Oct 31 2007
AFRICA FACES CHALLENGES OVER DEVELOPMENT GOALS
According to the US Census Bureau, by 2010 sub Saharan Africa will have suffered 71mn deaths due to AIDS. By comparison, the bubonic plague of the Middle Ages killed some 30mn people. These are staggering figures, particularly if one considers that deaths from AIDS are only part of the problems affecting African women and children.
Experts at the UN warn that most of the sub-Saharan countries will be unable to reach the Millennium goals related to health for 2015, particularly those related to improving the health of mothers and children. In fact, many diseases affecting children and adults can be addressed with minimum resources —if they are used strategically.
Childhood malnutrition is a critical issue. Almost 60% of deaths of children under five in developing countries are due to malnutrition and its effects –such as greater mortality from infectious diseases. It is estimated that African women are 10 to 100 times more likely to die during pregnancy and childbirth than women in the industrialised countries. Most of these deaths and disabilities are caused by delays in recognizing complications, difficulties in reaching a medical facility and lack of adequate medical care. Skilled health workers are vital in addressing these challenges but their numbers are pitifully low.
Malaria, HIV/AIDS, and tuberculosis continue to be major threats facing both children and adults. Recent studies have shown that HIV treatment is “failing” in many African countries. The rates of failure vary depending on the programme and the country under consideration. Treatment failure in many patients is due to their starting to take medication too late in the course of the infection. Other patients have problems in accessing the drugs, either because they are too poor or live too far away from the health center providing the medication. Throughout Africa, the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS is one of the main barriers in dealing successfully with that infection, both in terms of prevention and treatment. Education, public health campaigns and the active participation of members of the clergy have contributed in many areas to overcoming the stigma but much remains to be done and progress is slow.
Solving the problem of poverty and the resulting malnutrition and disease it engenders requires three distinct steps: first, the development of efficient and effective healthcare systems; second, increasing access of the poor to adequate healthcare; and third, redirecting resources from acute care hospitals using high-tech equipment to investment in low-tech, but effective, community-based primary and preventive care.
Health problems in Africa cannot be considered in isolation — and are not only the responsibility of Africans themselves. Foreign technical and financial assistance is required. Aid can strengthen civil society and community-based organisations which are the basis of a democratic society. To bring hope to a continent ravaged by poverty and disease, effective and urgent action is required. It is available and it can be done.
