Maravi

No one should die the way Robiana died

No one should die the way Robiana died
By The Post
Sat 16 June 2012, 13:30 CAT

WE call upon all citizens of goodwill to join Dr Christine Kaseba and appeal to the government to give more funding to the health sector for cancer care. There is an increasing number of our people who are dying every year from cancers that can be treated. This is not acceptable because we cannot claim to uphold the sanctity of life if there is no provision for minimal healthcare for all.

As Christians, and indeed as good citizens, we should reach out, in compassion and solidarity, to all sick members of our society. Life is sacred, a gift from God to be valued from the moment of conception until death.

There is no future development without healthy citizens. The life and healthcare of our people are of central importance to the future development of our nation.

It took time for that young man, for that innocent Robiana Muteka to receive justice and be given the necessary treatment he needed. It took the efforts of our journalists to bring the plight of Robiana to the attention of the authorities, of those who govern the affairs of our country.

It took the intervention of Michael Sata to get Robiana the type of treatment he needed. But the question is: should it really always take the intervention of the President to get a citizen the treatment he or she needs?

It will be a difficult undertaking for any president no matter how hardworking and caring they may be to directly monitor and administer the health needs of every citizen of this country. If matters are to be left to the president's discretion or intervention, then very few of our people will receive the necessary healthcare they deserve.

This is not in any way to say that the president of this country should be heartless, cold-hearted or indifferent to the suffering or pain of any individual citizen. The president has the right and duty to intervene and give direct attention to any citizen in distress.

Robiana was in distress and Michael, as President and as a caring and sensitive human being, did what he had to do. The suffering of any fellow citizen should move each one of us to some action of solidarity with that suffering citizen. If we are truly Christians, we should emulate Christ.

Christ never left anyone in need without helping them. He cared for the sick and fed the hungry. And to be Christians means to be like Christ, to be a follower of Christ. Caring for the sick was something very important in Christ's mission.

We need to fight for the things that increase the dignity of every human being. If we are persuaded that the merit is more in the fight than in the peaceful possession of virtue, we shall make much more progress.

The soldier wins the medal for bravery not under the tent, not when he sits to guard the trophies or the conquests made, but when he fights bravely and wins. Medicinal grace raises up in us all our energies; it is the warmth that makes all good resolutions to mature; it is the cry of the needy, weak, sick soul.

It is necessary like breathing for a person, like water for a plant, like food for the body. Christ's entire doctrine was devoted to the humble, the poor; his doctrine was devoted to fighting against abuse, injustice and the degradation of human beings.

All people are created in the image and likeness of God and this gives every person great dignity. Therefore, all citizens are equal in dignity and should have equal rights. No human person, situation, event or thing can take away this dignity. Leaders who respect human dignity guarantee basic rights to the people they govern.

And a just society can exist only when it respects the dignity of the human person. The social order and its development must invariably work for the benefit of the human person. And the pursuit of justice must be the fundamental norm of the state. Political power must have as its aim the achievement of the common good.

Therefore, let those who rule do so with care for every citizen, regardless of their station in life. Today in our country, we have a serious division, serious inequalities. We have first world medical care for those with money, those with social status. Some of that medical care is provided here in Zambia and the other part of it is provided abroad.

Those who are considered to be important citizens are quickly sent abroad for treatment at government expense. For the poor, for the humble like Robiana, it had to take the concerted effort of journalists to touch some hearts for him to be given special care at the University Teaching Hospital.

If it wasn't for Michael's intervention, nobody would today be talking about Robiana. Let's learn to value every life. It is your fellow man, and especially the one who lacks life and needs justice, in whom God wishes to be served and loved. They are the ones with whom Jesus identified.

Yes, there are some improvements that have been made in our health sector over the last few years. We could say that perhaps, our accomplishments might have been greater or higher or fuller if we had known how best to use our resources, all the possibilities and advantages available to us.

But we all know the abuses that have gone on in our health sector. We all know how money meant for the care of patients and the purchase of medicines has been mismanaged, misapplied, misused, misappropriated by all sorts of selfish and greedy people full of vanity.

Clearly, we haven't always acted wisely, we haven't always made the best decisions when it comes to managing our health sector. More is needed from us and our leaders if we are to give our people the healthcare they deserve. Our people are our most important natural resource, and we must look after them carefully and prepare them, especially the young ones, for the future.

With good-hearted citizens, with honest citizens, with caring citizens like Dr Kaseba, we can say we have assured the future. We have a title to the future, and our future will be the one we ourselves are capable of creating.

And we call upon all Zambians of goodwill to keep on working and struggling for a more just, fair and humane Zambia in the spirit that Dr Kaseba is exhibiting. Let's work to improve our healthcare with the same enthusiasm, strength, firmness and unwavering confidence in the future.

In the future, no one should be allowed to die the way Robiana died. In the future, every life that can be saved must be saved. In the future, every kwacha that is allocated to the health sector must be thriftily used for the benefit of all. And this calls for eternal vigilance against greediness, selfishness and indeed corruption in all its forms.

Labels: HEALTHCARE

posted by MrK @ 5:03 PM