Maravi

Healthcare in Zambia

Healthcare in Zambia
By The Post
Sun 08 Apr. 2012, 13:30 CAT

THERE are numerous inequalities that exist in our country today that need to be removed wherever they may exist. And the health sector is one of the areas where inequalities still exist. While a few Zambians are able to get better health facilities, there are many others who do not have easy access to public health services.

We say this in light of the case of Robiana Muteka, a Livingstone youth, who was over a week ago operated on by medical experts at our University Teaching Hospital. Robiana's operation was necessitated by President Michael Sata's directive that he receives specialist treatment when this newspaper disclosed his predicament.

This young man lived with that health condition, a tumour on his back, for most of his life but never got a chance to access specialist treatment - it had to take Michael to issue directives for him to undergo an operation at University Teaching Hospital.

We know that Robiana had seen a number of medical practitioners in our country over his condition. But what we do not understand is just why they never recommended that he receives specialist treatment at University Teaching Hospital, considering the pain he was experiencing.

Does it mean our doctors did not think such a procedure could be undertaken at University Teaching Hospital by our able men and women working at the institution? Or was it an issue of ignoring the poor young man who so badly needed help even if he did not have a single ngwee to pay for the operation?

Does it surely have to take the Head of State to direct our medical staff to assist the many brothers and sisters of ours who have no means to access quality and reliable medical attention?

We, therefore, agree with Peter Mumba, a former permanent secretary in the previous government, when he says that the biggest problem facing the country's medical service delivery is not capacity but attitude of those who have offered to render a service to our people.

The case of Robiana should be insightful to this subject. And from what we know, this problem of poor access to specialist treatment affects the majority of people in our country, especially the rural population.

Peter further says that: "It is quite embarrassing on the part of our health providers that it had to take the entire President to step in the matter that should not have been allowed to grow and reach the proportion it did…What this successful operation shows is that the problem in the country is not capacity or skill or even the money.

As a country, we have got medical doctors with unparalleled levels of skill and expertise as they demonstrated in that operation but the problem is attitude. These problems are not just discovered, they are there.

What happened to the hospitals where he Robiana was going? Did they see the need to refer him Robiana to UTH? Why did they allow the problem to escalate to the levels it reached? They need to explain…So, what is happening to other cases, especially in the lower rungs of society, those that don't have the money - the poor? These operations don't even need colossal sums of money.

So, we need to change the attitudes of our health providers." We totally agree with Peter's observations on this score. The other major problem that our health institutions face is corruption.

The levels of corruption in most of our public health facilities are frightening such that they have permeated to the rank of a mortuary attendant. People are made to ‘pay' something to a health worker for every little service needed when they are supposed to provide that at no fee at all.

Yes, we do appreciate the efforts being made by the government, and even some health staff, to improve the health situation for the people. But we think that, and given the magnitude of the problem, the process of improving our healthcare system is taking too long.

We cannot accept a situation where people with pressing medical conditions are turned away because they do not have money to pay for a service. In some instances, pregnant mothers are dying by the roadsides, waiting to be transported to the nearest health centre or clinic for delivery.

There are many other ailments that require urgent attention by our medical staff that do not need Michael's intervention. It is just a matter of principle. Our young men and women in the health sector have chosen a profession that requires their total dedication to serve humankind.

It is a calling from God affirmed by the Hippocratic oath all doctors and healthcare providers take when they graduate. Our healthcare providers need to realise that life is sacred and should similarly be valued from the moment of conception until death.

And one cannot claim to uphold the sanctity of life if there is no provision for minimal healthcare for all. Looked at in this way, it is clear that caring for the sick is a calling of a special dignity and importance, and not just another job.

It is therefore important that we pay special attention to those who have recognised as their calling providing care for the sick. They should equally dedicate themselves fully to serving those in need, with or without money.

The world today is in the early stages of what will be the greatest health crisis since the advent of modern medical technologies. And Zambia is not an exception. Thousands of people in our country today - particularly those in the low-income brackets - are every day facing tormenting situations in healthcare provision.

The vast majority of these people will go without modern medical intervention or substantial treatment, and will rapidly develop serious health conditions. The extent of this problem presents profound moral and ethical questions for our country's wealthy people, for it is they who are most able to assist the poor in managing and reversing this human tragedy.

This, we believe, should not be left to Michael or the doctors alone, but should be a responsibility of every well-meaning Zambian to ensure that every human being has adequate and quality access to healthcare.

Labels: HEALTHCARE, MICHAEL SATA

posted by MrK @ 4:12 PM