling and testing (VCT) services.
Encouraging people to go for VCT would be an entry point to integrate the management and prevention of HIV-related TB.
When all efforts are put together, the success will be measured by the impact on the community’s burden of TB and other HIV related illness.
Economic and social science evaluations will determine the potential cost-effectiveness and sustainability of the package.
Process indicators of demand for and acceptability of the package, equity of access to the services provided and cohort analysis of those treated for tuberculosis or with preventive therapy will also measure success.

Development

Partnership antidote to national growth
Times of Zambia April 2008
By DOREEN NAWA

PARTNERSHIPS have been common features in all societies throughout human existence. Unless one chooses to live the life of a hermit, partnerships are inevitable, be it in political, economic, technological,social or cultural arenas.
Zambia will in July this year host the Smart Partnership International Dialogue, an initiative aimed at creating a stage for constructive discussions between governments, the private sector and other stakeholders in the quest to overcome poverty in Africa and other developing countries.
Last year, President Levy Mwanawasa announced in a vote of thanks at the official closing of the Eighth Langkawi International Dialogue (LID 2007) that Zambia would from July 28 to 31 host the Dialogue conference to be held at the Mulungushi Village in Lusaka under the theme ‘Towards the Smarter Globe’.
During the LID 2007, Dr Mwanawasa noted that events such as LID forum enabled governments and other stakeholders to create necessary contacts for the development of the continent.
He urged his counterparts, particularly those from Asia, to encourage industrialists and other investors to take advantage of the next Smart Partnership Dialogue to explore investment potential in Zambia.
“May I take advantage of this opportunity to request my fellow leaders, especially from Asia, to bring as many of their captains of industry as possible for the next Dialogue in Lusaka and see the vast investment potential,” said Dr Mwanawasa in his closing remarks.
He told the delegates that Zambia offered vast investment opportunities for foreign businesses in areas of mining, tourism, manufacturing and other sectors of the economy.
Dr Mwanawasa hoped that Zambia could be a haven of investment considering that the LID Forum emphasised the need to promote networking, hence the need to ensure that Smart Partnership principles extended beyond government officials to include the ordinary people in wealth creation.
The president also challenged the private sector to seriously consider investing in Africa as the continent was poised to become the next destination, after China and India, where ‘big money’ could be made.
There is an international drive by the Commonwealth Partnership for Technology Management and the Malaysia Industry-Government Group for High Technology to promote the “Smart Partnership” philosophy as the management practice of the future.
In that regard, the smart partnership is a partnership between governments and the private sector; a partnership within government, a partnership between private sector entities, or similar partnerships between countries, which are designed to create synergy and result in a “win-win” situation.
The Malaysian concept of Smart Partnership refers to the maximising and balancing of benefits for both parties and for all, regardless of the level of contribution towards the partnership.
This concept was introduced in 1995 during the first LID held in Malaysia and is based on the idea of “win-win” and “prosper-thy-neighbor” policy guided by the universal values of trust, respect, understanding, good faith and fair play.
The “win-win” approach seeks to build a solid foundation for pursuing mutual peace and prosperity based on common interests and shared values; emphasising on economic, social and cultural cooperation.
The approach recognises national interests and the reality that these interests do differ and sometimes even collide. Therefore, it seeks to find compatibility in seemingly conflicting interests.
It does not seek to resolve differences or advance national goals through the exercise of power or the use of force or coercion.
It seeks to resolve differences through dialogue and peaceful negotiations and de-emphasises threats or power-based resolutions.
Smart Partnership also means that member states should seek peace, prosperity and harmony not only for themselves but also in their relations with other nations and regions of the world.
Countries should seek to build their economies and prosper their people through maintaining the strongest of trade, investments and financial links with other nations and regions of the world.
It is all about creating social and economic capital and not military powerhouse.
Partnerships are essential to exploiting economic opportunities effectively in today’s changing environment.
At the same time, they are an important tool that can be used to make private sector-led “pro-poor growth,”which is inclusive and, therefore, sustainable.
The public sector is the engine of policy change while the private sector is the engine of economic growth and together renew economic growth in the region.
Recession has bottomed out, output is expanding, foreign reserves are up, and exchange rates are stable.
These good signs, if backed by consistently sound development and economic management, are likely to lead to a lasting recovery and fast growth.
Private Sector Development Association chairperson Yusuf Dodia says Zambia cannot achieve the required development alone hence the need for the country to partner with other developing nations.
Mr Dodia notes that Zambia may have the resources but capital is needed to finance the traditionally large and growing infrastructure needs in most sectors.
He further states that in the quest to expand the economy and allow Zambia to develop socially and economically in sectors like mining and energy, the country needs help.
“For Zambia to develop and expand the economy, and be able to provide infrastructure at the desired rate for development purposes, it needs a stronger partnership with other countries on the continent and the region,” he says.
Mr Dodia further says that the development and continuing refining of a shared vision of the work to be accomplished is key to a successful partnership.
Besides Malaysia, other developing countries also have their own examples of how smart partnerships contribute to nation-building and national development.
For instance, Zambia has adopted the Public/Private Partnership concept aimed at attracting investment inflows to key economic areas like tourism, mining, agriculture and energy, thereby achieving sustainable development.
With the focus on economic development and the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Mr Dodia says partnerships are vital to a country like Zambia whose financial backbone is not strong.
In the wake of the lack of technical know-how, capital is also required to support corporate and financial restructuring, privatisation, and new markets that are opening up in earlier protected sectors.
Sustainable development has been defined as development that is likely to achieve a lasting satisfaction of human needs and improvement of human life.
In practical terms, this requires sustainable, private sector-led economic growth.
However, what is important is the combination of private sector resources, drive and entrepreneurial talent on one hand and the provision of a policy, legal, and regulatory environment emphasising fairness, social cohesion and transparency.
Partnership is broad and blends both the productive and social cohesion aspects of sustainable development.
It encompasses both the role of the government in establishing an enabling environment and that of the public and private sectors as active partners in the provision of economic services.
This combination generates growth that is inclusive and pro-poor. Partnerships, as tools to achieve such a meeting of public and private interests, can be an important instrument for pro-poor economic growth, and have a lasting impact on poverty reduction and raising living standards.
For Smart Partnerships to be successful, it is also essential for the partners to have a clear understanding of each other’s strengths and limitations.
It helps the partners to develop a more realistic expectation of each other’s potentials and contributions as well as minimising the possibility of unreasonable demands.
Furthermore, by taking into consideration the relative strengths and weaknesses of the partners, special programmes can be developed to speed up the development process and reduce the gaps between them.
The advantage of partnerships is that they allow a nation or society to attain benefits way beyond what could be achieved as individuals.
It is in such an environment that the best business opportunities are to be found.

Tourism

Zambia: Insight Into Untapped North

Times of Zambia February 7, 2008
By Doreen Nawa

ZAMBIA remains a land of great natural beauty and much of it still unknown to visitors and Zambians alike. Zambia is privileged to have several wonders like lakes, rivers, forests, waterfalls, mountains and others too numerous to mention. But some of this country's amasing natural treasures (waterfalls) still remain untapped.

Despite Zambia being close to the famous Kalahari and the Namib deserts, it has a lot of unexploited treasures in terms of water falls in almost every province that have never been marketed, and time to market them is now.

The Victoria Falls deserves its reputation as one of the wonders of the world. But many lesser-known falls on Zambia's numerous large rivers are also breathtakingly beautiful. These waterfalls are isolated and unspoiled. Despite them varying in size, they are not tiny at all.

Northern Province is one such gifted province in Zambia with nine waterfalls that to date still remain unknown to millions of people including indigenous Zambians who are residents of this gifted country.

Waterfalls in Zambia are numerous and besides the Northern Province, one other province that is blessed with abundant beauty that has not been exploited is North Western, which houses the source of Zambezi River.

Besides the Victoria Falls which is rated as one of the natural wonders of the world, Zambia has numerous water falls that once marketed could earn this country huge foreign exchange.

The amazing Kalungwishi River in Northern Province has a lot to offer. It houses four beautiful waterfalls that have not been exploited much as compared to the Victoria Falls. A lot has been said and done about the famous mighty Victoria Falls and it is now time to market and maintain the Lumangwe, Chipempe, Kabwelume and Kundabwika falls all on the same Kalungwishi River.

Despite them (waterfalls) being breathtaking, they still remain unexploited because of the inaccessibility of these areas where these waterfalls are.

The road network in this area leaves much to be desired hence the numerous calls from the locals to Government to rehabilitate these roads that are in a deplorable state.

Mr Mutale Bwalya, a fishmonger on the Kalungwishi River said accessibility to the area was a problem because of the bad road network adding that the inaccessibility has contributed to lack of development in the area.

"The road leading to this river is in a terrible state and this is why very few people reach this place to sample what this river has to offer to the economy of this country in terms of tourism," he said.

Mr Bwalya observed that a good road network was a prerequisite to the development of any society hence the need for a good road network leading to these sites.

Lumangwe Falls, with its magnificence, still unexploited by tourists, both local and foreign, is in the Northern Province of Zambia in Mporokoso district, 13 kilometres from the main Kawambwa-Mporokoso road. These waterfalls on the Kalungwishi River are of some grandeur.

The Lumangwe falls is more than thirty metres high and over a hundred metres in width. The mist from the falls nourishes a small forest and the pleasant sand adds to the beauty.

Five kilometres from Lumangwe falls on the same river is the charming Chipempe falls as it unfolds its beauty on one of the fastest moving waters of Zambia.

Kalungwishi has the one of the fastest current and it has a lot of rapids which makes the river unique and life sustaining. Kalungwishi River does not harbour any crocodiles because of its current.

These untapped treasures are worth marketing if Zambia was to truly yield the expected results from the tourism sector and build the economy, which is now slowly coming back to life.

Zambia is blessed in that it has a lot of sites that have not been marketed or publicised to the interested and would-be investors.

Then comes the fascinating Kabweluma, just about two kilometres from Chipempe falls. Kabweluma falls are sensual rather than visual.

This waterfall comes into three sections, each one spilling into the next until the final grand cascade plummets onto a bed of jutting rocks.

The name Kabweluma perfectly captures this final impact of the water. Kabwe is a Bemba name meaning stone or rock, while luma conveys the motion of something hitting against another object with force.
Kundabwika, the fourth waterfall on the famous Kalungwishi River is 110 kilometres from Mporokoso on the Kawambwa road.

Above the falls the river flows gently through a dambo (marshy valley), but in the last kilometre it has a steeply sloping gorge containing two small waterfalls. The main falls is 25 metres high and, during the flood season, extends to a width of 70 metres. Below the falls, the river flows through a small, thickly wooded gorge.

Kundabwika falls are highly considered untouchable because of the shrine attachment that the waterfall has to the local people.

Headman Kapongolo of Kapongolo village in Kasama said his people attach great importance to the waterfalls because of certain rituals and beliefs associated to the waterfalls.

The headman said locals believe that ignoring rituals and prayer at the falls brings about incurable diseases, poor harvest, persistent droughts, and declining standards of living resulting into the shortening of life expectancy.

It is time the value of such heritage is realised and good marketing strategies set to market the waterfalls that are lying without any activity taking place there besides the fishing activity by the locals.

The areas where these waterfalls are located are inaccessible because of the poor road network. These sites are in the remotest parts of this Zambian town of Kasama and there is urgent need for the Government to take up the challenge and construct good roads.

The adage 'an investment in quality is an investment for life,' is not a coincidence for this province which has a lot to offer to investors in tourism and other sectors, but the road network leading to these areas is a let down.

Headman Kapongolo said that no investor be it in the tourism, mining or agricultural sector would show interest to invest in an area where there are no good roads adding that a good road network system is a prerequisite to any development.

Northern Province is blessed with so many treasures that have not been exploited all because of the poor road infrastructure. The place has a lot of potential for all the sectors be it tourism, agriculture or mining and the need to develop it cannot be over emphasised.

A lot of effort has been put on Livingstone in trying to promote tourism in Zambia, as compared to any other Zambian town.

Currently, the road leading to the Victoria Falls is being worked on with a view to increase accessibility to this place, but very little has been done for provinces like Northern that has a lot of natural beauty ideal to be sampled by the visitors that come to visit the Victoria falls.

The three waterfalls have a number of values both socially and scientifically. The community obtain medicinal plants from the site that are used to heal different illnesses, while for the economic point of view, the site could attract a lot of investors that would want to invest in the area.

Scientifically, the rain forests around these areas have great potential for research values due to high diversity of vegetation. The geology, ecology and geomorphology of these sites present educational resource for schools and other institutions of learning.

The forests around these waterfalls are a home of wildlife such as impalas and birds, which are used as food by the local people.

Perhaps the most interesting and visible value is aesthetic. The sites in their fullness have beautiful sceneries that are unique and the most fascinating of it all is that these waterfalls are in one river approximately five kilometres in between each waterfalls.

Unfortunately these waterfalls have not been given much attention in terms of constructing a good road network to the sites.

Social

Zambia: Shortage of Burial Sites - How About Cremation?

3 April 2010-Times of Zambia

By Doreen Nawa

ALTHOUGH cremation has been a subject of intense debate among Zambia's Christian communities, it is now being touted as the best possible answer to the shortage of burial sites in most parts of the country.

Notably, local authorities in Lusaka and Chipata particularly say they have now run out of land for burial sites and this is prompting some people from certain circles of society to start considering cremation.

According to Wikipedia, the online global encyclopedia, cremation is the process of reducing dead human bodies to basic chemical compounds in the form of gases and bone fragments.

This process is accomplished through high temperatures and evaporisation.

But contrary to popular belief, the cremated remains are not ashes in the usual sense, but rather dried bone fragments that have been pulverised, typically in a device called an electric cremated remains processor (known as a cremulator or pulverisation may be done by hand).

It leaves the bone in a fine sand-like texture and colour, able to be scattered without need for mixing with any foreign matter.

The weight can be anything from appoximately 1.8kg for adult females and 2.7kg for adult males.

In Zambia, which has traditionally been burying its dead from time immemorial, the shortage of land for burial sites has become a public issue of concern.

The capital city Lusaka has now seen the opening up of two new private cemeteries, Mutumbi Cemetery and Remembrance Park and Leopards Hill Memorial Park respectively, where people can bury their dead at a fee.

But majority Zambians are failing to afford burying their deceased at such sites because of the huge costs involved.

For one to bury their dead at Mutumbi Cemetery, for instance, one has to pay between K1.5 million and K5.5 million.

Leopards Hill charges K2.5 million for a single graveyard and K5.5 to K10 million for a family plot.

Lusaka City Council (LCC) public relations manager, Chanda Makanta confirms that the city has run out of land for public burial sites, adding that the rate at which people are dying in Lusaka and countrywide is worrying.

Cremation maybe the only solution, she says.

But the concept of cremation has been received with mixed feelings from some Zambians, who argue that the practice is not anywhere near the Christian religion to which Zambia subscribes.

Ms Makanta said: "People should accept that a dead body has no feelings and it is as good as dead.

It will not feel any pain if cremated.

This issue (argument) of Zambia being a Christian nation will not help us because there is no land and not everyone can afford burying at private cemeteries because of the charges.

"Which district can accept that you take ifitumbi (dead bodies) there instead of development?

I do not think Chibombo District, our nearest here, can accept that we bury people there.

Of course, all the districts are in a hurry to develop and they cannot accept that you take graves there instead of buildings.

"I do not want to say that we have failed but the fact is we are trying our best to find an alternative land.

"We have had offers from people that we should buy their land like in Ng'ombe but we have to inspect and get satisfied," she said.

And Chipata Municipal Council says it has run out of burial sites because the two burial sites, St Anne's and Mchini, have run out of space.

Town Clerk Golden Banda confirmed that the local authority was waiting for the Environmental Council of Zambia (ECZ) to gazette another possible land as a burial site.

"Yes, we have run out of space at our two cemeteries. It is a sad situation because people have now gone beyond the boundary burying their loved ones. At the moment, we are still waiting for ECZ to give us alternative land," Mr Banda confirmed.

Again, cremation was his preferred solution as an alternative.

But will Zambians accept it considering that theirs is a Christian nation?

"The reason Christians have always been careful to practise burial is because we believe in a bodily resurrection. Though the buried body will decompose in time and sometimes there are occasions in which Christians die in ways which render burial impossible like in the sinking of ships, in house fires or being eaten by a lion when at all possible we bury because it is our sure hope that the same individual will be raised in the same body, only changed because we shall have no sin," explains the Bishop.

In the Bible, the physical body is regarded as the corruptible seed for the resurrection of the incorruptible body in the same manner that when planted, a seed first decomposes before the new plant comes forth.

Throughout the Bible, the destruction of a human body or of an object by fire is used as a sign of divine wrath.

Examples abound in the Bible like the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis19 verse 24, the story of Nadab and Abihu in Leviticus 10 verses. 1-2 and some examples of men who rebelled with God's people like Korah in Numbers 16 verses 35 and in 1 Corinthians 14 verse 12.

"God made you a three-part being, these include body, soul, and spirit. Mind you, God created all three parts for Himself. Every part of your existence, including your body, should be dedicated to His glory. You have no right to use any part of God's creation as you wish. He is the Creator. He has the full rights to dictate how His creations are treated. Let the local authorities find new burial sites because we shall not accept cremation here in Zambia," says Bishop Ndhlobvu.

But the sad reality is that while until recently burial prevailed almost universally as the common method for disposal of the dead in most Christian nations, cremation which in the past was looked upon as something practiced only by those totally ignorant of the Bible, trends are now changing.

And the debate is still raging: "While the weight of Christian tradition clearly favours burial, the Bible nowhere explicitly condemns cremation. Since 1963, the Roman Catholic Church has permitted cremation while 'earnestly recommending' burial as the preferred mode of disposal," says Peter Chikwanda, a professed Catholic Christian.

Mr Chikwanda notes that cremation cannot in any way prevent the sovereign God from calling forth the dead at the end of time, adding that the Bible should not be used as a proof text either for the necessity of burial or for cremation.

"The real question for Christians is not whether one is buried or cremated but how we live as in living a life that pleases God. Because at the end of it all and when all is said and done what will matter is one being faithful to God. On that Day of Judgment, we will all stand before God, those who will be alive by then and the dead, cremated or buried," believes Mr Chikwanda.

And several other people feel that cremation is more environmentally-friendly than embalming (preparations for burial) practices used.

It is also believed that many chemicals used in embalming are known toxins.

However, there is some evidence that crematoriums, where bodies are cremated, produce their own pollutants, which might be a health hazard.

Financially, cremating a body is far more cost-effective than burial.

Burial requires the purchase of a burial plot, a coffin, and huge amounts of money to buy food for feeding the mourners, among others.

Yet, cremation can mean simplifying funeral arrangements for family members, something many people say could be ideal considering that grieving family members need not to be overwhelmed after a loss!

HIV/AIDS

Stigma: Greatest enemy to HIV/AIDS fight
By DOREEN NAWA

“HAVING gone for Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT) and disclosed my status, was the worst thing that I regret having done because it subjected me and my family to all kinds of discrimination and name calling from my community,” these were the words of Hildah Siatwiinda, 45, of Livingstone’s Libuyu Township.
Ms Siatwiinda says she regrets having gone for an HIV test and disclosed that she was positive after being advised by the medical personel at Maramba Clinic that she should disclose her status to close friends and her relatives.
She recalls that after undergoing the test, she went home and did as she was advised by the health professionals, however, she became depressed when people in her coommunity starting looking down on her.
Ms Siatwiinda said the response from her community and neighbours made her lose hope for the future.
“Being diagnosed with HIV can be a traumatic experience especially when people around you start condemning you and their continued judgmental attitude. Whether you’re 15 or 55, the emotions that accompany an HIV diagnosis can be overwhelming because of the misunderstandings from society on how you were infected,”
“So can the millions of questions, small and large, that start shooting through your mind: How could this happen to me? How will my life change? Who should I tell? Will anyone still love me? Will I have to take treatment for the rest of my life? How will society look at me morally? Hence need to educate society on the dangers of stigma and discrimination,” she recalled.
Because HIV is sexually transmitted, it is often presumed that those living with the virus have brought the disease upon themselves by having many sexual partners.
Women are especially vulnerable to this prejudice, and they may also be blamed for infecting their children even though the father may have been the first one to be infected.
Victims of stigma suffer physical and social isolation from their family, friends and community; they are made to feel guilty, ashamed and inferior.
Those associated with people living with HIV also suffer from stigma, as do those thought to be responsible for spreading infection, such as sex workers, traders and migrant workers even if they are not themselves known to be infected.
Stigma does not just cause agony to individuals, but also hampers prevention and care programmes. Those who fear becoming stigmatised are unwilling to volunteer for an HIV test, even buying condoms or discussing safer sex may be seen as an indication that is infected.
Ms Siatwiinda noted that stigma was the greatest enemy to the fight against HIV/AIDS because very few people could stand the pressure of being stigmatised.
People who know or suspect that they are HIV positive may be reluctant to reveal their status even to their partners and family or to come forward for treatment.
Managing a life-threatening and socially stigmatised illness is difficult for adolescents and the aged, this burden can be eased if people stop stigmatising the infected and the affected.
Tragically, some of the worst discrimination occurs in clinics and hospitals. Patients known or suspected to have HIV are sometimes given very low priority and may be subjected to degrading treatment, they may even be denied drugs and treatment.
The majority of people who develop AIDS are in their productive years and are often the sole breadwinners in their households. When an adult falls ill, other family members, in particular children that are kept home from school must try to raise money or tend crops as well as looking after their ailing relative.
Much of the cash they (parents) make is spent on medical care and, ultimately, funeral costs. When a parent dies, survivors can be left destitute.
People in need have traditionally been supported by their extended families, but the toll of the epidemic is now so great that family structures can no longer cope. Stigma compounds the problem, as many of those affected by AIDS become socially excluded.
And to make matters worse, when the male head of a household dies it is not unheard of for his entire property to be “grabbed” by his relatives despite laws meant to prevent this, leaving his widow and children with nothing. Desperate people will inevitably turn to risky occupations or migration.
Ms Siatwiinda disclosed that when she got ill, every productive activity in her family became static and the family suffered a lot of shame and hunger.
She said very little did she know that disclosing her status would cost her family and bring a lot of suffering to both her children and herself, adding that even her children suffer discrimination and stigma at their various schools.
Thousands of children are abandoned due to stigma or simplly lack of resources, while others run away because they have been mistreated and abused by foster families. Many such children congregate in the big cities, where they live by begging, stealing and prostitution.
Fears about family rejection, loss of a job, and public shunning impede the effectiveness of HIV/AIDS prevention, care efforts and worse off, the fight against this disease.
Stigma and discrimination discourages those who are infected with and affected by HIV/AIDS from seeking needed services because seeking services may reveal their HIV status to their families, workplace colleagues, or community.
Ideas about the lifestyles of people living with HIV/AIDS contribute to a sense that HIV/AIDS is a problem that affect “others,” which may undermine individuals’ estimation of their own risk and reduce their motivation to take preventive measures.
HIV-related stigma and discrimination remains an enormous barrier to the fight against the scourge not only in Zambia but worldwide.
Fear of discrimination often prevents people from getting tested, seeking treatment and admitting their HIV status publicly hence affecting the much needed progress in the fight against the epidemic.
Since laws and policies alone cannot reverse the stigma that surrounds HIV infection, more and better AIDS education is needed in Africa and throughout the world to combat the ignorance that causes people to discriminate. There are several factors that contribute to the spread of HIV/AIDS pandemic and among them is stigma and discrimination.
Stigma and discrimination are on record in all the research on HIV/AIDS of discouraging people from going for Voluntary Testing and Counseling (VCT).
Recently, Ministry of Health, Anti-retroviral (ARVs) programme coordinator Albert Mwango expressed concern at the number of people going for VCT and accessing ARVs in all the health centers countrywide.
Dr Mwango said in Lusaka that only about 400,000 people countrywide were aware of their status after going for VCT and yet the country has a population of more than 11.1million, adding that the only sure way to fight HIV/AIDS was for people to go for VCT.
“Knowing your status in the best way to fight this disease that has for 24 years now impacted negatively on the economy of this country. Stigma and discrimination are often the major cause for people shunning away from knowing their status,” he said.
The fear and prejudice that lies at the core of HIV/AIDS discrimination needs to be tackled at both community and national levels.
Sexually transmitted diseases are well known for triggering strong responses and reactions. In the past, in some epidemics, for example TB, the real or supposed contagiousness of the disease has resulted in the isolation and exclusion of infected people.
In the early days of the AIDS epidemic, a series of powerful images were used that reinforced and legitimised stigmatisation, for example, two images depicting human beings before and after being infected with AIDS.
Stigma and discrimination can arise from community-level responses to HIV/AIDS. The harassing of individuals suspected of being infected or of belonging to a particular group has been widely reported.
By blaming certain individuals or groups, society can excuse itself from the responsibility of caring for and looking after such populations. This is seen not only in the manner in which ‘outsider’ groups (i.e truck drivers and cross border traders) are often blamed for bringing HIV into a country, but also in how such groups are denied access to the services and treatment they need.

Health

Circumcision Cardinal Tool in Aids Fight

29 June 2008
By Doreen Nawa

PREVENTION measures in the fight against HIV/AIDS are repeatedly being criticised for having a limited impact on the predominantly heterosexual disease found in Africa.

As opposed to propagating the campaigns on condom use, HIV testing and treatment of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), most researchers have in the recent past been citing male circumcision as offering higher chances of protection, especially in cases of unprotected sex.

Although male circumcision and reduction of multiple sexual partnerships are currently getting less attention and resources, researchers say they are two interventions that could have a greater impact on minimising the further spread of the HIV.

Scientists say circumcision reduces men’s chances of contracting HIV by up to 60 per cent, which is regarded as a major breakthrough in the fight against AIDS. Now, the question is how to put that fact to work to combat AIDS across Africa.

The findings were first announced in December 2006, when initial results from two major trials in Kenya and Uganda - showed promising links between male circumcision and HIV transmission. However, those trials were deemed so definitive that the tests were halted early.

For instance in Zambia, HIV prevalence rate is lower in North-Western Province were male circumcision is being practiced than in other provinces countrywide.

Society for Family Health (SFH) executive director, Harrison Richard says the way the disease was evolving in Zambia was worrying.

Speaking at a Press briefing recently, Mr Richard said WHO recommendations should be taken seriously if Zambia was to experience a remarkable drop in the HIV prevalence rate.

He said major public health initiatives like male circumcision should not be ignored if Zambia was to make a difference in HIV prevention.

SFH medical expert, Dr Manasseh Phiri said North-Western Province in Zambia has the lowest HIV prevalence rate of about 6.5 per cent and the rate has been attributed to circumcision which is practiced in that area.

Dr Phiri said there was strong evidence from time immemorial from African countries in the north where circumcision is practiced that their HIV prevalence rates were lower than in other countries where circumcision was not practiced.

In response to the urgent need to reduce the number of new HIV infections globally, World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations AIDS secretariat convened an international expert consultation in March last year to determine whether male circumcision should be recommended for the prevention of HIV infection.

The UN agencies emphasise that male circumcision does not provide complete protection against HIV infection.

It should never replace other known effective prevention methods and should always be considered as part of a comprehensive prevention package, which includes correct and consistent use of male or female condoms, reduction in the number of sexual partners, delaying the onset of sexual relations, and HIV testing and counseling.

WHO director of the AIDS department, Dr Kevin de Cock said, "This is an extraordinary development. Circumcision is the most potent intervention in HIV prevention that has been described."

"The recommendations represent a significant step forward in HIV prevention. However, it will be a number of years before we can expect to see an impact on the epidemic from such investment," said Dr de Cock.

Dr de Cock said countries with high rates of heterosexual HIV infection and low rates of male circumcision now have an additional intervention which can reduce the risk of HIV infection in heterosexual men.

He says scaling up male circumcision in such countries will result in immediate benefit to individuals.

Circumcision has long been suspected of reducing men’s susceptibility to HIV infection because the cells in the foreskin of the penis are especially vulnerable to the virus.

There is now strong evidence from three randomised controlled trials undertaken in Kisumu, Kenya; Rakai District, Uganda (funded by the US National Institutes of Health); and Orange Farm, South Africa (funded by the French National Agency for Research on AIDS) that male circumcision reduces the risk of heterosexually acquired HIV infection in men by approximately 60 per cent.

This evidence supports the findings of numerous observational studies that have also suggested that the geographical correlation long described between lower HIV prevalence and high rates of male circumcision in some countries in Africa, and more recently elsewhere, is, at least in part, a causal association.

Literacy

St Stephen builds school

By Doreen Nawa
AS Zambia hurries to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) targets, one of them is putting all children into primary school and at the same time reducing illiteracy levels in the country, all stakeholders ought to play their part to ensure that these targets become a reality.
The end of illiteracy is a choice, not a guess. There are a billion people on earth fighting daily for their rights to education.
The world has committed itself to ensuring that every country makes some progress in the education sector in the MDGs by 2015.
The ways out of the illiteracy trap can be found. The financial costs of the needed development aid are utterly manageable, especially if commitment and willpower from both the Government and stakeholders is shown.
In response to the many challenges that hamper education progress, there has been a rapid and spontaneous development of community schools in Zambia where children are educated outside the formal school system.
Recently St Stephens Anglican Church in Lusaka’s Garden Township constructed a community school at the cost of K125 million, which will cater for 350 children from grade one to grade seven.
Speaking at the official opening of the school, Ministry of Education’s Lusaka District education standard officer, John Shakafuswa, said the Government was committed to upholding the rights to education because education plays an important role in the well-being of human capital.
Mr Shakafuswa said the Government recognises community schools as an integral part to national development.
He said it will be impossible for the Government alone to achieve the eight targets listed on the MDGs.
The fight against extreme illiteracy cannot be won on rhetoric alone. The barriers to development in Africa are not only in the soils, but also in the mind.
Take a chance and educate an African, then the question of how will the barriers to development in Africa be addressed will be answered.
The biggest trap in developing Africa lies in the minds of Africans, try to empower their minds and see what goodwill come out of the so called ‘dark continent’.
And Bishop of Lusaka Anglican Diocese, David Njovu, says his church saw a need to contribute to education in the country after it observed the increasing numbers of orphans and vulnerable children in their area of existence.
While a variety of reasons, including HIV/AIDS, poverty, funding shortfalls and new curriculums are often cited as the cause for poor education results, education analysts cite the performance of teachers as the root cause for education’s melancholy.
Bishop Njovu says time to look down on community schools and associate them with substandard levels of education was long gone.
He says the notion was a late down to the attainment of the Government’s policy of education for all.
The clergy observed that without community schools, the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) on education would be impossible.
The Bishop has since called on the teachers and the school authority to observe high standards of education.
Meanwhile, St Stephen Anglican Church priest in charge Father Frank Hakoola is well aware of the challenges in this community and while many others would have baulked at the idea of starting a school in a church and later constructing a school block within the premises, teachers were in short supply, and pupils conducted their lesson in one open space in the church, the man of God embraced it.
“When we started a school in the church many people never thought we would come this far. As I am speaking last year we had 19 pupils who sat for the Grade seven examinations and out of this number only two failed to make it to grade 8.
“Admittedly as a church, we had to do a lot of work to try and win these people (sponsors) over, as many were lagging behind, but once they saw that we were committed to this task they decided to support us,” says Fr Hakoola.
A few years back, this community school in Garden, one of Lusaka’s most populous urban residential area, was little different from the majority of the country’s schools, children from grade one to seven learning in one open space, in a church, with volunteer teachers and sitting on benches while others sat on the floor.
But in the last few years the St Stephen Community School has undergone a metamorphosis, with its pass rate surging to nearly 98 per cent last year, no mean achievement for a school still trying to shake off the legacy of unequal education system.
Not long ago, the difference between Government and community schools segregated school system ensured that schools for privileged children were provided with top facilities, while schools for underprivileged students are wretched and not funded at all.
But for St Stephen Community School the story of its start is different because Zambia National AIDS Network (ZANAN) Bank of Zambia (BOZ), Barclays Bank workers and the church realised their role to communities in which the exist and put resources together for the construction of this school.
After 17 years of democracy and huge spending by the Government to the education sector in the annual Budget every year, the immense challenge of reversing illiteracy remains a challenge if all is left in the hands of the Government.
Within this environment and against all the odds the community school has blossomed, not through the injection of huge amounts of money from the annual Government Budget for the education sector but through the sheer commitment and willpower of the stakeholders and the church.
It was not by chance that St Stephen community school renaissance coincide with the MDGs and the many challenges that the HIV/AIDS pandemic and poverty were posing on the lives of the vulnerable in society.
It is against this background that the St Stephen Anglican Church started the construction of this school over a year ago.
Fr Hakoola said their first course of action was to demonstrate their commitment to the task to both the community and sponsors alike, so they started the school inside the church.
The clergy disclosed that the major problem the school was facing was the shortage of teachers.
The school has only seven teachers meaning one teacher per grade and the teachers were volunteers who were not on a salary catering for 350 pupils daily.
The school’s success has solved the problem of illiteracy in Mandevu constituency, as it acts as a magnet because a lot of parents and guardians want to enroll their children at the school.
And Bank of Zambia (BOZ) deputy governor in charge of administration Tukiya Kankasa Mabula says education was cardinal in poverty reduction.
Dr Mabula said for Zambia to attain the education policy for all, there was need for churches and other cooperating partners to support the move.
She noted that the greatest gift that could be given to anyone was education adding that there could be no empowerment without education.
Community schools in Zambia were set up mostly in the absence of a nearby public school and in response to the inability of families to meet the costs associated with Government-provided schooling.

Human Trafficking

Human Trafficking Rises in Zambia

A by-gone era of slavery appears again as cases of human trafficking increase worldwide with Zambia recording the highest cases in its history of human trafficking this year. Though slavery has been described as the greatest tragedy in human history, traces of it still exist in different forms like human trafficking in the modern day society. Olden day slavery normally dealt mostly with older people, since they were transported to other countries to do manual work. Nevertheless, modern day slavery concentrates mostly on the younger generation, which is termed the human trafficking.

According to Oxford Dictionary, Human trafficking is the acquisition of people by improper means such as force, fraud or deception, with the aim of exploiting them. So far, the recognised types of slavery in human trafficking include abuse, forced labour, and prostitution. Both youths and adults involved in this kind of slavery, in one way or the other, lose any freedom they have. For youths, their basic rights like the right to education, right of free expression, and even right for material needs are denied.

Worldwide, a generation of the youth is rapidly reaching adulthood bearing the tragic consequences of their nations’ worst problems of unemployment and poverty. This has led to a number of youths and also adults leaving their countries of origin in search of better living conditions without having a clear picture of where they are going.

The Immigration department disclosed it had in the last three months intercepted about 829 foreign nationals at various entry and check points suspected to have been destined for South Africa, Angola and Zambia respectively. Immigration Department public relations officer, Mulako Mbangweta says most Zambian borders were porous giving way to illegal entry of foreigners adding that the majority of the foreigners were using unorthodox means to enter into Zambia using it as a transit point and also their destination.

Ms Mbangweta says Zambia has, in the recent past, experienced a rise in the number of illegal immigrants entering the country as a destination as well as a transit point to South Africa and Angola- destinations of the World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations. Ms Mbangweta admits that it has been difficult to deal with cases of human trafficking in Zambia because mostly, the victims are secretive and often claim they are relatives of the alleged perpetrators. “Yes we have had increased cases of ‘suspected’ human trafficking the recent past mostly because of South Africa and Angola who are hosting these big soccer events. This is evident from the number of illegal immigrants that have been intercepted at our entry points of our immigration checkpoints. It has been difficult for us to investigate cases because the victims tend to defend the culprits by saying that they are related,” she confirmed.

Human trafficking is a growing problem in Zambia, despite an increase in the number of potential victims identified, there has not been a single conviction.

Smuggling migrants involve the procurement for financial or other material benefit of illegal entry of a person into a country of which that person is not a national or resident. Ms Mbangweta says there is little evidence that illegal immigrants coming to Zambia are considered to be trafficked because most of them say that they were brought in by their relatives which is mostly not true.

Human traffickers are trafficking people for sexual exploitation, forced labour and agricultural work. Traffickers employ a number of strategies such as offering overseas employment to the victims. Perhaps, a bigger problem is the number of people being trafficked into the country with very little evidence of them being victims of human trafficking. With the hosting of the major soccer events in mind, Zambia has become a transit point as well as a destination for human trafficking. The immigration department has recorded a rise in foreigners from Somalia, Bangladesh, and Pakistan illegally entering Zambia.

Poverty and lack of economic opportunity make adults and youths potential victims of traffickers associated with international criminals. They are vulnerable to false promises of job opportunities in other countries.

Human trafficking seems to be less pronounced on the streets of most Zambian towns but a visit to Chaisa Township in Lusaka leaves too numerous questions unanswered. Chaisa Township is a hive of activities conducted by foreigners mostly those from Somaliland-one would easily mistake the township for a residential area in Mogadishu!

Mr Jack Siatembo (not real name), a resident of Chaisa, is concerned about the increased number of foreigners in his area saying their security was at risk adding that the majority of the Somali nationals were taking advantage of their permits by illegally bringing in their fellow nationals into Zambia. Mr Siatembo says most Somali nationals did not have papers because they were illegally brought in after being promised a job in one of the mining industries but once they were brought here, the story changed and were now working as waiters or lorry boys.

Trafficking in persons is not only a violation of human rights but also an offence although the laws dealing with the offence in Zambia is weak such that it has been difficult for law enforcement agencies to punish the offenders if they do then they have to borrow from the Immigration Act. But one of the Somali nationals says Somali nationals resident in Zambia were peaceful despite them coming from a war-torn country that adding that majority of them were involved in businesses that were registered by the registrar of companies.

Mr Ali Abdullah (not real name), who runs a successful business in Lusaka, says he has been in Zambia for close to five years and has not experienced any harassment by indigenous Zambians adding that the peace that Zambians were enjoying had attracted numerous foreigners from war-torn countries to seek refuge in Zambia. Asked where he got money to start up a business in Lusaka, Mr Abdullah says the money he has invested in his business was acquired through partnership with his colleagues here in Zambia. “The money I used to start this business is my own. While in Somalia, I saved money with an international bank and after relocating here I contacted my friends here so that we could start a business. They agreed and I withdrew money from my bank and we put money together and started,” he recalls.

He notes that Zambia has a peaceful and favorable environment for everyone despite their nationality to stay and do business as long as you follow the rules with Immigration Department. When asked how he came into Zambia, Mr Abdullah says he came in through Nakonde Border and was advised by some friends who were already in Zambia on how to go about the registration with Immigration.

Commenting on increased cases of ‘suspected’ human trafficking in Zambia, Mr Abdullah says majority of people entering Zambia were ignorant of the requirements for foreigners in Zambia hence them being suspected to be trafficked. And Ms Mbangweta confirmed saying that possibilities of finding one or two illegal immigrants in Chaisa Township were high considering that most of them do not use proper channels when entering into Zambia. Ms Mbangweta further disclosed that most legal Somali nationals in Chaisa deal in transportation and fuel industry respectively adding that there could be some who were dealing in illegal business ventures that were against the Zambian laws.

The prevention of human trafficking requires several types of interventions. Some are of low or moderate cost and can have some immediate impact, such as awareness campaigns that allow high-risk individuals to make informed decisions. Strong laws that are enforced are an effective deterrent. However, serious law enforcement is expensive. According to the 2009 Global Report on Trafficking in persons, the Zambian Criminal Code contains a provision criminalising trafficking in persons, but it does not include the definition of the crime.

Virtually every country in the world is affected by this crime. The challenge for all countries, rich and poor, is to target the criminals who exploit desperate people and to protect and assist victimsof trafficking and smuggled migrants, many of whom endure unimaginable hardships in their bid for a better life. The rate at which mankind is refusing to let go of slavery, is in direct conflict with modern day democracy and its principles and has come to be regarded as a form of human rights abuse in our society.

Human freedom, dignity and pride are important. It is the responsibility of every human being to protect the rights of its fellow human and youths in particular, since they are the ones to take care of the future world.

Children

Addictive freedom of street life

By Doreen Nawa
THE thought of a child resorting to gangs, drugs, stealing, and forced prostitution to survive is unspeakable and saddening to all.
But as many Government departments, missionaries and charitable agencies working with street children have learned, reaching out and trying to love and give these children a future is no easy task.
Joseph Kalyata, 14, narrates that being kept in an orphanage is the worst thing he could do. Joseph recalls the day he was taken to an orphanage in Lusaka’s Chilenje Township after spending three years on the streets.
Joseph agreed to stay with other orphans at the centre but after a month, he went back to the streets.
Asked why he had to go back to a place where he is sleeping in the cold without blankets, Joseph says he is more free on the streets than being under the authority of foster guardians.
Trouble started in 2003 when both of his parents died and he was left in the custody of his late mother’s young sister.
Joseph says before his parents died, he led a normal and decent life in Kabwe but things became sour when his aunt started mistreating him.
One day, Joseph thought of his father’s relatives in Lusaka and boarded a train. By then he did not have an idea of what Lusaka looked like. But because of the treatment he was given by the aunt, Joseph never bothered to get details of the relatives to the father.
“My father died first and later my mother died too, then my aunt volunteered to keep me. My aunt has no job. She supported us by selling things at the market. She has six children, three boys and three girls and until the end of 2003 I was in school.”
“But as things got worse, my aunt suggested that I should quit school and start selling roasted cassava at the railway station because she had more and more difficulties in buying enough food for us to eat,” Joseph recalls.
His aunt urged him to leave school and become a vendor in early 2004 when it became clear that it meant her aunt alone could not support the family on her own.
“I was in grade three and one day my aunt said I could help the family more if I left school to be a vendor. I didn’t want to leave school but I thought the family might earn enough to buy ourselves some nice clothes and food, and bring money home to my family, so I agreed to do it.”
“I brought some money home and I helped my aunt a lot but to my surprise I was mistreated beyond my understanding. I used to go in the morning at the railway station without eating breakfast. Now I regret leaving school because I miss my friends, and I didn’t know this would be so hard. I suffer a lot but there is nothing I can do.”
“Here (on the street) on a good day I make sometimes 10 pin (K10, 000) but there are many days when I don’t make anything,” says Joseph.
Poverty and HIV/AIDS are sending a growing number of children onto Zambian streets, where most have few options other than begging or sex work to get by.
But when the Government offered a young and homeless Joseph an opportunity to access better living conditions last year, he turned it down. Instead he ran away from the orphanage and went back to the street.
He believed that the rehabilitation and transformation programme in these orphanages was an attempt to decongest the streets by dumping street children in ‘concentration orphanages’.
Today, Joseph says he does not regret the decision. He is a drug addict and the streets of the capital, Lusaka, are still his home. He says he is happier on the streets because he can now do any desires of his heart without interference from anyone.
Minister of Community Development and Social Welfare, Catherine Namugala says street life is addictive and children enjoy it because there are no rules on the streets.
Ms Namugala says it is not an easy thing to rehabilitate street children because of the life they expose themselves to on the streets.
“Street life is addictive. When a child goes on the street, first they get scared of the environment but afterwards, they become used and it is very difficult to rehabilitate them once they reach that stage (accepting life on the street),” she says.
There are more than 1,200 children who have been rehabilitated under the Government programme, and the programme has helped open doors for the reformed children.
Ms Namugala says the Government provides children who are willing to be kept in orphanages and opportunity to live decent lives.
“We send these children to adoption centres to be rehabilitated and acquire skills but, above all, we are instilling discipline. They are not allowed to smoke cigarettes or drink any alcoholic beverages, and the confinement does not allow them to keep cash that can allow them to buy such things,” she says.
Zambia officially has about 75,000 street children, but it is estimated that almost twice that number roam the streets.
According to a study by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), most youngsters living rough or in prostitution were orphans.
The minister says life is better and enjoyed anywhere in the world when one has rules and learns to be responsible.
Ms Namugala admitted that the addictiveness of street children to life on the street was the major challenge that the Government was facing despite the introduction of many initiatives meant to transform and rehabilitate the affected children.
Betty Banda, 16, who lives rough with her aged grandmother in residential plots in Makeni’s Bonaventure area, has urged the Government to extend the vocational skills training and transformation programme in former Zambia National Service (ZNS) camps in Kitwe and Katete to include girls. So far only boys have been admitted.
“I didn’t know that the Government was offering us an opportunity to reform through skills training and rehabilitation. I would like to go if I’m given a chance,” she said, with a 20-litre bucket of water on her head.
Betty says getting a skill from an orphanage or ZNS camp would be the greatest dream come true. Betty says she stopped school in grade seven after the death of her parents and since then, she has never had an opportunity to get back to school.
Ms Namugala says that the training and adoption centres give the children an opportunity to lift themselves out of poverty and hunger.
“Can you imagine how good it will be if our children and youth can obtain skills, and how much money they will make and sustain themselves? Poverty can be eradicated if these children get skills and are taught to be responsible,” she says.
The minister urged Zambians to prioritise family values and to provide a support system for HIV/AIDS orphans.
“Family values are breaking up because of HIV/AIDS-related cases, and people are no longer willing to take responsibility for orphans. We are a very cultured society and have for a long time believed in extended families. We should look beyond our own children if society’s moral fibre is to be maintained,” she says.
Zambia has an adult HIV prevalence rate of 15.5 per cent. Many of the kids, dressed in filthy rags, are regarded as a threat to society due to their anti-social behavior.
Near the traffic lights at Manda Hill complex in Lusaka, a big poster warns the public not to give money or food to the street children, euphemistically referred to as “street kids.”
According to the poster, giving money or food only causes the children to remain on the street.
Children, both girls and boys, turn to the streets in search of a better life but the reality that confronts them can only be described as depressing.
Street life creates extreme vulnerability to violence, exploitative and hazardous labour, sex-work and trafficking.
Many of the so-called street kids are part of a generation of children that is growing up without parental care, support or guidance despite the Government offering some an opportunity to better their lives. The children are vulnerable to exploitation, abuse and disease.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) estimates that there are approximately 1,250,000 orphans in Zambia that is, one in every four Zambian children with about 50 per cent under nine years of age.