Infrastructure deficit: Africa’s sticky point

High level panel at the 3rd 2017PIDA week in Swakopmund, Namibia

DOREEN NAWA, Swakopmund, Namibia.
RELIABLE partnerships between countries seem to be the panacea for Africa’s energy infrastructure inadequacies.
Intra-regional energy projects, if funded, could potentially enable countries across the continent to deliver enough power to its people and industries.
The challenge, however, is on countries in Africa failing to forge partnerships and funding energy projects beyond their national budgets.
Africa’s infrastructure insufficiency does not only affect the energy sector, but it is also visible in the transport and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sectors.
To bridge this gap, experts gathered for 2017 third Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) week from December 10 to 14, 2017 in Swakopmund, Namibia.
The meeting called for innovative ways of financing infrastructure projects in Africa to sustain the continent’s aspirations for sustainable development.
“Africa needs to work together and hunt as a team in order to develop its infrastructure and grow its economy. The lack of modern roads, power networks and other infrastructure hampers Africa’s economic development,” New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) chief executive officer Ibrahim Mayaki said at the meeting.
For Dr Mayaki, to succeed, Africa must develop infrastructural corridors that will link one country to the other. He said by so doing, African countries will be better equipped to develop infrastructure and create jobs.
“The burdens could be relieved and future opportunities captured by developing economic corridors and investing more in infrastructure development as a continent,” Dr Mayaki says.
“Economic corridors create virtuous circles, spurring additional growth, improving living standards and, through this, a greater uptake of commodities – be it from increased consumerism or further infrastructure investment.”
He said the creation of economic corridors has potential to increase the capacity of the continent to create jobs for its people and bring about economic growth.
“PIDA is about regional projects not national projects. 80 percent of infrastructure is done nationally. Sadly, fiscal pressure in Africa is very low, but we need to grow it to 25-30 percent. African governments need to work together and hunt as a team, until them, we will continue facing challenges in addressing the challenges that hinder the continent’s economic growth,” he says.
As the African Union Commission director for infrastructure and energy, Cheikh Bedda notes, the development of roads and energy infrastructure, among others, are necessary to make regional integration possible.
“Job creation through massive infrastructure development is vital for Africa’s growth. We have political will, [but] we need to move and solve problems and stop being skeptical about ourselves. Challenges do not equal to failure,” Mr Bedda says.
The majority of the world’s fastest growing economies in recent years are said to be in African, and economic analysts believe this is what has created demand for good infrastructure.
However, there are fears that infrastructure inadequacies could confine the continent to the developing world.
“Infrastructure is Africa’s top priority. With low levels of intra-regional economic exchange and the smallest share of global trade, Africa is the least integrated continent in the world. Infrastructure inefficiencies are costing Africa billions of dollars annually and are stunting growth,” Mr Bedda adds,
Bridging the gap in infrastructure is thus vital for economic advancement and sustainable development. However, this can only be achieved through regional and continental collaboration.
Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) group executive for origination and client coverage Mohan Vivekanandan feels Africa needs bankable project proposals to secure funding for infrastructure projects.
He also believes the continent has potential to fund its own projects.
“As a continent, Africa needs to save enough and fund its own infrastructure. Some projects do not require government offtake,” Mr Vivekanandan says.
In line with the continent’s Agenda 2063 and the “The Africa We Want” slogan, PIDA has about 400 proposed infrastructural projects.
Among those under implementation are the Zambia-Tanzania-Kenya power interconnection; Batoka HydroPower plant; the Central Corridor, Dar es Salaam to Chalinze toll road; Kinshasa-Brazzaville road and railway bridge.
Africa Development Bank Group division manager under the NEPAD Infrastructure Project Preparation Facility Shem Simuyemba challenged AU member states to partner on projects that will have equal spillover benefits to respective countries.
Mr Simuyemba said the infrastructure investment gap in Africa is estimated at US$100 billion annually out of which US$45 billion is bridged, leaving an annual funding gap of US$55 billion.
“Cumulatively over the years, this gap has been growing as demand for infrastructure grows,” Mr Simuyemba says.
It is envisaged that as Africa’s economies grow at all levels, the demand for infrastructure will also grow and the gaps will get wider, if countries do not get smarter about bridging the gaps.
But with constrained national budgets, the continent needs to enhance private sector participation in infrastructure projects and also moot innovative ways of financing. PUBLISHED IN THE ZAMBIA DAILY MAIL ON DECEMBER 19, 2017. LINK: https://www.daily-mail.co.zm/infrastructure-deficit-africas-sticky-point/

Sickle cell crisis that led Mwenda Phiri to initiative

MWENDA Phiri (second right) with his mum, younger brother and dad.

DOREEN NAWA, Lusaka
NOW aged 15, Mwenda Phiri was diagnosed with sickle cell anemia disease at nine months.
But October 18 last month is a day to remember for Mwenda and his family. This is not because it is a National Day of Prayer and Reconciliation for the country, recognised as a public holiday even.
On this day, Mwenda had a crisis that was precipitated by a minor surgery [appendix removal] and supposed interaction with anaesthesia causing his blood cells to sickle faster.
“It was sad, we were even discharged. Then next thing in the evening, I am trying to wake him up for food and he is not responding,” Mwenda’s mother Lelemba Phiri says. “It was a very scary and a hard time for us as family. We then had to rush back to hospital.”
Mwenda, who is based in Cape Town, South Africa, was in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Blaagder Netcare Hospital for eight days.
After being discharged, Mwenda dedicated every spare hour of his time to his phone, canvassing, and campaigning for the best way to tackle the challenges other children having similar health situation like his.
Mwenda, who was born at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) in Lusaka on March 17, 2002, strives to be a normal teenager, one not defined by his disease.
The disease is so-named because abnormal haemoglobin, the protein that transports oxygen in the blood causes the red blood cells to become rigid, sticky and shaped like sickles.
Sickle cell disease is an inherited blood disorder that causes red blood cells to turn into a sickle shape under certain conditions. These cells die early, creating a shortage of healthy red blood cells causing anaemia. The sickled cells can block blood flow to major organs causing a lot of pain in what is known as a sickle cell crisis.
As a teen with this family of blood disorders, which is also known as sickle cell anemia, Mwenda faces many challenges like dietary- related, and taking folic acid every day which is challenging for many teens but Mwenda has accepted his condition.
“I have sickle cell anaemia also known as Sickle cell disease. Sickle cell disease is not contagious,” he says.
Before last month’s crisis, Mwenda last had a major crisis when he was three years old, but since then, his family has been very proactive with his care by ensuring that they work to prevent the conditions that trigger any crisis like managing extreme weather, dehydration and infection proactively.
But the attack that he experienced last month put his outlook on life into another whole new perspective.
“I was fortunate to have access to specialist doctors, equipment, medicine and facilities that saved me,” Mwenda says.
However, getting the excellent treatment and care for sickle cell survivors especially children is a far-fetched dream for many not only in Zambia, but Africa as a whole.
Because of this, Mwenda has started the Mwenda Phiri Initiative (MPI) in service of child health to raise awareness and funds for paediatric haematology and ICU in Africa.
MPI raises funds for hospitals and support groups in Zambia as well as bursaries for further studies in haematology for Zambian medical doctors.
“Because of my condition as a sickle cell survivor, I learnt that I am actually among the privileged few whose parents can afford great health care,” he says.
After being discharged from the hospital following the crisis, Mwenda took up the challenge and researched to find out how many children in Zambia and Africa have or do not have the luxury of finding doctors, equipment and sundries required to treat children with sickle cell disease.
No prizes for guessing what his findings were.
His findings gave way to Mwenda Phiri Initiative.
Mwenda has come up with a Facebook page and website https://www.youcaring.com/mpi1 to explain more on his initiative and allow donations from people across the continent.
Mwenda has also come up with a go fund me page to raise US$5,000 to purchase equipment for a pediatric hospital in Zambia.
“I started the initiative because during my time in hospital, even though it was hard to go through what I went through, I still felt everything would be fine because I had access to great medical staff, facilities and equipment,” he says. “I wouldn’t want other children to go through the same thing, and considering challenges in accessing excellent medical care, I did not knowing if they would be okay.”
Mwenda is a personification of how positive thinking can change lives and look forward to a better place for all regardless of one’s status in society.
Tapping into the teen mania for sharing even the most mundane titbits of daily life on social media, the Mwenda Phiri Initiative has been shared not only among his friends, but beyond his circle.
Now Mwenda, first born son of Sandras and Lelemba Phiri who has an 11-year-old brother Mwai, has some backing.
He is following the footsteps of his parents who have helping to build entrepreneurs on the continent. His father is director of Startup Grind in Johannesburg as well as chief executive officer and co-founder of Africa Trust Academy while his mother is chief marketing officer at Zoona.
He has tapped into his parents’ zeal and this is helping him build his initiative and reach out to many people.
He launched the initiative on November 12 this year.
Mwenda has an active life.
“I love acting and have won many awards for it. I love music especially artistes like Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott and Quavo and I love community service. I’m the current Vice President for the Interact Club at my school Parklands College,” he says.
But he has to take time away from that in order to spare some hours canvassing and campaigning for the best way to tackle the challenges other children having similar health situations like his.
But although it took away precious hours from his usual play time, even keeping him away from his younger brother Mwai, he says the experience has one of the most rewarding of his life.
“I learnt that I am actually among the privileged few whose parents can afford great health care,” Mwenda says. PUBLISHED IN THE ZAMBIA DAILY MAIL ON NOVEMBER 26, 2017. LINK: https://www.daily-mail.co.zm/sickle-cell-crisis-that-led-mwenda-phiri-to-initiative/

Zoona Misozi Mkandawire is mobile

MISOZI (right) with television presenter Luyando Haangala-Wood.

SUNDAY PROFILE with DOREEN NAWA, Lusaka
WHEN she was 19 and could not afford college fees, she had two options – to get married or take a low paying job.
Today, Misozi Mkandawire, 27, is the managing director for Zoona, a mobile money company that provides electronic transfer services enabling consumers to send or receive money in Zambia.
Misozi’s highest qualification is a diploma in accounting from the National Institute of Public Administration (NIPA).
“My childhood had humble beginnings,” says Misozi, the youngest in a family of five. “I lost my father at age of eight, and things turned bad for me, my siblings and my mother. My mother worked as a tailor, making women’s clothing in the house we grew up in. [But] she always pushed hard work and education on me and my siblings and that had a positive impact.”
In 2002, Misozi was selected to Grade Eight at Nyumba Yanga Basic School in Lusaka before going to Kabulonga Girls Secondary School for her Grade Ten. She completed high school in 2006.
But because of financial challenges, Misozi could not immediately get into college.
After three years, she enrolled at NIPA after her brother assisted with fees for the first year as she pursued a diploma in accounting.
But it was tough, so she started working as a sales executive at Zoona. However, after working for two years, her contract as a sales executive was not renewed.
“I used the gratuity K5,000 from my previous job [Zoona sales executive] to start up as an entrepreneur, a Zoona agent,” she says. “I registered my own company called Fappis Solutions in 2012 with the Patents and Companies Registration Agency and Zambia Revenue Authority which enabled me to apply to become a Zoona agent.”
After seeing how well she did in the first year, she decided to invest even more money in the business. And over the next five years, she expanded from one Zoona outlet to 43.
“I started my own business as a Zoona agent at the age of 22, knowing very little about business,” she says.
“My work entailed providing financial services to primarily unbanked consumers in urban, peri-urban, and rural areas of Zambia. This is through money transfers, bill payments, bulk payouts, vouchers, airtime sales, and international remittances.
“My first Zoona outlet was opened in October 2012 and I had one employee. The first few months were very challenging as we had to work hard to bring in customers since very few people had heard of the business Zoona in Zambia and what products we offered.”
But through sheer hard work and determination, Misozi built her business.
“I had 43 employees, 38 females and five males, all under the age of 35,” she says.
“I empowered five former employees to become Zoona agents operating their own shops independently, which has allowed them to increase their incomes. The majority of my employees were female.
“I am most passionate about women empowerment and women supporting their fellow women. I also worked to train my employees with basic business skills so they can move up in the business and eventually become Zoona agents, go back to school, or start up other businesses.”
In the last five years, Misozi has been presiding over an empire of Zoona kiosks across the country.
But now, she is country managing director for Zoona in Zambia.
Appointed in the position last month, Misozi is now overseeing over 3,000 agents and a staff of 22 at the headquarters in Lusaka.
As a mobile payment company, Zoona prides itself in transforming how people and organisations send and receive money in Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique. It provides clients with an easy, safe, and quick way to transact with their family, friends, and service providers. So far, clients have used Zoona to send more than US$500 million.
“At the beginning of this year, I was approached by Zoona and asked to be the Zoona Zambia managing director,” she shares.
“I’m very excited to see where this part of the journey takes me and to use my experience as a previous agent to help other entrepreneurs thrive. After seeing the positive impact that Zoona has had on my life and some of my own employees, I gladly accepted.
“I believe my experience as a former agent will greatly support the Zoona agents and Zoona mission to help communities thrive and spread financial inclusion where it is needed most. I will also continue to further my studies and work towards an MBA.”
In April, The Economist ran an article titled ‘A different approach to mobile money in Africa’ in which it gave insight into the workings of Zoona and also mentioned Misozi, who was by then not yet at the helm of the company.
“Money-transfer businesses are proliferating in Africa. But Zoona is unusual. Unlike M-PESA, the best-known in Kenya, it is not run by a phone company. Nor is it owned by a bank. Instead, Zoona has built a business from scratch. It processed US$200m in transactions last year and bubbles with ambition: Mike Quinn, its [Canadian] chief executive, talks of reaching 1bn customers,” the article partly read.
“Zoona was founded in Zambia in 2009 by two brothers, Brad and Brett Magrath. As a startup, they were at a disadvantage, having to recruit their own agents. Zoona did so by seeing them as its core customers, giving them credit and training to set up their own franchises. Some are impressively successful. In central Lusaka, Misozi Mkandawire presides over an empire of kiosks. She started with Zoona while at college. Her profits can now reach 50,000 kwacha (US$5,200) a month. That is exceptional. Last year the average agent made $548 in monthly commission, before costs. Globally, nearly half of mobile-money agents have not processed a transaction for a month; 97 percent of Zoona agents do so every day.
“The right location helps. Zoona puts its lime-green booths in canny places, like markets, bus stations and even a hospital. They are often flanked by booths for Airtel and MTN, two phone companies offering similar services. Zoona is not the cheapest—the sender pays about 10 percent on small transactions—but competes on coverage and reliability: for example, ensuring its agents have enough float to cash large amounts.”
Misozi has her work cut out. But she is up for it. PUBLISHED IN THE ZAMBIA DAILY MAIL ON NOVEMBER 12, 2017. LINK: https://www.daily-mail.co.zm/zoona-misozi-mkandawire-is-mobile/

Bald and bold: Natasha Ng’uni’s story

Natasha

DOREEN NAWA, Lusaka
SINCE the age of six, Natasha Nguni, 20, has only known one hairstyle – a bald hair style.
Natasha was born a normal, healthy child, with a head full of hair. But at the age of six, her hair began to fall off, and within weeks, she was completely bald.
She has remained so since.
Initially, there were numerous visits to doctors. But they did not yield any positive results. Her distraught mother sought traditional African medicines. But nothing changed. Natasha has got neither eyebrows nor eye lashes.
Natasha was diagnosed with Alopecia, a rare condition, which is said to affect one person in one million people. It involves loss of skull and facial hair.
Its causes remain unclear but it is believed to be autoimmune, a condition where the immune system fails to recognise ‘its own’ and attacks hair follicles thereby stopping hair growth.
But Natasha is getting on just fine. She is the founder and chief executive officer of Legacy Photography, which she established two years ago.
But it has not always been fine.
“It has not been easy,” Natasha admits. “Because of how society looks at a woman and the hair, I suffered lots of humiliation, whenever I get out of the house onto the streets, all eyes will be on me.
“I was born like any normal and healthy child, with a full head of hair. After I turned six, I woke up one morning and my mum noticed that my hair was falling off in patches. In no time, I was completely bald. I began my journey with my mum visiting different doctors in search of answers.”
In a quest to find a solution to her condition, different prescriptions were given to her. Some suggested she was allergic to certain foods, so, she stopped eating fish, pork and game meat.
At the same time, she was put on various medications like injectable, oral and even ointments for the scalp. Her dad also took her to a Chinese doctor who performed some kind of procedure on Natasha’s scalp but without any success.
“As I was on taking these medicines, my mum also tried different kinds of home remedies [traditional African medicines] that could help with hair growth but to no avail,” she says.
“After visiting so many doctors, only one doctor identified my symptoms and diagnosed me with Alopecia. My mother, out of care, didn’t want me to know or think about my diagnosis.”
Her childhood changed drastically.
“My friends were so used to seeing me with cute little hair styles, and suddenly, I was wearing head socks,” she shares. “Like every inquisitive child, they wanted to know what I was hiding, and they began asking questions. I was bold enough to tell a few of my friends about my situation but there were always those school bullies.”
School life became uncomfortable for Natasha as she dealt with bullying. Sometimes, her fellow pupils would pull off her head sock.
“It was a difficult period for me I must confess, I even hated going to school. I remember, before I turned nine, my hair grew back just on the crown of my head and it was some relief to me and my family,” she says.
The relief was short-lived. It was the last time she was seeing hair on her head.
The humiliation was too much; she decided to change schools. But every time she changed school, her mother had to ask for special permission from the school authorities for her to wear a wig.
In grade seven, she was nicknamed “Baldilocks” but Natasha chose not to be bothered.
“But it always stuck in my head,” she says.
As she grew older and coming from a Christian family, her mum never gave up but prayed for her daughter to find a nexus in life and live happily.
“My family have always been so supportive to me, and that’s something I am really grateful for.
“Even on days when I would cry and complain about my illness, they always gave me comfort and made me feel special in my own little way,” Natasha says.
Sadly, when she was in grade 12, her mum died. It is a scenario that was difficult to deal with.
For Natasha, the passing on of her mother signaled an end to the search for the cure of her condition.
“Who is going to pray for me now? Who is going to massage my scalp? I kept on crying and asking myself such questions, but then, I realised that there is a time when one needs to take things in their own hands and hope for the best,” she says.
She accepted her situation in 2015.
But it was not a one-day decision, it was a process.
Natasha slowly gathered the courage to a point where she could post pictures of herself with the bald head on social media.
In 2015, the year she also established Legacy Photography. Natasha’s self-esteem has helped her to become one of the foremost female photographers in the country.
“I started photography in church with a church camera after a basic photography training,” she says. “Then, I didn’t own my own camera, [so] I decided to use my acquired family skill of baking to buy my own camera. I could bake, and save each time I sold the different confectionaries and finally I got my own camera.”
And now, she can get whatever image she desires. PUBLISHED IN THE ZAMBIA DAILY MAIL ON OCTOBER 29, 2017. LINK: https://www.daily-mail.co.zm/bald-and-bold-natasha-ngunis-story/

Moomba Primary School goes on Bon Voyage

DOREEN NAWA, Mumbwa
EDUCATION has consistently been recognised as the cornerstone of development for any country or region, and one of the highest returns when pursuing development.
But the outcome is influenced by a number of factors, with infrastructure being one of them.
School infrastructure including its design, quality and day to day management is significant in enabling the school system to deliver improved education outcomes. It broadly encompasses land and building, quality of facilities and the overall design.
The development of quality school infrastructure requires significant capital investment, which has increased the overall cost of construction of the school, leaving many rural schools in a deplorable state.
One such school is Mumbwa’s Moomba Primary School situated about 20 kilometres away from Mumbwa town.
The lack of infrastructure is certainly a crisis at Moomba Primary School.
This is so because over 450 pupils at the school have had to share a classroom block for the past 10 years.
The first and only classroom block was built in 2007, before then, pupils were learning in a grass thatched classroom.
The huge cost of construction had burdened the school operators at Moomba, who have limited options for financing available.
“The situation became unbearable and our children were refusing to go to school. As a traditional leader representative, I approach the government representative in Mumbwa town about 20 kilometres away for help last year and few months later, help came our way,” headman Mwanankanama Matthew Mambwe said.
Moomba Primary School has been struggling with poor facilities, unskilled teachers and high dropout rates for over a decade.
Mud and thatched classroom blocks are what characterise the infrastructure conditions of many school in Moomba area.
“Lack of qualified teachers is a problem in most schools in this area and Moomba is not an exception. This is because teaching has always been the last career option for most young people. And when teachers get posted to rural schools like Moomba, it’s a known fact they will either go on leave or apply for a transfer immediately,” Headman Mwanankanama says.
It has been said that quality and reliable infrastructure in the education sector is critical in maintaining the high literacy rate countrywide.
As evidenced from the many rural school infrastructure, the country’s educational infrastructure needed to be upgraded and modernised in line with global developments.
It is a fact that having schools in good conditions is decisive for pupils to achieve the expected academic results.
Educationists say the conditions of the schools directly impacts the performance of the students.
According to Moomba Primary School headteacher Vivious Simbweda, half of the young population in Moomba area meant to proceed to secondary education are being forced to drop out because of various reasons, chief among them being the poor school infrastructure, unavailability of funds and societal preference to educate the boy child.
“The number of especially girls reportedly dropping out from school after completion of their primary education has reached alarming levels. When you confront the families and pupils, the answers we get are that the dilapidated infrastructure is demotivating them. There is need for the government to develop mechanisms that would effectively curb this trend,” Mr Simbweda says.
Proprietor of Bon Voyage Contractors Harry Ngoma says what he found on the ground when he first visited the school to carry out feasibility study was a mud and thatched structures that were being used as a classroom.
“What was first here was a sorry site. I am glad that today, we are witnessing a milestone in the history of this school. A newly-constructed building is being handed over. I am positive that it will positively impact the school attendance. We built it in six months, we started on December 16, 2016 and by June 2017, the works were done,” Mr Ngoma says.
Funded by a South Korean church, Icheon 2nd Presbyterian Church through World Vision Zambia (WVZ), a classroom block has been constructed to cushion the infrastructure challenges at the school.
The classroom block and furnishing, the borehole and toilets all were constructed at a cost of K908, 708 (US$90,878).
Handing over the classroom block to government representative, WVZ national director Mark Kelly said quality education demands a lot and one way is by providing better infrastructure.
“Safe and clean water, improved sanitation are critical for every child to remain healthy and motivated to attend school regularly,” Mr Kelly said in a speech read for him by WVZ regional operations manager Kenny Sondoyi.
Mr Kelly said education is important in the life of every child because it is a well-known that it opens doors to many other opportunities that could enable anyone engage in successful job careers, farming, businesses and scientific ideas to transform their lives and their communities.
And receiving the infrastructure, Mumbwa District Council chairperson Gracious Hamatala said providing quality education starts with having better infrastructure that motivates teachers and pupils to enhance their commitment and performance.
“Education is the greatest tool needed to effectively steer development in our country,” Mr Hamatala said.
And Incheon 2nd Presbyterian Church Pastor Lee Kunyoung said his church is committed to seeing that the people of Moomba have a better education infrastructure.
Pastor Lee said his church has will soon start mobilising funds through donations to contribute to the building of teachers housing at Moomba Primary School.
Currently, Moomba has one staff house occupied by the deputy head teacher, the other five staff are accommodated in the nearby village while the headteacher resides in Mumbwa town.
Finding ways of support to upgrade the existing infrastructure in schools as well as building new ones is a dream come true for people in Moomba area.
“Though we have not succeeded in everything everywhere, our community has earned the admiration for this classroom block. If you see other schools here, they are a sorry site,” Jennifer Maimbo, a resident of Moomba area says.
For Ms Maimbo, the positive aspect of this success story, will be defended and protected to the hilt and sustained for generations to come.
“The quality infrastructure we have received so far should not be compromised but should be expanded by a culture of teachers so that our children can have safe and conducive for learning,” she said. PUBLISHED IN THE ZAMBIA DAILY MAIL ON OCTOBER 29, 2017. LINK: https://www.daily-mail.co.zm/moomba-primary-school-goes-on-bon-voyage/

Surviving an invasion of army worms

Jerry Ng'andu, 53

DOREEN NAWA, Lusaka
JERRY Ng’andu, 53, a small- scale farmer of Shibuyunji district, has lived in the area for over 25 years and his livelihood solely depends on farming.
He cultivates about three acres of land and plants mainly maize and some beans for both consumption and sale.
But 2016 is one year he would want to forget. However, he has no choice but to remember it, as what happened last year might happen again this year, or next year.
This is because half of his maize field was attacked by the fall armyworms.
“I relocated from Southern Province over 25 years ago and I never had challenges in farming like I experienced last farming season,” he says. “The thought of having the [fall] armyworms again is one I dread. I cannot imagine the loss.”
For Mr Ng’andu, the reappearance of the pests will pose a threat on food security.
“Last year, we had the pests and it affected my yield. I can’t imagine going through the same experience again this farming season,” he says. “During a normal farming season, I harvest about 250 bags [50kg] of maize but last season I only managed to harvest 150 bags.”
Mr Ng’andu laments that last year’s mitigation process by Government to cushion the impact of armyworms was not properly handled.
“They are giving a 100ml bottle of the pesticide to be shared among four farmers regardless of the size of the farm. That 25ml was only enough for one acre and I have three acres,” he says. “There was also lack of guidance on how the pesticide was to be administered.”
For this farming season, Mr Ng’andu suggests that Government distributes the pesticide according to the size of the land being cultivated by the farmers.
“As it stands, we are conflicted because we don’t want the army worms to ravage our fields yet we can’t afford not to plant because our livelihood depends on farming,” he says.
Mr Ng’andu is not in a unique position.
Saliya Mizinga, 50, a widow who is looking after seven of her eight children and has lived in Shibuyunji district for over 20 years likens the attack to the much talked about pestilence in the Bible.
She simply calls it a horror.
“The invasion by this maize pest is occurring for the first time and all possible mitigation factors seem not to work,” she says. “Last year, the situation was so desperate we used surf, washing powder, boom paste and ashes as pesticides. So this year, we need Government to come to our aid and give us pesticides.”
Ms Mizinga says she can’t afford to buy pesticides this season because all the money she realised from the sale of her last harvest went towards buying farming inputs.
The fall armyworm, a recent interloper in Africa, widely prevalent in the Americas, attacks more than 80 different plant species, including maize.
The Zambia Agriculture Research Institute (ZARI) now says the army worms are here to stay.
“Farmers should take the cost of fighting the worm into account, when doing their annual planning,” ZARI chief agricultural research officer Mweshi Mukanga says. “Fall armyworm is here to stay and we have to find sustainable means of managing this.”
The anticipated return of the fall armyworms again is due to Zambia’s suitable weather patterns of hot, humid, wet climatic conditions which make it easier for this pest to breed.
“This pest cannot survive in cold climatic conditions like most western countries,” Dr Mukanga says.
But unlike commercial farmers that budget for chemicals too, small-scale farmers usually do not do so and end up having the most devastating effects of the pest.
“It is time that small-scale farmers are encouraged to not only use the e-vouchers for seed and fertilisers but to procure chemicals too for various diseases and pest that may attack their crops,” he says.
Government is already on course to help sensitise farmers on the possible outbreak of armyworms during the 2017/2018 farming season.
But because of the growing numbers of small scale farmers, government may not be able to distribute the free pesticides to all of them.
Instead, a list of the recommended pesticides will be sent to all strategic places through the various agro-chemical companies for the small scale farmers to access and buy.
Among the pesticides that can be used to control the fall armyworms are Coragen, Belt, Ampligo, Proclaim, Sorba and Spitfire.
Agricultural entomologist Phillip Nkunika says tackling the fall armyworm pest and avoiding economic hardships for small-scale farmers requires quick and co-ordinated action, a massive awareness campaign, scientific innovation and multi-institutional collaboration.
“We must learn to live with the realities of climate change. This has triggered major changes in geographical distribution and population dynamics of insect pests and efficacy of crop protection technologies,” Professor Nkunika says.
“We cannot eliminate the pest, but we can provide support to farmers and provide options to manage their crops against the fall armyworm.”
The female fall armyworm can lay up to 1,000 eggs at a time and can produce multiple generations very quickly without pause in tropical environments.
Last year, the fall armyworms nearly wiped out crop production in the southern Africa region but Zambia managed to reap 3.6 million tonnes of maize, up from 2.8 million the previous year.
The fall armyworm has been reported in all countries in southern Africa except Lesotho and the island States, and most of the countries in eastern Africa, including Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.
It has also been reported in several countries in west and central Africa, including Benin, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Nigeria, Togo, and the island nation of Sao Tome and Principe.
It is not yet clear how the pest got to the African continent or how it will adapt.
“We just don’t know how far this could go. Fall armyworm is a very recently introduced pest in Africa and even the experts are unsure what its long-term impact will be,” Prof Nkunika says.
“We need to work together as scientists to create national plant protection strategies. We should also work with farmers to control the level of damage on their farms. For the longer-term, though, only a truly collaborative effort between international and national agencies can provide a solution.”
But Small Scale Farmers Union general secretary Frank Kayula says as Zambia and other affected countries rush to implement various measures to contain the army worms, it is important to keep farmers in mind.
“As we get to find solutions, we need answers to such questions, Can farmers afford these solutions? Do farmers know enough about suggested management practices and how to implement them on their farms?” Dr Kayula says.
“What happened last season was embarrassing; we need farmers to be told on time on what to do instead of being reactive when the situation is worse.” PUBLISHED IN THE ZAMBIA DAILY MAIL ON NOVEMBER 5, 2017. LINK: https://www.daily-mail.co.zm/surviving-an-invasion-of-army-worms/

Where does Lusaka waste go?

Lusaka's Chunga dumpsite hasn't helped address the garbage challenges in the city.

DOREEN NAWA, Lusaka
IN MOST urban areas in Zambia, only a small fraction of the waste generated daily is collected and safely disposed. The rest is anyone’s guess.
For Lusaka, the city generates about one million tonnes of waste annually, according to the city’s Waste Management Unit (WMU). But only half of this is taken to the designated dump site.
For years, waste management has emerged as one of the greatest challenges facing Lusaka City.
It is not a new problem though.
But the volume of waste being generated continues to increase at a faster rate than the ability of the city authorities to improve on the financial and technical resources needed to parallel this growth.
Currently, the Lusaka City Council (LCC) is struggling to manage the waste under tight budgets; highly-inadequate and malfunctioning equipment. This is evidenced from the inefficient collection practices with variable levels of service, poor and unhygienic operating practices in the waste management in the city.
The local authority seems too handicapped to redeem the situation anytime soon.
But council public relations manager George Sichimba says Lusaka city is facing challenges in managing waste because of the indiscriminate illegal dumping and littering, and a public which is seemingly not sensitive to the garbage around it or indeed has any awareness of what represents responsible waste management.
“As a local authority, we cannot deny the fact that we have challenges in managing our waste in the city,” Mr Sichimba admits.
“There are a lot of illegal players in waste management. We have laws in place that prohibit people from indiscriminate waste disposal but people are not sensitive. Enforcing this law has been a challenge. And since they are not registered, they do not dump the waste they collect at the designated place, Chunga dumpsite. They instead dump such waste anywhere and mostly in the night.”
Chunga dumpsite sits on a 10 acre land, north of Lusaka City.
“Only a quarter of the land at Chunga dumpsite is being utilised. The current status of the site looking full are just artificial, the problem is that we do not have equipment to compact the waste, as a result, the management of this waste has been challenging,” Mr Sichimba says.
The council public relations manager however says plans are under way in the 2018 budget to purchase equipment that will compact waste at the Chunga dump site.
“We need specialised equipment to handle the waste in Lusaka because it is mainly plastic,” Mr Sichimba said.
Kenya recently became the latest country to ban plastic bags.
Kenyans producing, selling or even using plastic bags will risk imprisonment of up to four years or fines of US$40,000. It is said to be the world’s toughest law aimed at reducing plastic pollution to come into effect. It took Kenya three attempts over a period of 10 years to finally pass the law.
There are more than 40 countries that have banned, partly banned or taxed single use of plastic bags, including China, France, Rwanda, and Italy.
The Guardian of the United Kingdom quoted Habib El-Habr, an expert on marine litter working with the United Nations environment programme in Kenya as saying plastic bags take between 500 to 1,000 years to break down, and also enter the human food chain through fish and other animals.
In fact, in slaughterhouses in Kenya’s capital, some cows destined for human consumption had 20 bags removed from their stomachs.
In Lusaka, and indeed in the rest of the country, plastic is everywhere.
Plastic is used in everything from the keyboard or pen, to contact lenses, plates and even banknotes in your wallet. It’s in your clothes, phone, car, mattress, and television screen.
Plastics have been used extensively in both food and water packaging in Zambia all because they are easy to carry.
Plastic bottles and sachets used to package iced water that is sold to people in transit points and in moving vehicles have become widespread countrywide.
However, the packaging revolution has not been correspondingly backed by appropriate plastic waste management policy, which has left many cities in the country littered with plastic wastes; thus, creating disgusting visual nuisances and other public health problems.
“The plastic bags we have in Lusaka are so flimsy that millions of them only get used once before being thrown away, you see them in the trees, in the hedges and on the ground,” observes Peter Chulu, a Lusaka resident identifying himself as an environmental activist. “They are everywhere and when they settle on the ground, they collect small pools of stagnant water, in which mosquitos breed now that its rain season, the situation gets worse.”
He says plastic can be flexible or rigid but its lightness also makes it very appealing.
But he believes that overall, plastic is a major environmental issue.
He also points an accusing finger at shopping malls.
“Have you ever considered shopping malls as sources of environmental pollution? This is actually a fact in many cases due to several activities usually associated with shopping malls or shopping centers,” Mr Chulu says. “There is need for shopping malls to find a way of managing the waste that their malls generate.”
But there are exceptions.
Foxdale Court in Lusaka’s Roma is one.
From its inception, its waste disposal has been organised in a way that separates all the paper, cardboard, plastic bags, plastic bottles, and food waste.
Foxdale founder and managing director Angelika Andersen says from the time the mall opened, its management decided to have their own waste management initiatives.
“The paper, cardboard, plastic bags and plastic bottles are collected or delivered to recycling companies around Lusaka,” Angelika says. “The food waste is loaded into a series composting machines, located in our waste management area. The food waste is mixed with sawdust and turned on a daily basis. The food waste turns into compost within a four to six week period. The compost is used in the gardens around Foxdale Court.”
If there is one thing that Foxdale has proved, it is that recycling is key to managing waste. Also awareness raising. Every year on June 5, Foxdale Court organises activities to commemorate the World Environment Day.
“For me, one of the major challenges is our attitude towards the environment. We don’t have a healthy attitude right now,” says Gwendoline Chilufya of Lusaka’s Rhodespark area. “If we can develop that healthy attitude towards the environment, the environment becomes a better place for everybody. You should not have to wait for somebody to tell you to do the right thing. You know yourself that it is not right to litter the environment.”
To ensure effective management of waste, the LCC works in partnership with private waste management companies which service conventional and peri-urban areas in the city. Currently, the council has 16 waste management districts (WMD), and of these, 14 are manned by the private sector while the other two are under the council; these are Kamwala and the central business district.
“We have franchise contracts with private companies. A franchise contract provides a private waste collector with the sole right and obligation to collect and transport waste from all premises in a franchised waste management district to the dump site,” Mr Sichimba says.
The franchise collector awarded with a franchise contract has the responsibility for setting and collecting waste fees for the services provided.
“The fee is however subject to a ceiling set by the council. The waste collector determines the type pf waste receptacles (bags, bins or containers), subject to approval by the council. The fees vary depending on the residential areas,” he says.
However, the maximum fees the waste management companies may charge are subject to negotiations on behalf of the community by LCC. PUBLISHED IN THE ZAMBIA DAILY MAIL ON OCTOBER 15, 2017. LINK: https://www.daily-mail.co.zm/where-does-lusaka-waste-go/

Tech trials births an extraordinary truck

ZAI truck designer at Fringilla Lodge in Chisamba. PICTURE: DOREEN NAWA

DOREEN NAWA, Lusaka
IT ALL started as an experiment. A challenge is given. ZaiLab’s industrial design team was given an unusual challenge: design a working truck worthy of a big-budget sci-fi film in just 300 days.
Success or failure, the team was determined at their workshop in Cape Town, South Africa to design a truck like never before.
The challenge is now a reality. The Zai truck is now on its wheels heading to Antarctica from Cape to Cairo through to the Mediterranean.
Zai truck is the first ever all-terrain, all-purpose, mobile laboratory, studio, mobile office (or home) party truck.
Designed by a South African based Software company Zailab, it took a year to covert an ordinary military Man KAT 6×6 truck chassis into a Zai truck.
This truck started its journey from Cape Town on September 18, 2017 passing through the Namib Desert in Namibia through to Botswana.
On Tuesday, September 26, 2017, the Zai truck entered Zambia through Livingstone’s Victoria Falls border.
“There is joy on the journey. I find it amazing that every time we stop, we have conversations, including with the police. I love how the Zai truck brings us together. From Cape Town, we have had people coming to us and we have had great conversations,” says crew member Dominique Vandenhoudt.
The Zai truck’s interior is just as forward-thinking as its exterior. Its central driver’s seat commands a touchscreen dashboard fed by a range of sensors and video cameras.
Mr Vandenhoudt says their journey is under one of the projects undertaken by Zailab called Voices of Humanity.
‘It’s an expedition that starts from Cape to Cairo, on our way, we stop at certain points in each country and town, we stop and get to our small studio set up. We have a set of 10 questions and we ask people to answer them, the questions are personal like, what is love? The beauty about this undertaking is that each time we ask these questions, we get different answers,” Mr Vandenhoudt says.
By December 2017, the Zai truck is scheduled to reach Alexandria in Egypt, then Europe through the Mediterranean to Greece and later America until Antarctica.
“It started from a dream by the Zailab chief executive officer and founder Nour Addine Ayyoub to reward conversations. He values people’s thought. We need to find out that on the continent. It is the first time we are undertaking this project,” Mr Vandenhoudt says.
A security guard at Chisamba’s Fringilla Lodge says, “I had the privilege of seeing the Zai Truck and standing as the cockpit opened up. Very cool Starwars looking vehicle. Children around this place love it. We took some pictures and I posted them on Facebook,” he recalls.
Designing and building a truck more fit for an orbit than earth might seem an odd choice for such an organisation.
Taking a truck like this to Antarctica for New Year’s might seem odder still.
But Zailab, determined to snap the status quo, regards traditional marketing with a significant amount of distrust.
So, both to showcase the skill of its designers and to start a few conversations, the company bought a truck from the military and started transmuting it into a vehicle any starfleet captain would be proud of.
The plan is to tour the world with it, and in so doing, highlight places that deserve the world’s attention.
Zai truck designer and crew member Roelf Mulder says the truck started out life as a MAN KAT, a practically indestructible 6×6 developed for those times when you need to deliver a 10-ton payload to, say, the Base Camp of Everest (or a science base in Antarctica).
It’s on this respectable base that Zailab’s industrial design team should be proud of themselves for conquering the challenge.
“The truck is an all-terrain. It has what looks like a rock-solid framework that holds up a frontage with the sort of modular aerodynamics and segmented aesthetic that one expects to find on a battle machine.
A hexagonal aperture at the rear, glowing red, carries the promise of an afterburner.
The Zai truck is a twelve seater. Two passenger seats are positioned to either side, and three are found immediately behind; one of these seats, higher than the others, gives its passenger a panoramic view courtesy of a turret that pivots out from the roof.
Expanding the deal is a collection of tech upgrades: solar panels, software-controlled driver features, a laser set-up and a sound system with a punch like on the rear right in its studio. That’s the Zai truck for you.
The challenge conquered successfully.PUBLISHED IN THE ZAMBIA DAILY MAIL ON OCTOBER 8, 2017. LINK: https://www.daily-mail.co.zm/tech-trials-births-an-extraordinary-truck/

Zambia’s alcohol intake out of control?

An unidentified youth in Kalingalinga drinking tujilijili.

DOREEN NAWA, Lusaka
FOR those that drink beer, Zambia has an abundance of taverns and bars, liquor stores and makeshift liquor stores.
There are numerous points of sale both legal and illegal, scattered everywhere in major cities and the remotest parts of the country.
Despite by-laws being set by local authorities to regulate the supply and sale of alcohol, opening and closure times of points of sale, nothing seems to work out.
Everyday, taverns, bars and makeshift liquor-selling points are full to capacity with people watching football games, listening to music, or just conversating with friends while drinking beer and other alcoholic substances.
Usually, the trend brings about the question: ‘Is Zambia in an alcoholic crisis?’.
Bishop John Mambo answers the question in the affirmative.
“Yes, Zambia is in a crisis. We cannot have beers and other unclassified alcoholic substances sold everywhere, in markets, at bus stations, supermarkets without proper regulations in a Christian nation,” Bishop Mambo says.
For Bishop Mambo, alcohol is not only a causal factor in many diseases, but also a precursor to injury and violence.
Its negative impacts have spread throughout to various communities as evidenced from the influencing levels and patterns of alcohol consumption country wide.
“We have statistics of road traffic accidents every year and all mainly point out to alcohol being the causal factor. A look at the cases of domestic violence, defilement, rape assaults most of them land at alcohol as the main influencer. What hurts me the most is that currently, the biggest number of alcohol consumers across the country are youths,” Bishop Mambo says.
Bishop Mambo says the local authority, the Church and every citizen should up their game and ensure that possible solutions to this challenge are found urgently.
A Lusaka teacher Alinani Jere says alcohol consumption in the country is out of control.
“I am a teacher and many times I visit these shopping malls especially Manda Hill and Levy over the weekends, what I find is disheartening.
Pupils have turned these places into dens for illicit activities characterised by unregulated intake of alcohol. Many of these pupils carry alcohol in their bags,” Mr Jere says.
But how much alcohol is safe to drink? It is a question scientists have been trying to get to the bottom of for centuries, and in Zambia there is no data exploring the safe quantity of alcohol.
While many people would agree that binge drinking in Zambia is deplorable and turns towns and cities into ugly and threatening places at night, the unavailability of statistics to show to what extent Zambians drink beer is unhelpful.
The recent Global status report on alcohol and health published by the World Health Organisation (WHO) does not place Zambia among the ten biggest alcohol drinking nations in Africa.
The report places Nigeria in the first position with Uganda being second, Kenya as the third, Rwanda is in the fourth position.
The rest are Namibia in the fifth position, Burundi is sixth followed by South Africa, with Gabon holding the eighth positions, Botswana is ninth and Tanzania is tenth.
Despite the absence of statistics, binging has always been a topic of big debate among Zambians. Those that trade in alcohol have their defence.
Jossy Kaulung’ombe of Lusaka’s Kalingalinga township says alcohol consumption is a choice.
“We do not force people to buy alcohol, they come on their own, and because we are in business, we sell it to them. We are not as responsible for alcholism as people think. As traders, we also take into consideration the caution regarding sale of beer to underaged. There is a big binge-drinking culture among the youth in the country,” Ms Kaulung’ombe says.
And a bar reveller Gift Chikumbi of Lusaka’s Chelston says in Zambia, binge drinking is glorified and the focus is not on drinking in moderation or for enjoyment.
“We should look at why the drinking habits are getting worse. The reason is simple, because of poverty levels, many people are depressed and they take alcohol as a relief. I am probably not a true representative of the Zambian drinking population as I am a light drinker, I drink maybe once a week on a Saturday,” Mr Chikumbi says.
Ministry of Health spokesperson Kennedy Malama says his ministry is concerned about the increase in mental cases relating to alcohol abuse.
“We have noticed with regret the increased number of ill health cases that come as a result of alcohol abuse. That is why we will next month (October) open up part of the Chainama Hills College Hospital to handle cases relating to alcohol abuse,” Dr Malama says.
Having laws and regulations is only one part of alcohol policies; enforcing those laws effectively is a prerequisite for a comprehensive alcohol policy.
The question of enforcement is thus crucial. Severally, the local authorities countrywide have fought running battles with beer traders and all to no avail.
It only takes a day or two before alcohol traders get back to their business despite the visible caution that excessive alcohol consumption is very harmful to one’s health.
So for now, keep those bottles down and you will stay around a lot longer. PUBLISHED IN THE ZAMBIA DAILY MAIL ON OCTOBER 1, 2017. LINK: https://www.daily-mail.co.zm/zambias-alcohol-intake-out-of-control/

Embracing technology for more health workers

Amref Health Africa CEO, Dr Githinji Gitahi with Daniel Kumwenda

DOREEN NAWA, Lusaka
AT the beginning of 2014, the Ministry of Health, together with Child Fund International and Amref Health Africa went tech savvy and introduced e-learning for aspiring health workers.
On February 13, 2014, the programme for nurses was launched by former health minister Joseph Kasonde to help accelerate their training in line with the 21st century technology.
To live this dream, on Thursday September 14, 2017, 1,039 students from 10 health training institutions gathered at Ndola’s Levy Mwanawasa Stadium to receive diplomas in nursing and certificates in midwifery at the largest ever graduation of health workers on the Copperbelt.
The event was the first of its kind on the Zambia soil as song and dance characterised the day as thousands of people turned up to witness the 41st combined graduation ceremony for registered nurses and midwives in Zambia.
The event was unique because among the graduates was the first-ever group of 67 e-Learning registered nurse students in the country, whose performance in the national examination was significantly higher than the national average.
One of the e-Learning graduates, Daniel Kumwenda says the experience was unique.
“I feel exceptionally impressed with this achievement because it has helped me live my dream of being a pediatrician. I did my whole course through e-Learning and when it was time for practicals, we used to go to various health centres to execute whatever we needed to do at that particular point.”
Mr Kumwenda, named best overall student in the e-Learning programme says he never took the programme for granted but instead, believed in it and worked hard in order to be added to the statistics of nurses countrywide.
The 23-year-old graduate says, “I am passionate about pediatrics. I want to work with children. I also want to teach others so that they too can achieve their dreams.”
For Mr Kumwenda, he learnt how to divide his time, at first, it was challenging but with time, he went through it.
Asked what his motivation towards his excellent performance was, Mr Kumwenda said he researched more and dedicated his time to his studies.
“I received study material on time, like videos and other tutorials in audio. I feel what is needed is just commitment and nothing else, I believe being in class and studying on your won is just the same,” Mr Kumwenda said.
Mr Kumwenda said for the two year duration of his e-Learning course, he was in touch with tutors only for four months.
One of Mr Kumwenda’s appeal is to see the Zambia Nurses Lifeskills Training Programme, which uses e-learning technology to train nurses and midwives, with funding from the Mastercard Foundation, extend to all provincial centres in the country.
Mr Kumwenda is aware that nursing is a hands-on programme and the fears of students missing out on practical should not arise because, this e-Learning course adequately takes care of that.
Present at the event were Group chief executive officer of Amref Health Africa, Dr Githinji Gitahi, CEO and President of ChildFund International, Anne Lynam Goddard and Program Manager for Youth Livelihoods at the Mastercard Foundation, Mr Koffi Assouan.
Amref Health Africa CEO Dr Githinji Gitahi commended the e-Learning graduates for their impressive performance.
Dr Gitahi said that the students had demonstrated the effectiveness of e-Learning in closing the gap of trained health workers in Africa.
Amref Health Africa has been training nurses using e-Learning for ten years now and students have been coming out with top results.
For Dr Gitahi, this success is a confirmation that e-Learning is a modern positive approach and he urged Africa to embrace the technology to accelerate achievement of universal health care.
“”Learning has to go along with time, now technology has come to bridge the gap and it helps accelerate the universal in Africa. Technology is the enabler to the future”, he said.
The technology is interactive and students have content with them everywhere they go, allowing them to work even as they learn.
Besides providing employment for youth and bridging the gap in the nursing workforce, the eLearning initiative is also aimed at reducing the maternal and child mortality rates in Zambia.
The infant mortality rate is just over 70 for every 1,000 live births while approximately 59,000 women die in child birth every year.
By training more health workers efficiently and effectively, more women and children can access life-saving health care.
The eLearning was implemented with the sole purpose of training more nurses to reduce the shortfall of nurses.
The shortage of the nursing personnel in Zambia is a thorny issue that has continued to keep government on its toes.
Currently, the eLearning programmes are being conducted only in nursing colleges managed by the ministry of health and is being conducted in phases starting with five nursing schools namely, Ndola, Kitwe, Mufulira, Livingstone and Chipata school of nursing as pilot sites.
Zambia is short of over 11, 000 nurses to meet the nurse-to-patient ratio.
Copperbelt permanent secretary Elias Kamanga says the e-Learning programme has proved effective.
“Let me point out that the nurses being trained using this programme are not different from those trained using traditional methods, those who have already established themselves and their high quality is still respected and because of the continued population growth and need for more nurses, the eLearning program will ensure that we increase the number,” Mr Kamanga said.
When the programme was launched, the Ministry of Health handed over the 80 computers to various nursing schools and 10 computers to the General Nursing Council (GNC) to use for the programme.
The target is to train 6, 000 nurses under the programme in the next five years with each registered school of nursing enrolling not less than 50 students initially and eventually increasing the number they gain more experience.
The General Nursing Council has so far trained 16 principal tutors in curriculum adaptation, 30 tutors in content development, 20 tutors in medical editing, among others.
Under the e-Learning programme, enrolled nurses and midwives receive a continuum of training, including diagnosis of diseases, care for newborn babies, management of labour and its complications, growth and development of a child and provision of adolescent-friendly services, among others.
This innovation in Africa is showing extraordinary development as evidenced from this training programme. PUBLISHED IN THE ZAMBIA DAILY MAIL ON SEPTEMBER 24, 2017. LINK: https://www.daily-mail.co.zm/embracing-technology-for-more-health-workers/

Family planning: The grim reality in rural areas

DOREEN NAWA, Lusaka
ALTHOUGH most Zambians have embraced family planning to ensure healthy and manageable families, it is not yet time to celebrate.
Most women, especially in rural areas, lack a voice to confront their husbands and convince them to allow them to take up family planning methods.
This is a reality in the life of Justina Bwalya, 40 of Kansobe area in Chief Chitimukulu’s area in Kasama.
For Mrs Bwalya, now a mother of 10, she learnt about family planning during her routine visit for antenatal during her fourth pregnancy.
But introducing what she learnt at a nearby clinic to her husband has not been easy.
“I learnt about the benefits of family planning for the good of our children’s health and my health too.
She got married at 17 and her first born child is 23.
She says despite being married for close to 24 years now, she still does not have powers to even negotiate for safer sex.
“The situation of most of women here in Kansobe is gloomy. I don’t have power to open my mouth and tell my husband about this good news. It is not only beneficial to us as a couple when it comes to child spacing, the children too benefit a lot when you space them,” says Mrs Bwalya.
Asked why she has not extended the antenatal invitation to her husband, Mrs Bwalya says asking her husband to escort her to the clinic for antenatal check-ups each time she is pregnant is a risk to her marriage.
“It has not been easy, I have had complications during and after pregnancy, but my husband is not interested in coming to the clinic with me. The spacing we usually have is a year and below for all the 10 children we have had. The youngest child is two years old,” Mrs Bwalya says.
While many women understand the value of contraceptives towards birth control and family planning, many still fear because of misconceptions about contraceptives. Others give up just a few weeks or months after using them.
Georgina Kabungo 24, also of Kansobe area started using birth control pills following a recommendation from her friend. After a week, Mrs Kabungo complained of discomfort and side effects like headache, small swellings on the legs and fatigue.
“I consulted my friend again. She told me that I should always expect such side effects with the pills except if I rely on natural birth control which is not possible with such tradition here. As a wife, I cannot deny my husband his conjugal right. It is ‘yes’ to sex each time he wants it,” she explains.
Many women, like Mrs Kabungo, still fall victim of misconceptions regarding the use of contraceptives.
There are many myths and misconceptions surrounding family planning methods that many women would rather risk their lives than use them.
Some women think contraceptives always bring about serious side effects while others shun them because they fear becoming barren.
The government and non-governmental organisations have directed a lot its energy and money to preach the message of contraception because reproductive health is at the very heart of development.
The rural populace has painted a depressing picture surrounding family planning methods, and the myths and misconceptions are spreading like bush fire.
Mrs Kabungo’s husband James says he is not comfortable with his wife taking a pill because of the many stories he has heard on the side effects.
“Most men here find it hard to approve the use of family planning because of the many stories we have heard. I know that different contraceptive methods like a condom and a pill. Resistance to condom use is because my wife associates condoms with promiscuity,” Mr Kabungo says.
He says the fears of use of a female condom also applies to men too.
“I cannot allow my wife to use a female condom because of suspicions on its use and promiscuity too,” Mr Kabungo says.
Some of the misconceptions include rumours that contraceptives reduce a woman’s libido, make her gain weight or harm her health.
While it is not contested that all drugs, including contraceptives have side effects, medical experts agree that this notion has been blown out of proportion.
“In the pharmaceutical world, no drug is minus side effects, even painkillers. Women need to make intelligent decisions when choosing a family planning method and to tolerate the minor side effects that come with it,” says renowned gynecologist and obstetrician Swebby Macha.
Dr Macha agrees that there is a lot of misinformation on the side effects of contraceptives.
“The truth is that contraceptives are safe because they are tailor-made for each woman, depending on her health conditions. All medicines have side effects and women must realise that a contraceptive that worked for one woman won’t work for another,” says Dr Macha.
The myths and misconceptions is a big challenge in the rollout of reproductive health services.
On July 11, 2017, Zambia made a commitment at the Family Planning Summit in London to scale-up efforts to reach the Family Planning 2020 goals and ensure that more women access family planning, and are able to plan their families and their futures.
Minister of Health Chitalu Chilufya says the country is committed to increasing its modern contraceptive prevalence from 33 percent to 58 percent by 2020 through comprehensive policy and programming in response to women’s expressed needs.
“With a modern contraceptive prevalence of 45 percent in 2014, the country needs further evidence-based programming to help meet the contraceptive needs of women and men,” Dr Chilufya says.
Dr Chilufya says the country has also established a strong co-ordination mechanism by having a family planning programme established with a budget line provided for in the yellow book.
According to Centre for Reproductive Health executive director Amos Mwale, access to sexual reproductive health services should be available to all health centres and should be friendly enough to give even young people the information they need.
Mr Mwale says the Family Planning 2020, commitment is a perfect scale-up plan devised to push family planning accessibility from 33 percent to 58 percent but need concerted efforts to be a reality.
The challenge in rural areas is real, although some married women are willing to use contraceptives, the problem comes when their husbands feel otherwise.
Zambia’s progress on access to contraceptives has been slower especially in rural areas. Due to the many myths and misconception, the trend has not changed significantly in the last 40 years. PUBLISHED IN THE ZAMBIA DAILY MAIL ON SEPTEMBER 3, 2017. LINK: https://www.daily-mail.co.zm/family-planning-the-grim-reality-in-rural-areas/

Plight of pupils at Lwabwe Primary School

DOREEN NAWA, Lusaka
A CHALKBOARD is seemingly abandoned under a tree, but as one draws closer, it appears to be in use. Next to it are benches which pupils use as desks.
This is a place some pupils call their ‘classroom’ at Lwabwe Primary School, situated on Mpika road in Kasama.
Every week, the fifth and sixth graders at Lwabwe Primary School in Kasama gather under a tree to learn.
This kind of learning environment exposes the children to all kinds of distraction and the fail to concentrate on lessons.
A lack of resources like teaching and learning facilities, such as infrastructure is hampering the quality of education for pupils in this area.
Lwabwe Primary School was established close to two decades ago and because of the increase in population in the area, the classrooms cannot cater for all the grades.
“We have a challenge here, I was transferred to this school seven months ago and I have two classes that learn from under a tree. The grade five and six usually have their classes from outside,” says Gladys Mweemba, acting headteacher at Lwabwe Primary.
Ms Mweemba says learning outdoors is difficult as pupils have to endure sunrays that penetrate through the leaves.
Often times, they have to end classes early during the rainy season and winter time.
The destruction during lessons is unbearable, not only to pupils but teachers too.
The school is closer to Mpika Road and this poses another problem, as pupils are often distracted by motorbikes, vehicles and people passing by.
“It is worse for the pupils that attend afternoon classes. There is so much noise, the pupils cannot concentrate,” Ms Mweemba says.
For Ms Mweemba, education must prepare the children to be productive citizens, lift them out of the vicious cycle of poverty and help them have a better future.
But with poor and inadequate infrastructure to support the vision, it is impossible for children to get quality education that can change their lives forever.
Joseph Kangwa, the class teacher of grade five says some children walk 7-10 km (one way) to attend school.
“Most of the pupils are always absent due to the long distance. The highest absenteeism is recorded during the rainy season, as sometimes, only few pupils attend class.” the Mr Kangwa says, adding that the pupils risk not having a quality early childhood education.
Grace Chileshe, a 13-year-old grade five pupil at Lwabwe Primary School says despite these problems, she gets her drive from the parents.
“Most parents are not educated but they are keen to educate their children so that we can have a better life than them. This has inspired me to keep coming to school despite learning under a tree,” she says.
For those getting into the fifth and sixth grade, it has become a trend, they are physiologically prepared.“It has become a trend now. When you going in to grade five and six, you even know that you have to say goodbye to the classroom environment and for two years, you will be learning under a tree,” says Grace.
The underlying truth is that the knock on effect of children performing poorly is catastrophic.
James Lombe, a grade six pupil, says children in the surrounding area end up being demotivated to continue with school and others repeat or drop out of school before completing their primary school years.
“We get laughed at for having classes under a tree by our friends in villages. They openly tell us to just stay home rather than learn under a tree,” James says.
Another complaint made by the pupils is that there are not enough books and pencils for their usage.
“We had a consolation because we used to get free exercise books some time back, but from the time that stopped, many pupils have stopped coming for class,” James says.
Despite government’s continued commitment to educating children and reaching out to the most disadvantaged, a lot needs to be done to meet the global goals on quality education.
An official at the Kasama district education office Kelly Njovu says the problem of upgrading rural school facilities to improve teaching and learning hinges on inadequate financing.
Mr Njovu says better school infrastructure plays an important role in many rural communities and is a symbol of pride.
“Closer community relationships, along with a less complicated bureaucracy, can make it easier for a rural district to make decisions and communicate with the community to improve various school infrastructure in these schools. But like the situation is now, the budgeting is not enough to cater for the construction of two classroom blocks at Lwabwe,” Mr Njovu says.
Funding is the main concern in trying to maintain and upgrade school infrastructure because many rural districts do not have the elasticity to decide on their allocated annual budgets.
It is undeniable that adequate school funding to improve infrastructure and other facilities are crucial to learner outcomes.
Encouragingly, public consensus is beginning to recognise that the education system cannot continue to proceed as normal, government should invest the more in school infrastructure. Rural schools need face lift and indeed upgraded infrastructure.
At one end of the scale, it is clear that ‘sitting under a tree’ affects learner outcomes in the education.  PUBLISHED IN THE ZAMBIA DAILY MAIL ON SEPTEMBER 3, 2017. LINK: https://www.daily-mail.co.zm/plight-of-pupils-at-lwabwe-primary-school/

Young farmers driving rural transformation

FLORENCE (far left),cassava farmer with her sisters

DOREEN NAWA, Lusaka
AS more and more young farmers ignite sparks in rural communities, a new generation of ideas has begun to sprout in Kazungula, Mungwi and Choma areas.
These young farmers are content with their lives in rural areas and their desire to relocate to urban cities is fading.
The rural people not just aim towards the improvement of living conditions and the activation of agriculture as a business, but also extend the vision to ecological conservation of the surroundings.
Under the activation of rural transformation through improved agriculture activities, rural communities in Mungwi, Kazungula and Choma district have gradually separated themselves from the stereotype of poverty and ruin.
Many of them are undergoing successful transformation and have become popular spots of ecological conservation. Ecological conservation deals with the preservation and management of biodiversity and natural resources.
Young people are now enjoying the rural lifestyle by listening to the whispering breeze, feeling the air dancing on the chest, tasting fresh local agricultural products and learning profound cultural heritage.
The comprehensive economy is taking root on these rural areas little by little.
This experience has given hope to many young people who had plans to relocate to urban cities like Lusaka and other towns along the line of rail.
Florence Simasiku, a 30-year-old cassava farmer of Kapongolo village in Mungwi says her thought of relocating to Lusaka or any other city on the Copperbelt has died out because of the increased agriculture productivity.
“I have always admired living in the cities because of the good roads, better social amenities like schools, hospitals and better sanitation facilities. But from the time I learnt better methods of farming, my yield has improved and I am making more money. This has created a sense of contentment and I no longer think of relocating,” Ms Simasiku says.
For Ms Simasiku, she now can afford buying clothes and meeting her daily needs, all because she is producing enough for sale and consumption.
She has been motivated to remain in the village as opposed to relocating to the city like she has earlier thought.
“We need a thriving agriculture sector that can sustainably intensify its production and cater to the needs of an increasing urban population and the demand for more livestock products, such as eggs and meat. Until then, it will be difficult to convince many young people that you can make it in life anywhere, you don’t need to migrate to cities,” Ms Simasiku says.
Young people in particular, believe that better opportunities await them in cities, “a better life” so to speak.
Only a few of them like Kawewa Kawewa 31, of Sikaunzwe area in Kazungula district consider that cities cannot cope with the increasing levels of rural to urban migration.
Cities do not have the adequate infrastructure, energy, electricity, water or healthcare, to satisfy demand for jobs, housing and other basic needs.
Not to mention the already skyrocketing unemployment figures that can be seen in many urban areas.
As most rural to urban migrants are uneducated and unskilled, they tend to find work in the informal sector where conditions of service are pathetic.
But for Gloria Hamweemba, 30 a young livestock farmer of Choma, there is need to figure out how to encourage young people to stay in rural areas.
“Government must work hard to provide prospects for youths living in rural areas. As youths, we are doing our best to change our lives but we need Government to help transform rural areas in order to keep us here,” Mrs Hamweemba says.
For Mrs Hamweemba, the much needed help from Government must include increased public investments in mechanisation and new digital technologies.
Improved infrastructure to facilitate access to markets in nearby towns and cities, access to finance for farmers to grow businesses is also paramount in ensuring success in rural development
While urbanisation is important and often seen as a sign of economic development, it has implications for rural transformation and for food and nutrition security.
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) president Gilbert Houngbo says agriculture and rural development are the best answer to migration of people from the countryside to urban areas.
For Mr Houngbo said the need for Zambia and Africa as a whole to come up with policies that will prioritise rural transformation is the way forward.
Currently, a considerably high number of migrants move within their countries, mainly from rural to urban areas or from one rural area to another, in search of better livelihoods because most rural areas are underdeveloped.
Migration can have positive and negative impacts on rural livelihoods and food security, and currently, migrants, who are mainly adult youths, are a potential resource for agriculture and rural development as well as poverty reduction in their areas of origin.
“The migration of rural youths can result in loss of an important share of the most vital and dynamic part of the workforce, with obvious consequences for agricultural productivity.
Moreover, migration is reshaping the traditional social and economic structure of rural areas mainly dependent on agriculture,” Mr Houngbo says.
Mr Houngbo says there is urgent need for a policy that promotes agriculture and rural development.
“In particular, policies aiming to reduce migration of rural youths should factor in the need to generate viable options for rural youths in farm and non-farm activities,” he said.
Lombe village headman, John Lombe of Kasama’s Lwabwe area says development of rural social services has various effects on rural-urban migration.
Better rural education, which improves the chances of urban employment, will stimulate rural-urban migration, while successful rural agriculture programmes will guarantee food security.
“Better rural health services also reduce the chances of rural-urban migration as well.
“I suggest that governments should reconsider policies which rely on rural development to curb rural-urban migration and alleviate problems of urban poverty and underemployment,” headman Lombe says.
With the right policies in place, Zambia’s agricultural sector can help solve the chronic socio-economic challenges of food insecurity, poverty and unemployment the rural populace face thereby forcing them to relocate to urban cities. PUBLISHED IN THE ZAMBIA DAILY MAIL ON AUGUST 27, 2017. LINK:https://www.daily-mail.co.zm/young-farmers-driving-rural-transformation/

Prioritise health in national development agendas, Mugabe tells African Governments

The President of Zimbabwe, H.E Robert Mugabe has called on African governments to prioritise health in their national development agenda. He said the health challenges facing the Region including communicable, maternal and child deaths and non-communicable disease require concerted efforts to tackle them.

“Let us therefore push health to take its deserved prominence on our agendas in our sub-regional groups, at the African Union level and indeed on the global forum,” he said as he officially opened the 67th session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa going on currently in Victoria Falls.

“The adage that life is health and health is wealth holds true”, the president reminded the delegates adding that “we have all witnessed the interplay between health and development.

President Mugabe also noted that Africa is disproportionately represented on the global disease burden for communicable and non-communicable diseases. “We must ask ourselves why this is so, and more importantly, what can we do to arrest and reverse these trends,” he said.

 According to President Mugabe, part of the solution to these health challenges is to evolve and continuously build the formal health care systems to respond to the currently broader health issues. This, he added, will have to go hand-in-hand with addressing many determinants of health through adoption of the right supporting policies and interventions in non-health sectors. 

Such determinants of health, he pointed out, include educating the girl child, designing better roads, planning urban settlements, empowering communities and managing climate change. “We must therefore provide the solutions across these sectors for better health outcome, and as leaders, it is our duty to foster this broader approach, “he said.

In his remarks, the Director-General of WHO, Dr Tedros Gebreyesus Adhanom, informed the delegates that the Organization’s mission to “keep the world safe, improve health and serve the vulnerable” is set within the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which guide global development including public health. To achieve the mission, Dr Tedros outlined five strategies that will define WHO’s work for the period 2019-2023.

The strategies are the ability to prevent, detect and respond to epidemics including polio outbreaks and antimicrobial resistance; provision of health services in emergencies and rebuilding health systems in fragile conflict and vulnerable states; helping countries to strengthen systems to progress towards universal health coverage; drive progress towards the specific SDG health targets; and provision of a governance platform for health. 

According to Dr Tedros, in order to fully implement the strategies, WHO will have to change and do its work differently? First, there will be more focus on outcomes and impact so that end results of WHO’s work are “the people whose health is protected or promoted by it”. Furthermore, WHO will become more operational especially in vulnerable and conflict states in addition to continuing with its normative and standard setting functions?  Dr Tedreos concluded his remarks by reminding the delegates that “we are here because we care about the health of the world’s people. They must be foremost in all our minds this week. The challenges we face are great. So must be our ambitions.”

Addressing the session, WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, thanked the government of Zimbabwe for hosting the sixty-seventh session of the Regional Committee. She drew attention to the growing convergence of views on the need to strengthen health security and health systems which is being translated into action by the global community.

“Building stronger, resilient and responsive health systems, which reach all localities and citizens, is the best way to stop outbreaks from becoming epidemics. It is the best way to bring equitable health care to all people in Africa,” she said.

Highlighting some of the progress in the drive to eliminate diseases from the region, the Regional Director noted that WHO’s new ‘Treat All’ recommendations for HIV-positive patients have expanded coverage of antiretroviral therapy (ART) with 13.8 million people in the Region now receiving ART. The ESPEN, the Expanded Special Project for Elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases set up last year to eliminate the five diseases amenable to preventive chemotherapy, has leveraged medicines donations for mass drug administration, reaching millions of people in the first year of operation. Dr Moeti also reinforced the importance of a comprehensive approach in addressing the Social Determinants of Health stressing that health is impacted by several factors outside the health sector.  Furthermore Region is already seeing faster, more effective responses to outbreaks and an evaluation of the Reform programme initiated at the WHO secretariat shows significant progress made in accountability, compliance and risk management. 

In her statement, the African Union Commission Commissioner for Social Affairs, H.E Amira Effadil, underscored the importance of strong partnerships and collective efforts to ensure that Africans have a high standard of living, quality of life, sound health and wellbeing as expressed in the aspirations of Agenda 2063.

“The ‘Africa we Want’ is within our reach and we as Africans need only to strengthen our partnerships and turn our Health Aspirations into a reality,” she stressed.

The 67th session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa is the annual meeting of ministers of health from the WHO African Region where they discuss a range of strategies and actions aimed at improving the health and well-being of people in the Region.  The Regional Committee is the Organization’s highest decision-making body on health in the Region and its decisions have over the years contributed immensely in the region’s health development.

The week-long session is organised by the WHO in the African Region and hosted by the Government of Zimbabwe. Among the dignitaries attending the meeting are; the newly-elected Director-General of WHO, Dr Tedros Gebreyesus Adhanom; WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, Representatives of UN Agencies, Funds and Programmes, civil society, bilateral, multilateral organizations and other development partners.