Rights

Birth certificate: Get it………..

By DOREEN NAWA

THERE is much to admire about Donald Trump. He built a successful business empire by having a vision that few people possess.

That aside, Donald Trump did get President Barack Obama to release his birth certificate when nobody else could.

Donald Trump is an American business magnate, television personality and author. He is the chairman and president of The Trump Organization and the founder of Trump Entertainment Resorts.

The issue of President Obama's birth certificate is possibly the most widely discussed controversy in recent American history.

This entire controversy was centred on a birth certificate showing how important the document is to every person.

For instance, without a birth certificate, children in Burundi, for example, cannot enrol in school; orphans and other vulnerable children in Mozambique are denied access to government-subsidized support programmes; and children in South Africa, Kenya, Lesotho and Namibia, are not eligible to receive child support grants.

But in Zambia, very few parents get birth certificates for their children.

According to UNICEF’s document titled, ‘State of the World's Children 2012’, Zambia has less than 20 per cent of all births registered. The document indicates that only nine per cent of the rural births are registered while 28 are registered in urban areas.

Despite its importance, a number of people in Zambia have not obtained their birth certificates. Reasons brought forwards by Josephine Mooka include the long procedure and just the ignorance of how important the document is.

“I wish I had a way, birth certificates would have been issued at a point of delivery. If I give birth at the University Teaching Hospital, before I get discharged, I should be given a birth certificate and that way, it would be easier. But like the way it is, it tends to be cumbersome to get a birth certificate because of the process and the culture of the staff at the Registration offices,” Mrs Mooka says.

Apart from being the first legal acknowledgement of a child’s existence, the registration of births is fundamental to the realisation of a number of rights and practical needs.

“The office of the registrar should look at this vital process and something must be done. It is not different from census. It helps government plan for the people. The same with birth certificate, children will only exist in the eyes of their governments, and enjoy their fundamental rights when they are officially registered with a birth certificate,” Mrs Mooka explains.

A birth certificate is one of the most important documents a child will ever own.

Yet this process is one of the neglected in Zambia. Obtaining a birth certificate is a challenge following the manual way of obtaining the birth certificate

 “Just the process of getting a birth certificate puts one off. It’s done manually and the staffs are overwhelmed with work. I am glad that something is being done to correct the situation. We need a situation where someone as old as 80 years can walk to the registrar’s office and get a copy of his birth certificate,” Dr Joseph Katema, Minister of Community Development, Mother and Child Health says.

This simple document is an essential requirement to confer access to basic rights, and to gain access to social services, including immunization, health care and schooling.

According to Dr Katema, at the national level, birth registration statistics are fundamental to informed planning to ensure that the basic needs of children are met. They generate information about the size, gender and age of the child population, which help governments to plan effectively for education, health, social welfare and a host of other services.

United Nation’s Children’s Fund (UNICEF) acknowledges that data provided by birth registers is also important for monitoring progress towards key development indicators, such as the Millennium Development Goals.

Nothing would seem simpler than recording the name, sex, parentage, and time and place of a child’s birth, but the reality in Zambia is different. The country has some of the lowest rates of birth registration in the Southern African Region.

According to UNICEF’s document titled, ‘State of the World's Children 2012’, the reasons for low rates of birth registration are varied and complex. Birth registration is not always compulsory, and laws are not adequately enforced.

“A major barrier is also the lack of sufficient awareness – on the part of parents and officials – of the direct long-term consequences on children and the impact on development planning.  Birth registration is often not a national priority and government fail to commit resources to establishing strong birth registration systems,” the document read in parts.

There are numerous reasons why parents fail to register their children. Some live a long distance from the nearest registry office and some cannot afford the registration fee.

According to Julius Chilekwa of Lusaka, the reasons for some people not getting a birth certificate is lack of a place for safe keeping important documents because of poor housing conditions.

“This is why some prefer to delay registration until they feel confident that all their children have reached an age when their chances of surviving to adulthood are good. Birth certificate is an important document and for me, I prefer my children get it themselves when they grow up,” SAYS Mr Chilekwa.

Government resources are another problem, says Mr Chilekwa, “Often civil registry offices are few and far between, or lack basic facilities such as typewriters, filing cabinets or trained staff.

Zambia has the highest rate of unregistered children in the Southern African region, the United Nations Children's Funds, Unicef, has said.

Thousands of children in Zambia could be missing out on their rights to health care and education because they are not being registered at birth.

Birth certificate may not be the cure to all economic challenges that children face in Zambia. However, in other developing countries, it is one of the first systems of protection a family can depend on when a precious new gift is brought into their lives.

In other countries, children lacking identification and registration often find life that much more daunting. It’s crucial for every child to be counted and known. Only then can a child walk down the path toward life in all its fullness.

Environment

Tree-planting answer to deforestation

 

 

By DOREEN NAWADEFORESTATION is one of Africa’s vexing problems, with tangible effects ranging from soil erosion to contributing to climate change.
Yet in Zambia, statistics indicate a worrying rate of the phenomenon; an area of forest the size of a football pitch is cut down every 10 minutes for agricultural purposes, charcoal production and other commercial projects like construction.

Statistics also indicate that Zambia loses an average 300,000 hectares of forests every year due to deforestation.
The national tree-planting programme (NTPP) the government has embarked on could be a panacea to the problem of deforestation.
President Sata last month launched an ambitious nationwide tree-planting programme which will see 25 million trees being planted countrywide.
Speaking at the launch in Chongwe’s Kanakantapa area, President Sata said that Government will additionally raise 11,000 tree seedlings for enrichment planting in forest concession areas.
In a speech read for him, by Minister of Justice Wynter Kabimba, President Sata noted the economic potential of the forestry sector.
“With proper management and utilisation of trees, the forest industry has the capacity to turn the country’s economy into one of the most developed in Africa.
“Forests not only alleviate poverty by sustaining food and productive eco-system for agriculture and water development but also assist in the reduction of greenhouse gases which have led to global warming, resulting in climate change,” he said.
President Sata said Government has resolved to reduce deforestation caused by human activities by continuously planting trees.
Currently, Zambia’s deforestation rate is between 200,000 to 300,000 hectares each year.
However, government alone, in this tree-planting exercise, will not take the country too far and that is why President Sata recognises the need for the private sector to supplement Government efforts in addressing the problem.
The tree-planting programme without private partnership would likely not succeed. For this reason, President Sata commended Konkola Copper Mines (KCM)for embarking on a 100,000 tree-planting exercise in Chingola.
A Livingstone-based environmentalist Chiinga Siavwapa is elated by the programme, but also hastens to note that tree-planting should be routine and must be done by every citizen.
Mr Siavwapa says, “The tree-planting project that the president launched is not only about Government alone planting trees, but it should be for all of us. Let’s make tree-planting our habit in order to save our land.”
According to Mr Siavwapa, by involving community groups, local schools, and conducting tree planting at household level, Zambia will slowly change mindsets over the way they use their natural resources, forever.
Mr Siavwapa also says there is urgent need for government to put in place a policy to coordinate tree cutting.
According to Mr Siavwapa, “Tree-planting is not only a rewarding experience but also a great step toward improving and protecting the environment.”
Zambia is recognised as one of the top ten countries with the highest deforestation rates in the world. With this in mind, planting trees to replace the trees lost is an excellent response to this crisis.
Despite the important role of trees, deforestation is a growing global problem with far-reachinimg environmental and economic consequences.
Some international research indicates that forests still cover about 30 percent of the earth’s surface, but each year about 13 million hectares of forest (approximately 78,000 square miles) are converted to agricultural land or cleared for other purposes.
Minister of Lands, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Wilbur Simuusa is impressed that forest officers have embarked on serious seed planting in various nurseries across the country in a bid to ensure that the tree-planting exercise becomes a success.
“Deforestation has many negative effects on the environment. The most dramatic impact is a loss of habitat for millions of species. Researches indicate that 70 percent of the earth’s land, animals and plants live in forests, and many cannot survive the deforestation that destroys their homes,” Mr Simuusa says.
At the current rate of deforestation, the world’s rain forests could completely vanish in a hundred years.
Planting a tree, according to Mr Simuusa, is like investing in the future given the “environmental rewards” that trees provide.

 Publish on Monday, 28 January 2013 06:26

Tourism

Intangible cultural heritage heart of tourism         

 

By DOREEN NAWA
THE contrast between work and play is expressed to children in a nursery rhyme, ‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy’.
No wonder why many people grow with the notion that any person has to take leave or a break from their usual work and have fun.

Following the health experts’ advice that people who cannot find time for recreation are obliged sooner or later to find time for illness, most people have taken it upon themselves to go on vacation and visit other countries and places.
Such has resulted in an industry called Tourism. Tourism can be defined as travel for predominantly recreational or leisure purposes or the provision of services to support this leisure travel.
It is undoubted that tourists mainly visit certain countries to sample what these countries offer in terms of cultural heritage.
The global wealth of traditions has become one of the principal motivations for travel, with tourists seeking to engage with new cultures and experience the global variety of performing arts, handcrafts, rituals, cuisines, and interpretations of nature and the universe.
And this calls for safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage in order to attract more tourists and in turn that will mean more revenue being collected in terms of accommodation and other fees charged for certain services.
According to National Heritage Conservation Commission (NHCC) public relations manager Isaac Kanguya, sporadic travels by the nomads in the earlier days have now turned into world’s most flourishing industry, namely Tourism.
The National Heritage Conservation Commission is a department under the Ministry of Chiefs and Traditional Affairs.
“Tourism is the sum of phenomena and relationships arising from the travel and stay of non-residents, in so far as they do not lead to permanent residence and are not connected with any earning activity. Tourism is an industry without smoke or emissions; it is an education without classroom, it is an integration without legislation and diplomacy without formality,” says Mr Kanguya.
Fostering the responsible use and safeguarding of this living heritage for tourism purposes can generate employment, alleviate poverty, curb rural flight migration, and nurture a sense of pride among communities.
Tourism offers a powerful incentive for preserving and enhancing intangible cultural heritage, since the revenue it generates can be channelled back into initiatives to aid its long-term survival.
Intangible cultural heritage must be thoughtfully managed if it is to flourish in an increasingly globalised world. Only true partnerships between communities and the tourism and heritage sectors, built on a genuine appreciation for the aspirations and values of all parties, can ensure its survival.
Mr Kanguya says the cultural interaction spurred by such encounters prompts dialogue, builds understanding, and, in turn, fosters tolerance, peace and national development.
“Intangible cultural heritage is a very vital component in tourism and it is the major reason why people travel to other countries. Look at Southern Africa, we have people from Zimbabwe coming to Zambia, not only to see the Victoria Falls because they, too, have it, but to see the way of life of the Zambian people and that in all is our cultural heritage,” says Mr Kanguya.
Dictionary definition of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) says that it is the legacy of physical artifacts or cultural property and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations.
Furthermore, cultural heritage includes tangible culture such as buildings, monuments, landscapes, books, works of art, and artifacts, intangible culture such as folklore, traditions, language, and knowledge, and natural heritage, including culturally significant landscapes, and biodiversity.
And Paramount Chief Mpezeni of the Ngoni people notes that culture is a resource for economic and social development.
“When poor communities like those in rural area, preserve and develop their cultural assets, they are also generating new economic opportunities. It is possible for communities to generate income from cultural heritage and this creates employment, promotes tourism, stimulates micro enterprise development, fosters private investment and can reduce poverty,” His royal highness explains.
Paramount Chief Mpezeni says cultural heritage tourism is a fast-growing segment of the tourism industry, creating and sustaining jobs, including providing opportunities for marginalised groups in rural communities.
“It also strengthens social networks and cohesion as groups come together for a collective purpose. For example in Eastern Province, the Ngonis are known for their leopard-skin dress. This cultural heritage has enabled them form association and market their products. When you go to Lusaka or Livingstone, you will find an association of the Ngonis of Eastern Province and that is their intangible cultural heritage, just their dress tells a lot,” says the chief.
Countries value their cultural heritage; for some cultural assets constitute a major part of their national resource base while others emphasise the income- generating potential of the community cultural enterprises.
The appreciation and safeguarding of people’s own culture and heritage have important impacts on social development.
Investment in the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage can increase the awareness of a community’s own identity, boost confidence and can be a factor in social mobilisation and empowerment.
Appreciation of intangible cultural heritage may promote the inclusion and complement capacity building; sense of local ownership and economic incentives also encourage good governance practice.
Zambia is characterised by a rich and diversified heritage and a wealth of cultural expressions.
This culture plays a central role in the lives of its people this is evidenced during traditional ceremonies held in different parts of the country every year.
During these events, paintings and handcrafts are by different people displaying the rich cultural heritage of the specific ethnic group.
Culture also plays an important role in the collective memory of the people. It is a fundamental element of Zambia’s social cohesion; such as at the time of traditional ceremonies, a genuine moment of joy, music, dance, celebration, costumes and fantastic masks, reflecting the country’s rich and colourful handicrafts.
 

Published on Friday, 18 January 2013 05:44

Tourism

Promoting culture through intangible heritage

By DOREEN NAWA

WHERE has the zeal of night story telling gone in grannies, parents and guardians?

Currently, it is very rare that families both in urban and rural areas would gather every evening to tell their children stories.

Not long ago, families would gather around a fire or a brazier to tell their children stories linked to their culture and their way of life.

But slowly this cultural heritage is fading away in most homes in Zambia.

This has impacted negatively on families and the nation on preserving and safeguarding of their intangible cultural heritage (ICH).

“My heart bleeds when I see our children going away from their way of life and their culture. Rapid globalization, population growth, triumph of ideology are contributing to the on-going and (if not checked) permanent destruction of languages, skills, local knowledge and other intangible cultural heritage like story telling in the country,” Kulamba Kubwalo committee member, Douglas Phiri has observed. 

According to Mr Phiri, cultural heritage does not end at monuments and collections of objects.  It also includes traditions or living expressions inherited from the ancestors and passed on to the descendants, such as oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, rituals, festive events, knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe or the knowledge and skills to produce traditional crafts.

“Cultural heritage is the pride of nations, societies and groups. It builds mutual respect, understanding and peace between peoples and helps them achieve sustainable development. Every tribe has the right to be proud when its heritage is engraved at family level and transferred to each generation as it is a boost to the sense of identity among its people,” Mr Phiri says.

Intangible cultural heritage made up of all immaterial manifestations of culture, represents the variety of living heritage of humanity as well as the most important vehicle of cultural diversity.

Tourism and Arts deputy minister, Keith Mukata that intangible cultural heritage is an important factor in maintaining cultural diversity in the face of growing globalization.

Mr Mukata says an understanding of the intangible cultural heritage of different communities helps with intercultural dialogue, and encourages mutual respect for other ways of life.

“The importance of intangible cultural heritage is not the cultural manifestation itself but rather the wealth of knowledge and skills that is transmitted through it from one generation to the next,’’ he said.

According to experts, the social and economic value of this transmission of knowledge is relevant for minority groups and for mainstream social groups within our country

According to Mr Mukata, Zambia is at crossroads following the failure by parents and the nation at large to keep track of the intangible cultural heritage through books.

“It’s very disappointing to see parents encouraging their children to watch western movies rather than encouraging them to watch movies like Banja, those done in our local languages and depicting our way of life as Zambians,” Mr Mukata said.

He was speaking during a stakeholders workshop organised by the Zambia Commission of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Lusaka recently.

According to Mr Mukata, traditional knowledge and practices lie at the heart of a community’s culture and identity but are under serious threat from globalisation and modernisation.

“Even though some aspects of traditional knowledge, such as medicinal uses of local plant species, may be of interest to scientists and corporations, many traditional practices are nevertheless disappearing and all because of globalisation and modernisation.

There is urgent need to record and make digital inventories of these memoirs before we lose them. Once the old generation is gone, we will lose these intangible cultures like it is the situation with storytelling,” Mr Mukata says.

However, the deputy minister was impressed that the Makishi Masquerade as well as the Gule Wa Mkulu were proclaimed as masterpieces of the oral and intangible culture by UNESCO.

It has been noted that rapid globalization has had a marked effect on a community’s disappearance of a sacred cultural heritage hence the need to ensure that the intangible cultures are safeguarded.

The intangible cultural heritage of a nation is the crystallization of the essence of the culture and wisdom of that nation.

For instance, Zambia is a nation comprised of more than 73 tribes that have created a great treasure of intangible cultural heritage over a long period of time and all this could be lost easily if not safeguarded.

Currently, intangible cultural heritage might involve traditional music and dance, prayers and songs, clothing and sacred items as well as ritual and ceremonial practices and an acute awareness and knowledge of the natural world.

Similarly, festivals are complex expressions of intangible cultural heritage that include singing, dancing, theatre, feasting, oral tradition and storytelling, displays of craftsmanship, sports and other entertainments.

To be kept alive, intangible cultural heritage must be relevant to its community, continuously recreated and transmitted from one generation to another.

There is a risk that certain elements of intangible cultural heritage could die out or disappear without help, but safeguarding does not mean fixing or freezing intangible cultural heritage in some pure or primordial form.

According to the UNESCO’s Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, safeguarding intangible cultural heritage is about the transferring of knowledge, skills and meaning. Transmission or communicating heritage.

This should be from generation to generation which is emphasized in the Convention rather than the production of concrete manifestations such as dances, songs, musical instruments or crafts.

Safeguarding measures to ensure that intangible cultural heritage can be transmitted from one generation to another are considerably different from those required for protecting tangible heritage (natural and cultural).

However, some elements of tangible heritage are often associated with intangible cultural heritage. That is why the Convention includes, in its definition of intangible cultural heritage, the instruments, cultural objects and cultural spaces associated with it.

Intangible cultural heritage is the emblem of the spiritual culture of the many different peoples of the world, and at the same time, is an important legacy shared by many people.

There has been active discussion in the global community on recognition and respect for the diversity of culture in this age of globalization.

In particular, the importance of preserving and promoting the intangible cultural heritage that comprises the roots of each people's cultural identity has especially been gaining attention around the world.

Intangible cultural heritage cannot be recovered once it has been lost just like an African saying goes; when an elder dies, a library burns. In recent years, due to the aging of practitioners and the lack of successors for their arts and crafts, a great amount of Intangible Cultural Heritage is facing the danger of extinction. Urgent steps must be taken to preserve and promote intangible heritage.

Published on December 12, 2012

Maternal Health

Unsafe Abortion: Zambia at crossroads

By DOREEN NAWA
NINETEEN-YEAR OLD Amanda Kayula of Lusaka’s Chainda township died of complications from illegal abortion on May 1 last year at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH).

Sadly, Amanda’s fate is all too common. Illegal abortions kill dozens of Zambian women every year.
According to a Gynaecologist Swebby Macha, 50 percent of acute gynaecological admissions are as a result of abortion complications, a big proportion being from unsafe abortion.
Although there is limited formal data on the subject, the number of deaths caused by unsafe abortion is likely far higher than recorded since the UTH only took into account cases that were attended to by medical professionals at the institution.
“Alongside death, illegal abortions result in serious illness. Immediate complications from unsafe abortions include severe bleeding, uterine perforation, tearing of the cervix, severe damage to the genitals and abdomen, internal infection of the abdomen and blood poisoning,” Dr Macha says.
According to Dr Macha, medium-term complications range from reproductive tract infections and pelvic inflammatory disease to chronic pain, and long term complications include increased risk of infertility and ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage or premature delivery in subsequent pregnancies.
However, the media has reported on how easily accessible illegal and unsafe abortion is in Zambia. Cases of baby dumping are stories that make interesting reading in newspapers all point to how easily accessible unsafe and illegal abortion is and the victims are condemned by society without scrutinising the reason behind their action.
Recently, a 19-year-old girl of Lusaka’s Chunga Township dumped her newly-born into a pit latrine and the baby died after several hours of trying to rescue it. Such stories are the order of the day in Lusaka and many other cities in the country. Such are cases that go unnoticed and just the collection of data is another challenge.
Unfortunately, the very nature of illegal abortion provision makes it difficult to collect figures on providers’ activities or confirm trends, though increased advertising seems to support that the number of unsafe providers is increasing.
According to Dr Macha, very limited data is collected on the number of women who die or experience serious illness due to illegal abortions outside of health facilities, apart from sporadic cases, like those that receive media coverage.
What is clear is that the number of women who seek an abortion in a formal health facility is nearly equal to those who seek them elsewhere.
Statistics at the UTH shows that 30 percent of abortions undergone by young people between the ages of 13 and 19 took place outside a hospital or clinic and were therefore likely to be unsafe.
Dr Macha says cases of illegal abortion are expected to be on the rise should Article 28 in the Draft constitution pass. The proposed law: Article 28 states that; every person has, subject to clauses (2) and (3), right to life which begins at conception.
Article 28 further states that a person shall not be deprived of life intentionally, expect to the extent authorised by this Constitution or any other law.
But Article 12 states that; No person shall deprive an unborn child of life by termination of pregnancy expect in accordance with the conditions laid down by an Act of Parliament for that purpose.
According to Dr Macha, if enacted, Article 28 could be used as a basis to restrict reproductive health services.
Dr Macha says, the clause ‘Life begins at conception’ does not belong in the Zambian Constitution adding that women should be allowed to decide whether to keep the pregnancy or not.
“Should Article 28 in the Draft Constitution go as it is now, it will be an infringement on women’s rights. Women in Zambia seek abortions outside hospitals and clinics for various reasons. There are reasons for going to illegal providers include not knowing where to access safe abortions, stigma from their communities, judgemental staff and concerns over confidentiality and cost,” Dr Macha says.
Giving reference to the Draft Constitution’s Article 28, Dr Macha says if enacted could limit the treatment of infertility and also the treatment for ectopic pregnancies.
And Ipas Zambia says illegal abortion providers prey on women’s lack of knowledge for their financial gain. There is a vital need for a two-pronged approach to end illegal abortion.
“First, the public need to be fully informed on who is a legitimate safe abortion provider. Second, implementation of the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act needs to be assessed on a national level. Steps must be taken to end the needless mortality and morbidity that result from unsafe abortions. Unsafe abortions are on the rise across the world,” says Ipas Zambia country director Felicia Sakala.
Ipas is an international organisation dedicated to preventing maternal deaths.
Mrs Sakala notes that while some countries have decreased their restrictions on abortion, others have increased barriers to safe abortions through more restrictive laws, unwillingness to train providers, increasing the cost of obtaining safe services and validating abortion stigmatisation through perpetuation of cultural and societal norms.
Mrs Sakala says unsafe abortion is a serious problem in Zambia, “National figures do not exist, reflecting the low status of the issue, but our research suggests thousands die every year attempting to terminate their pregnancies. These deaths account for 30 percent of an excessively high maternal mortality rate of 591 deaths per 100,000 live births. Girls and young women under 19 years old account for a staggering 80 percent of these deaths.
According to Mrs Sakala, without tackling unsafe abortion, it will be impossible to reduce maternal mortality.
“Abortion is actually legal under the Termination of Pregnancy Act of 1972 but very few people know about it. It is not just the general public either; health providers and even lawyers do not have all the information and should Article 28 be enacted, the problem will be massive,” Mrs Sakala says.
“We really need to change people’s mind-set, if we are to win this battle. When a woman has decided she wants to get rid of a pregnancy then she has really made up her mind, whatever you say she will procure it, so you may as well make it safe,” the country director says.
Mrs Sakala was a midwife for 30 years and has worked on highly contentious issues such as gender-based violence and HIV, which currently affects 14.3 percent of Zambians.
She believes abortion should be approached in a similar way, by bringing it out of the shadows. “Everyone knows someone who has had an unsafe abortion; three of my daughters’ friends have died from it. So, whether we are mothers, grandmothers or sisters, we need to start talking about it, to challenge the stigma. We have been silent for too long and the longer we stay silent, the more women will die.”

Published Wednesday, 16 January 2013 06:43