Friday, April 13, 2012

Healthcare and the sanctity of life

Healthcare and the sanctity of life
By The Post
Fri 13 Apr. 2012, 13:30 CAT

THE revelation by Elwyn Chomba, the permanent secretary for the Ministry of Community Development, Mother and Child Health, that neonatal mortality has remained consistently high in Zambia is seriously worrying. We are told that 119 children out of a thousand live births die before their fifth day and 34 die within the first day of life. The cold eloquence of these figures is in itself terrifying enough.

It is an imperative need of our times to be aware of these realities because of what it entails in terms of human suffering and the squandering of life. But beyond these figures lies the tragic situation of poverty and neglect that is individualised many times over.Life is sacred and should be valued from the moment of conception until death. One cannot claim to uphold the sanctity of life if there is no provision for minimal healthcare for all.

These babies are dying in such large numbers because access to healthcare is low. Most of these newborns die at home, without skilled care that could greatly increase their chances for survival.

Skilled healthcare during pregnancy, child birth and in the post-natal period prevents complications for the mother and the newborn, and allows for early detection and management of problems. But this is not there for the great majority of our people.

Lack of healthcare leads to many complications that result in the deaths of many newborns. The main causes of newborn deaths in our country are prematurity and low-birth-weight, infections, asphyxia and birth trauma. These causes are said to account for nearly 80 per cent of deaths in this age group.

It is said that up to two thirds of newborn deaths could be prevented if skilled health workers were made available to perform effective health measures at birth and during the first week of life. But this is not there for the great majority of our people.

We still have many women, especially in our rural areas, giving birth at home, with very few of them receiving post-natal care in the first 24 hours. And many mothers who give birth in health facilities fail to return for post-natal care because of financial, social and other barriers. The first days of life are the most critical for newborn survival.

Healthcare is an essential right of everyone and a responsibility of society as a whole. The figures we have been given by Prof Chomba show the severity of the tragic health conditions that affect the vast masses of our people.

It is clear to all that the solution for this and other serious problems lies in the elimination of poverty, but a lot can be done right now. There is need to urgently tackle the present critical situation of health in our country through the massive mobilisation of national and international resources and human resources required.

It is absolutely necessary to promote mother and child care programmes. There is a crying need to extend health services, train required technical personnel and guarantee the essential basic medicines which such conditions demand.

There is need to improve the conditions of women. Women suffer doubly all the calamities related to the living conditions that exist in our country. This is so because they are the ones that bear the heavy burden of the home, they are the worst hit by the lack of clinics, hospitals, medical care, mother-child programmes, hygiene and so on and so forth.

An extremely high number of women receive no attention during pregnancy. And a very high number die during delivery without any type of care. And it is women who must see their children die in their first few days of life.

A comprehensive approach is required to fight this situation. It is a question of improving the quality of life, not only fighting the serious shortages in every sphere, but acting on them where the development of our society is concerned.

The figures we have been given serve as the basis for the sombre immediate outlook for our country and are the most obvious expressions of the unbearable situation of injustice still prevailing among our people today. But they are not necessarily inexorable. We can, if we really want, act to change this increasingly unjust situation for one that is bright and just.

As long as healthcare fails to be considered a fundamental right of every one of our people and a duty of the community; as long as the responsibility of the state and of society in regards to healthcare fails to be recognised; as long as inequalities in the distribution of health resources fail to disappear; as long as poverty, hunger, ignorance and squalor fail to be directly fought against, little will be achieved in improving this sad situation in our country.

This situation needs to be urgently tackled if we truly value the life of every baby born in our country. Each baby born in our country has a right to special care and attention. And the welfare and interests of this baby should be recognised and protected.

Newborns are very vulnerable and therefore need special attention to survive and enjoy their human rights in full. The interests of the newborns should take precedence. Respecting the rights of the baby entails promoting the welfare of the baby.

And it shouldn't be forgotten that the rights and welfare of the baby are best realised in the context of the welfare of the family. The promotion of the welfare of the baby therefore requires the promotion of the welfare of the family.

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