SOME students from higher learning institutions in the country have urged government to scale-up interventions aimed at addressing unsafe and illegal abortions in Zambia.
The students who held a Youth Parliament last week sponsored by IPAS in commemoration of Commonwealth Day moved a motion that Government should scale-up interventions to address unsafe and illegal abortions in the country.
Current Zambia Demographic Health Survey maternal mortality statistics now stand at 398 maternal deaths for every 100,000 live births, and it is estimated that 30 percent of these deaths are due to unsafe abortion.
Tifwepo Nkunika a fourth-year student at the University of Zambia (UNZA) said Government should start prosecuting girls and women who abort pregnancies without the authorisation.
Ms Nkunika noted that abortion in Zambia is only legal if the life of a mother and child is at stake and three doctors authorise for abortion to be conducted.
“I am meant to believe that prosecutors are not doing their job in prosecuting those women and girls who are aborting without the authorisation of three doctors and putting their lives at risk,” she said.
And Naomi Mikayaya, another UNZA student called on Government to provide information on unsafe and illegal abortions among youths.
Ms Mikayaya noted that young people have no knowledge on what constitutes a safe abortion.
She also called “for more information on the right usage of contraceptives among youths.”
Speaking earlier, Zambia All Party Parliamentary group on Population and Development (ZAPPD) chairperson Highvie Hamududu noted that teenage pregnancies, early marriages and unsafe and illegal abortions are on the rise and that young people should be equipped with information to make informed choices.
“Out of Zambia’s 14million population, 50 percent are young people aged below 19 years. This young population presents both an opportunity and a challenge, depending on the actions we take today,” Mr Hamududu said.
Meanwhile IPAS country director Felicia Sakala also reiterated calls for Government to provide interventions to address unsafe abortions among young people.
Ms Sakala said unsafe and illegal abortions have continued contributing to the high maternal mortality rate the country is witnessing.
Wednesday, 18 March 2015
Wednesday, 25 February 2015
Sesheke schoolgirls: “Good life” in preference to education
“MY parents are based in Lukulu district but they sent me here for school as a boarder at Sesheke Secondary School. When I came here I did not like the kind of food served at school. I opted for my own accommodation arrangement so that I can eat the food I want.”
These words of 18-year-old Namukolo Mukela (not real name) are a common claim and an assertion of many pupils at Sesheke Secondary School who have chosen a “good life” in preference to education.
The situation, however, is not only common at Sesheke Secondary School but a tip of the practice in the Western Province as well as the rest of the country.
The school is the only secondary institution in the district and has been in existence since 1966.
During a tour of duty of the district, it was found that pupils in boarding were shifting to their own accommodation to run away from the school’s menu of beans and cabbage which is found in most boarding schools.
Pupils rent rooms in McKillop, area which is about 50 metres away from the school.
The mud and pole-erected rooms are, however, owned by individuals who seem to care less about the well-being of the pupils but only interested in getting money from the pupils.
It was established that pupils, who mainly comprise of girls, pay K80 rentals per month and 50 ngwee for a container of water.
Namukolo, who is a grade twelve pupil and not long ago was a school drop-out due to pregnancy, thanks to the re-entry policy, said she could not stand the kind of diet she was subjected to as a boarder.
She claimed pupils hardly had beef or chicken and this prompted her to look for her own accommodation with hope of having a balanced diet.
“We pay K650 per term as boarders and when I’m given that much I pay a K350 to learn as a day scholar and use the rest to buy the food I want to eat. I must say I’m enjoying life on my own,” said Namukolo expressively.
Indeed she was apparently happy with the arrangement as a visit to her room revealed another side of her life. In her room was a pair of a man’s canvas shoes.
And when asked to comment on why a man’s pair of shoes was in her apartment, Namukolo, dressed in a short blue denim skirt and a sleeveless top, burst into laughter and said, “Madam, honestly, I have no answer for you.”
It can be said that this awful behaviour has contributed to the high HIV/AIDS prevalence in the district.
The prevalence rate now stands at 13.3 percent and the fact that it is a border town which shares a boundary with Namibia is compounding the situation.
When contacted for a comment, Sesheke Secondary School deputy head teacher Gift Sibanze confirmed that pupils were renting apartments instead of living within the school premises because they wanted to be out of the school’s authority.
Mr Sibanze was appalled that pupils preferred their own accommodation arrangements instead of getting education first to enhance their future prospects.
He, however, admitted that pupils’ menu consists of beans and cabbage daily due to the challenges the school is facing.
But Mr Sibanze said, “We do give them meat and chicken once in a while but you cannot expect us to provide these things on a daily basis.”
However, he was quick to say that pupils, especially, girls were only living alone because of the freedom they were able to have but this practice led to early marriages and the increase in HIV and AIDS the district.
“When they are within the school premises we control their movements and their freedom,” Mr Sibanze said with concern.
According to him, the school enrolment which stands at 2,285 pupils, of whom 1,266 are girls and 1,019 are boys, has failed to record an impressive pass rate because of this development.
Current statistics of 2013 stood at 34 percent for the grade twelve results.
And to mitigate this challenge, the school has embarked on tracking and monitoring pupils in boarding from the time they join the school.
“We are now ensuring that we monitor the number of boarders as they come in grade ten,” he said.
Sesheke district commissioner Mihupulo Yumei expressed concern over the development and called for parents and stakeholders to join in addressing the challenge.
Mr Yumei called for stringent measures to be put in place to address the sad development.
He noted that “it is disturbing to see pupils engaging in immoral behaviour and worse still beer drinking due to cheap imported alcohol.
But, district education board secretary Mubonda Katukula apportioned blame on parents for this widespread development.
Mr Katukula noted that the renting of rooms by pupils has in most cases been a ‘blessing’ to parents.
“Some parents rent apartments for their children without the school authorities knowing about it. In my view, it is better to approach the school if they have challenges of paying boarding fees for their children than to rent rooms for them [pupils] as this gives them freedom,” he said.
In spite of the challenges mentioned above, the education system should continue in its vision of instilling discipline, upright moral values, and genuine patriotism for the good of the nation.
These words of 18-year-old Namukolo Mukela (not real name) are a common claim and an assertion of many pupils at Sesheke Secondary School who have chosen a “good life” in preference to education.
The situation, however, is not only common at Sesheke Secondary School but a tip of the practice in the Western Province as well as the rest of the country.
The school is the only secondary institution in the district and has been in existence since 1966.
During a tour of duty of the district, it was found that pupils in boarding were shifting to their own accommodation to run away from the school’s menu of beans and cabbage which is found in most boarding schools.
Pupils rent rooms in McKillop, area which is about 50 metres away from the school.
The mud and pole-erected rooms are, however, owned by individuals who seem to care less about the well-being of the pupils but only interested in getting money from the pupils.
It was established that pupils, who mainly comprise of girls, pay K80 rentals per month and 50 ngwee for a container of water.
Namukolo, who is a grade twelve pupil and not long ago was a school drop-out due to pregnancy, thanks to the re-entry policy, said she could not stand the kind of diet she was subjected to as a boarder.
She claimed pupils hardly had beef or chicken and this prompted her to look for her own accommodation with hope of having a balanced diet.
“We pay K650 per term as boarders and when I’m given that much I pay a K350 to learn as a day scholar and use the rest to buy the food I want to eat. I must say I’m enjoying life on my own,” said Namukolo expressively.
Indeed she was apparently happy with the arrangement as a visit to her room revealed another side of her life. In her room was a pair of a man’s canvas shoes.
And when asked to comment on why a man’s pair of shoes was in her apartment, Namukolo, dressed in a short blue denim skirt and a sleeveless top, burst into laughter and said, “Madam, honestly, I have no answer for you.”
It can be said that this awful behaviour has contributed to the high HIV/AIDS prevalence in the district.
The prevalence rate now stands at 13.3 percent and the fact that it is a border town which shares a boundary with Namibia is compounding the situation.
When contacted for a comment, Sesheke Secondary School deputy head teacher Gift Sibanze confirmed that pupils were renting apartments instead of living within the school premises because they wanted to be out of the school’s authority.
Mr Sibanze was appalled that pupils preferred their own accommodation arrangements instead of getting education first to enhance their future prospects.
He, however, admitted that pupils’ menu consists of beans and cabbage daily due to the challenges the school is facing.
But Mr Sibanze said, “We do give them meat and chicken once in a while but you cannot expect us to provide these things on a daily basis.”
However, he was quick to say that pupils, especially, girls were only living alone because of the freedom they were able to have but this practice led to early marriages and the increase in HIV and AIDS the district.
“When they are within the school premises we control their movements and their freedom,” Mr Sibanze said with concern.
According to him, the school enrolment which stands at 2,285 pupils, of whom 1,266 are girls and 1,019 are boys, has failed to record an impressive pass rate because of this development.
Current statistics of 2013 stood at 34 percent for the grade twelve results.
And to mitigate this challenge, the school has embarked on tracking and monitoring pupils in boarding from the time they join the school.
“We are now ensuring that we monitor the number of boarders as they come in grade ten,” he said.
Sesheke district commissioner Mihupulo Yumei expressed concern over the development and called for parents and stakeholders to join in addressing the challenge.
Mr Yumei called for stringent measures to be put in place to address the sad development.
He noted that “it is disturbing to see pupils engaging in immoral behaviour and worse still beer drinking due to cheap imported alcohol.
But, district education board secretary Mubonda Katukula apportioned blame on parents for this widespread development.
Mr Katukula noted that the renting of rooms by pupils has in most cases been a ‘blessing’ to parents.
“Some parents rent apartments for their children without the school authorities knowing about it. In my view, it is better to approach the school if they have challenges of paying boarding fees for their children than to rent rooms for them [pupils] as this gives them freedom,” he said.
In spite of the challenges mentioned above, the education system should continue in its vision of instilling discipline, upright moral values, and genuine patriotism for the good of the nation.
Thursday, 8 January 2015
Appoint female press aide, presidential candidates told
TWO media bodies in the country have urged political parties in the forth-coming presidential election to consider appointing a female press aide once elected into office.
Zambia has never had a woman press aide since independence.
Speaking in an interview with Femail, Zambia Union of Journalists General Secretary Angela Chishimba said it is high time elected governments appointed female press aides as a way of empowering women in the media.
Ms Chishimba said there are capable women in the media who can represent the President both at local and international levels.
She said, “Just the same way they have appointed women in sectors, such as in the police, auditor general and anti-corruption commission, they should also empower women in the media.
Press Association of Zambia executive secretary Patson Phiri has challenged women in the media to engage in political reporting if they are to be recognised by political parties.
“But now gender empowerment has become one of the qualities of good governance, it is important that politicians look at that principle and implement it at all cost,” Mr Phiri said.
And Media Institute of Southern Africa chairperson Hellen Mwale said the appointment of a female press aide will be a great gift to the media frantenity.
She noted that SADC protocol requires to have 50 per cent of women in decision making positions.
"Fifty years after independence Zambia has only had one female spokesperson at statehouse during the reign of Dr Kenneth Kaunda by the name of Dr Mable Milimoell," Ms Mwale said.
Zambia has never had a woman press aide since independence.
Speaking in an interview with Femail, Zambia Union of Journalists General Secretary Angela Chishimba said it is high time elected governments appointed female press aides as a way of empowering women in the media.
Ms Chishimba said there are capable women in the media who can represent the President both at local and international levels.
She said, “Just the same way they have appointed women in sectors, such as in the police, auditor general and anti-corruption commission, they should also empower women in the media.
Press Association of Zambia executive secretary Patson Phiri has challenged women in the media to engage in political reporting if they are to be recognised by political parties.
“But now gender empowerment has become one of the qualities of good governance, it is important that politicians look at that principle and implement it at all cost,” Mr Phiri said.
And Media Institute of Southern Africa chairperson Hellen Mwale said the appointment of a female press aide will be a great gift to the media frantenity.
She noted that SADC protocol requires to have 50 per cent of women in decision making positions.
"Fifty years after independence Zambia has only had one female spokesperson at statehouse during the reign of Dr Kenneth Kaunda by the name of Dr Mable Milimoell," Ms Mwale said.
Construction sites get 72,000 condoms monthly
OVER 72,000 condoms are distributed to each road construction site every month to meet the high demand though they remain in short supply at the source.
According to Youth Cultural Promotion Association executive director Beck Banda, the demand for condoms is high in areas where road construction works are taking place.
However, Dr Banda said the supply for condoms is low and they are not readily available even in areas such as Lusaka.
Speaking in an interview, Dr Banda who is also engaged by the Road Development Agency in sensitising road construction workers on HIV/AIDS said over 72,000 condoms are given out at sites every month.
He said “we have done so much sensitising in districts where road construction works are taking place because girls and women are indulging in sexual activities due to poverty. So we sensitise both construction workers and the community.’
Dr Banda added that sensitisation programmes will be extended to schools in the construction sites this year.
“A warning to parents with children in boarding schools located where road construction works are taking place: make sure you give adequate food stuffs to your children to avoid them going to construction workers who will give them what they need in exchange for sex,” he said.
Meanwhile Dr Banda has called on government through RDA to increase funding to the HIV/AIDS sensitisation programmes due to the huge task involved.
He said there are many communities to reach countrywide which need these services.
And Dr Banda has since commended construction firms for allowing their workers to be sensitised on good behavioural practices.
“We have worked with China-Henain, China Civil, China-state, Road and pave and China Jauxi. And we hope they continue rendering their support even the New Year,” he added.
Government through RDA in 2012 embarked on a programme meant to sensitise road construction workers on their sites and neighbouring communities on HIV/AIDS and gender activities.
This came in wake of reports that girls and women were offering sex in exchange for money due to poverty and in turn increasing the levels of HIV/AIDS in the country.
According to Youth Cultural Promotion Association executive director Beck Banda, the demand for condoms is high in areas where road construction works are taking place.
However, Dr Banda said the supply for condoms is low and they are not readily available even in areas such as Lusaka.
Speaking in an interview, Dr Banda who is also engaged by the Road Development Agency in sensitising road construction workers on HIV/AIDS said over 72,000 condoms are given out at sites every month.
He said “we have done so much sensitising in districts where road construction works are taking place because girls and women are indulging in sexual activities due to poverty. So we sensitise both construction workers and the community.’
Dr Banda added that sensitisation programmes will be extended to schools in the construction sites this year.
“A warning to parents with children in boarding schools located where road construction works are taking place: make sure you give adequate food stuffs to your children to avoid them going to construction workers who will give them what they need in exchange for sex,” he said.
Meanwhile Dr Banda has called on government through RDA to increase funding to the HIV/AIDS sensitisation programmes due to the huge task involved.
He said there are many communities to reach countrywide which need these services.
And Dr Banda has since commended construction firms for allowing their workers to be sensitised on good behavioural practices.
“We have worked with China-Henain, China Civil, China-state, Road and pave and China Jauxi. And we hope they continue rendering their support even the New Year,” he added.
Government through RDA in 2012 embarked on a programme meant to sensitise road construction workers on their sites and neighbouring communities on HIV/AIDS and gender activities.
This came in wake of reports that girls and women were offering sex in exchange for money due to poverty and in turn increasing the levels of HIV/AIDS in the country.
Traditional leaders join fight against malnutrition
ZAMBIA is one of the countries in Africa with the highest burden of under nutrition in children.
Thousands of children suffer from one or more forms of malnutrition including low birth weight, wasting, stunting and underweight.
The current child stunting levels in Zambia stand at 45 percent with a breakdown of prevalence of wasting at five percent, prevalence of underweight at 15 percent and stunting is at 15 percent.
Rural areas are the worst hit with under nutrition in Zambia with Mumbwa in Central Province almost covering half of the national stunting statistics.
However, the first 1,000 most critical days programme (exclusive breastfeeding) is one of the key interventions Government has put in place to ensure child stunting is reduced.
Subsequently, the burden to reduce malnutrition has attracted fierce participation from key stakeholders such as traditional rulers, who are aiming at reducing it in their chiefdoms.
Chief Mwansakombe of Samfya in Luapula Province said he has resolved to engage in the fight against malnutrition due to the high number of children dying in his chiefdom.
The traditional leader spoke under the auspices of the Civil Society Organisation Scaling-up Nutrition alliance (CSO-SUN) at the national nutrition forum held recently.
He said 300 children die from malnutrition every year in his chiefdom and added that it is a huge number to lose in a year.
Suffice to say, Chief Mwansakombe has embarked on vigorous campaigns to end malnutrition in his area. Among the initiatives he has embarked on include sensitising women on good breastfeeding practices.
Exclusive breastfeeding of children is essential in the fight against underweight and medical experts advise that children are supposed to be breastfed for a period of six months.
Additionally, the traditional ruler urges that children are not supposed to be restricted to one variety of food.
“When you go to a Zambian home and they serve you lunch, it’s obvious you know the kind of meal you will be served. So it’s important we change the kind of food we serve in our homes,” he said.
Underweight, which mostly results in child stunting, adversely affects the cognitive development of a child.
It affects their educational abilities and outcomes, their health and future life prospects.
And the economic cost of under nutrition to Zambia over the last 10-year period has been estimated to be as high as US$775 million productivity.
Further, Chief Mwansakombe has since called on the national food and nutrition commission to decentralise their nutrition messages from district to village level.
Going east, Chief Madzimawe of the Ngoni people of Chipata said stringent measures have been take to ensure that underweight and malnutrition are reduced in the province.
In an interview, Chief Madzimawe said the royal establishment has done away with the brewing and drinking of ‘kachasu’ (a local beer), which makes parents irresponsible at the expense of providing food for their children.
He said: “We have a project like ‘mawa’ that promotes the growing of orange maize and orange sweet potatoes among farmers, which are nutritious and cardinal to the growth of children.”
“And we encourage our farmers to grow variety of crops. We are also putting up sheds where excess crops are stored so that we give out to vulnerable and poor families round our chiefdoms,” Chief Madzimawe added.
Meanwhile, Chief Macha of Southern Province also added that he is currently building a community hall, where the local people will gather for cooking demonstrations by nutrition experts.
He said it was important for people to be subjected to cooking demonstrations so that they have knowledge on how to prepare various nutritious local foods.
“I am appealing to Government to send nutrition experts to my chiefdom so that they train my people, who will in turn train the rest of the villagers on important cooking lessons that can improve the nutrition of our children and further reduce child stunting and underweight here,” the traditional ruler said.
According to the traditional leaders, recommendations must be made to improve current plans and accelerate progress towards a Zambia where all children will be afforded adequate nutrition and a full life potential, regardless of where they are born or live.
The responsibility, therefore, falls on all stakeholders to capitalise on this crucial momentum and urgently seize upon the opportunity before it is lost.
CSO-SUN Alliance National co-ordinator William Chilufya noted that investment must be made towards infant and young children nutrition. Every year, one million lives are saved, 369 million more children and their mothers have healthier lives and there is an increase in the country’s GDP by two-three percent.
“Investments in the nutrition are the best foundation for a strong, prosperous future for the nation,” he said.
Friday, 19 December 2014
Decentralise child birth registration
GOVERNMENT must decentralise the registration and issuance of
certificates if the number of child registration is to increase, World
Vision national child rights advocacy co-ordinator Lifuna Simushi has said.
And World Vision Zambia has this year done 14,000 birth registrations although certificates are yet to be issued.
In an interview with Femail, Mr Simushi said the current situation where all issuance of birth certificates are done in Lusaka has drastically contributed to low levels of registration which is at 15 per cent countrywide.
He also expressed concern over the failure by Government to highlight the benefits of registering births among ordinary communities in the country.
“Communities still do not see the value of having births registered. In other countries you cannot get a place in Grade one or university without a birth certificate; in Zambia we have plenty of alternatives like using an affidavit,” Mr Simushi said.
Additionally he said Government should attach priority to registering births because it is important in the fight against child marriages and cases of defilement and sexual abuse.
“We have had situations where it is difficult to prove that the child who is defiled or married off is a minor in the absence of a birth record,” Mr Simushi said. The birth certificate legitimises the existence and identity and gives a child a sense of belonging.
And World Vision child protection advocacy officer Chikontwe Mulenga said the institution has managed to withdraw 150 girls from child marriages.
Mr Mulenga said the involvement of traditional rulers has made an impact on the fight against child marriages.
He also said child advocacy protection clubs have been created in schools to promote child participation in the issues that affect them.
And World Vision Zambia has this year done 14,000 birth registrations although certificates are yet to be issued.
In an interview with Femail, Mr Simushi said the current situation where all issuance of birth certificates are done in Lusaka has drastically contributed to low levels of registration which is at 15 per cent countrywide.
He also expressed concern over the failure by Government to highlight the benefits of registering births among ordinary communities in the country.
“Communities still do not see the value of having births registered. In other countries you cannot get a place in Grade one or university without a birth certificate; in Zambia we have plenty of alternatives like using an affidavit,” Mr Simushi said.
Additionally he said Government should attach priority to registering births because it is important in the fight against child marriages and cases of defilement and sexual abuse.
“We have had situations where it is difficult to prove that the child who is defiled or married off is a minor in the absence of a birth record,” Mr Simushi said. The birth certificate legitimises the existence and identity and gives a child a sense of belonging.
And World Vision child protection advocacy officer Chikontwe Mulenga said the institution has managed to withdraw 150 girls from child marriages.
Mr Mulenga said the involvement of traditional rulers has made an impact on the fight against child marriages.
He also said child advocacy protection clubs have been created in schools to promote child participation in the issues that affect them.
Media has demonised men – Mannasseh
THE media has created a picture that Zambian men are the cause of all the evil that happens to women, Lusaka-based HIV/AIDS activist Mannasseh Phiri has said.
Dr Phiri said the media has continued creating an image that men are bad hence perpetuating stereotypes.
Speaking during a plenary discussion at the first-ever national forum for Gender in Media organised by Alchemy Women in Leadership, he said the media does not highlight the good other men do.
“The media has created a picture that men are cheats, liars, womanisers, defilers, HIV transmitters, and the list is endless, but we still have good men out there who are worth of profiling in the media,” Dr Phiri said.
He said there is need for transformative journalism that will endeavour to see that professional ethics are respected.
Dr Phiri challenged the media to build boys instead of attempting to repair men who are already grown. “Let’s build boys to men of quality who are not afraid to be equal to women,” he added.
And Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation director of programmes Kenneth Maduma said there is a challenge of unprofessionalism in the media hence the growing tendency of portraying men as evil.
Mr Maduma said media personnel sensationalise stories in order to sell their stories.
“We are leaving a lot of stories hanging because we do not investigate thoroughly and that in itself has led to men being deemed bad before the eyes of society,” he said.
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