PMTC- best way of protecting your child from HIV/AIDS infection

PMTC is Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV/AIDS. In Zambia PMTC is available to all expectant mothers that attend Anti-natal Clinics. PMTC if properly adhered to highly reduces the risk of infection from an HIV positive mother to her unborn child and also during child birth. After the child is born, there is also a regime of drugs that are prescribed to the mother and child to prevent infection. PMTC has only became available to expectant mothers in recent years. Some mothers miss the opportunity to prevent infection of their child either because they do not know their status or because they are afraid to be on a PMTC programme even when they know their status. This is very sad because a decision to be part of a PMTC programme can be the greatest gift that a mother can give to her unborn child.

Last week I was extremely touched by a story of a 17 year old Zambian girl living in Mazabuka, a small sugar producing town in the Southern Province. This young girl was born in February 1993. She has 5 elder brothers and sisters and one younger sister. She is a double orphan. Both are parents died in 2003. She is living with her siblings in a house that they bought from their fathers' benefits in a compound known as Nakambala in Mazabuka. Gladys (not real name) found out that she was HIV postive earlier this year after a prolonged illness. She was diagonised with Tuberculosis (TB) in January, 2010 and was put on treatment. However, despite completing the TB treatment her condition did not improve and detriorated further. Medical officials at Mazabuka Hospital therefore advised her to take an HIV test. She was positive. The young girl said that she has accepted her status. She is still being treated for TB and she is not yet on Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) because her CD4 count has not yet being taken. According to Gladys her blood levels are extremely low such that it is had not been possible for medical personnel to get a sample from her frangile body for a CD4 count. Sadly, at the time that I visited Glady at her home she had not been given TB injections for about 3 days due to shortage of TB drugs at Mazabuka Hospital. Gladys's elder sister Anna (not real name) explained that the shortage of TB drugs in Mazabuka's public and private health facilities as well as pharmacies was negatively impacting on the poor health of her sister.

Gladys could not sit for her grade nine final examination due to poor health. She attends school at a community school in Mazabuka where she has been absent for a long time due to her poor health. Gladys does not know how she became infected with HIV. However, her elder sister Anna suspects that Gladys may have acquired the virus from her mother. Gladys' mother become very sick after giving birth to her and Anna suspects that this may have been the time that Gladys contracted the virus. She narrated that Gladys' young sister Mable (not real name) aged 14 years old is also HIV positive and is on ART treatment. I met Mable. She is a shy, fine looking girl.

Gladys' dream is to complete her formal education and to assist her family with financially. For now, this may be a very ambitious dream given her poor health. I hope that relevant authorities will come to the aid of this poor girl and others by stocking all health instutitions with adequate supplies of life saving drugs for TB and other infections. In the recent past, there has been diminishing focus and funding for TB and HIV/AIDS globally. Gladys' sad story reminders policy makers and development workers that perhaps it is premature to reduce funding to TB/HIV/AIDS because it still remains a very big health and development problem especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is also a wake up call for parents especially mothers to take an HIV test and also take appropriate action e.g. PMTC to prevent infection to their unborn child. Perfect health is the greatest gift that a mother can give to an unborn child and infant. It is indeed sad that Gladys has only discovered that she is HIV positive when she has already developed full blown AIDS. If this teenager's status was known earlier through appropriate action of her guardians the health problems are now affecting her may have been prevented or minimised. Mable whose status was known earlier is in better health because of ART treatment but her elder sister's life hungs in the balance given the current shortage of TB drugs in Mazabuka.

Zambia's Maize Bumper Harvest-storage blues?

Zambia's 2009/2010 maize harvest is a record 2.8 million metric tonnes (Zambia Daily Mail, 2010). Over 80% of this maize was harvested by small scale farmers. From the above figure of 2.8 million metric tonnes, one deduces that this is very good news in terms of national and household food security because maize is the main staple food for the majority of Zambians.

Government has purchased most of the harvested grain through the Food Reserve Agency (FRA). FRA is the official government mandated agency that purchases maize from farmers all over the country. FRA stores the purchased grain at various satellite and main depots dotted around the country. Sadly, in the recent past various print and electonic media have been reporting on poor storage facilities at the FRA depots resulting in soaking, germination and rotting of some of the stored grain with the falling of the first rains in most parts of the country. On 16th November, 2010,  Muvi TV main news reported that several 50 kilo gramme bags of maize have gone to waste in Central province. The station reported that some maize grain at storage sheds in Serenje and Chisamba have either germinated or rotted due to exposure to rain water.

Given the huge efforts that farmers, government and several other stakeholders have been making to improve maize production and ultimately food security it is indeed disturbing that poor storage facilities will result in loss of substantial amounts of grain. FRA and all relevant authorities have the moral responsibility to ensure that they move in quickly and secure the remaining grain before it is too late and that in future proper storage mechanisms will be put in place.

Independence day, are all workers free?

In the past few days, I have been reminded by notices from my kids' schools that Zambia's independence day will soon dawn on us. School kids have been rehearsing poems and traditional dances and have been asked to acquire traditional Zambian outfits in preparation for Zambia's 46th independence anniversary which falls on Sunday, 24th October, 2010. However, despite all this hype at schools about this important national day, you get a sense that we still have a long way before all Zambians will enjoy the fruits of political independence.

This years' celebration will be overshadowed by the recent shooting of 11 miners at Chinese owned Collum Coal mine situated in the rural district of Sinazongwe in Southern province. The 11 miners were shot by 2 Chinese mine managers following a protest over low wages and poor working conditions. The shooting was followed by ugly scenes on local television stations of law enforcement officers stopping 2 youths from 2 opposition political parties from entering the Chinese embassy to officially protest over the shooting of the miners. The 2 youths were not allowed to see the Chinese Ambassador at the Embassy despite having an official appointment by the law enforcement officers.

Labour conflicts over low wages and poor working conditions have become common place in our country. High in-flows of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the Zambian economy, especially the mining sector, have not always boosted morale and inspired pride in miners. In the past, working as a miner was regarded with nostalgia and prestige. Miners had some of the best working conditions in the country and were highly admired by employees in other professions. In the days leading up to independence day, mine townships would come alive with national colors- red, green, black and orange- and everyone was in high expectant spirits as independence day drew closer. Poor working conditions under some new mine owners and other investors have taken away some of the joy of independence leaving many people wondering whether the clock is ticking back to pre-independence days when Zambian workers were poorly treated by their colonial masters. 

On Friday 22^nd October, 2010 yet another sad incidence happened adding more injury to the lot of Zambian workers.  An adult male employed by a South African construction company as a casual worker at a construction site for an ultra modern shopping mall in Lusaka owned by South Africans was crushed to death while on duty. According to Muvi Tv main news, the casual worker met his fate when a pile of heavy fibre glass he was tasked to off load from a container fell on him instantly crushing him to death. ‘Casualisation’ is a big problem affecting workers in Zambia. Casual workers are not entitled to retirement or terminal benefits after leaving employment and are usually not paid a decent living wage. It is doubtful whether the surviving relatives of the person that was crushed to death on Friday will be adequately compensated for their loss.   

Children in prison: infants living with mothers serving sentences

Yesterday I came across an organisation that is providing some material relief to children and mothers in prisons in Zambia. I was very impressed with this initiative. I have always been very sympathetic with the plight of prisoners. However, many people forget about the little innocent children who have to spend their early childhood in prison if their mother is behind bars. In Zambia, mothers and expectant mothers are allowed to stay with infants up to the age of 4 years old in prison if there is no one willing to take care of the child while the mother is serving her sentence.

I was therefore impressed that some people are helping these infants and mothers by donoting clothing, food and toys. I have personally been challenged to take time and think about how I can contribute to such worthy causes. I hope that you have also been inspired to help little children that may be in similar situations in your part of the world.

Welcome

I would like to welcome you to my blog. The main aim of my blog is to discuss development, communication and agriculture related issues. I will also provide social commentary on various issues affecting my community and the wider world.