A marketeer and her vision

By Derrick Silimina

Mitech market, home to approximately 2000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), is one of Solwezi’s most affordable consumer markets, offering a diverse range of goods and services ranging from fresh and dry foods to clothing and hardware.

For Mary Mbanza Lufupa, 53, Mitech market is her base for most consumer goods that are on demand in the area. 

“I started with a K200 as my capital selling vegetables (tomatoes, onions) and chickens in 2008 after I realized the need to make profit from both business ventures and earn a living,” Lufupa says. 

Upon a further need to sharpen her entrepreneurial skills, Lufupa got recruited for the Kansanshi Mining Plc- sponsored monthly business training project in January 2021. 

“The training has helped me in terms of managing money properly and being able to reinvest in business for sustainability. Due to the training, I was inspired to invest in a fish pond but the fish was washed away by the rains due to poor pond banks which succumbed to pressure,” she narrated. 

She disclosed that her capital has now grown to over K1000 due to good financial practices and that her vision is to enlarge the poultry house to accommodate over 250 birds. 

In 2015, the Kansanshi Foundation used to give her and her colleagues 25 chicks and feed to raise these birds for sale, adding that the capital raised through this grant is in use till this date. 

“I have put the poultry business on hold and will resume later this year with 150 chickens,” Lufupa stated. 

She thanked KMP for the training and the grant which had empowered her permanently as her capital for the poultry business project is now at K3000.

Tobacco: a global agent of death

 

By Lumbiwe Mwanza

It is growing in popularity especially among young people in Zambia and most drinking places are synonymous with the water-pipe tobacco but some experts say a single shisha session is the same as smoking 200 cigarettes.

In the same way that some people will enjoy a cold Mosi lager or need a cigarette to keep going while they're relaxing, for Janet Zimba, 26, smoking shisha is the perfect way to unwind her evening after a hard day’s work. 

“I like to enjoy my shisha after a long day and every evening after work, I come here (shisha lounge) with my mates to relax. If I don't do it, it feels like I'm missing something,” Janet said as she puffs a rhapsody of smoke with her colleagues at Zoran cafe located at Levy shopping complex in Lusaka, Zambia’s capital. 

Shisha, also known as hookah or hubble bubble, is a glass-bottomed water pipe in which fruit-flavoured tobacco is covered with foil and roasted with charcoal. The tobacco smoke passes through a water chamber and is inhaled deeply and slowly; the fruit-flavoured tobacco tastes smooth and smells sweet, enthusiasts say, making it a pleasant and thrilling experience.

As shisha is gaining traction among the youth in Lusaka, its origins of which is disputed (some say India, while others point its roots from Turkey) is slowly decimating Zambia’s future leaders.

While some people are drawn to it for being ‘cool’ with patrons flocking to shisha parlours, experts warn that the smoke exposes someone to the highly addictive chemical including nicotine, tar, carbon monoxide and heavy metals such as arsenic and lead.

“I prefer shisha to cigarettes because I believe that the risk of tobacco is reduced since it is purified as it passes through the water,” Janet stated as her friend Melvin added, “Yeah, smoking shisha is the coolest experience one can ever have and not a health hazard as compared to dry tobacco.” 

However, the World Health Organisation (WHO) insists that shisha increases the risk of developing heart and circulatory diseases as the smoke produced contains high levels of toxic compounds including carbon monoxide, heavy metals and cancerous causing chemicals hence the shisha smoke is associated with risks of diseases such as cancer, heart and lung complications.

While most Zambian pubs are making a fortune from shisha sales which cost K120 ($6) per session, some countries such as Tanzania and Rwanda have since banned the piped tobacco within their territories.

Just like Shisha, a few minutes away from Lusaka town, is Chibolya - the most feared slum in the city where even the police or other law enforcers do not dare to tread. The notorious township is renowned as the hub for drug trafficking including the abuse of tobacco.

Trekking her way back home into the slum, Lucy Mutale walks through a bumpy track giving way to lined-up shacks covered in plastic and outside one hut, four 20-year-old boys share a joint as the smell of cannabis drifts through the township.

For Lucy, an urgent need to smoke at certain times of the day, morning or night is what she battles with daily. 

“I try to control it but it is difficult,” says Lucy who started smoking in grade eight, and by the time she was 18 years old, she smoked every day. Over time, smoking crept into every corner of her life due to addiction.

Recently, while in college and still smoking a pack of cigarettes a day - Lucy learned she was pregnant. She tried to quit, but realised that doing so only made things worse. 

Sadly, her baby was born two months early, which is a danger for all pregnant women who smoke. Her tiny baby girl spent weeks in an incubator at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH). 

“I knew that smoking was bad and I almost lost my child but I didn’t think I would have a premature baby,” Lucy lamented. 

Health experts say that every six seconds someone dies from tobacco as half of current tobacco users will eventually die from a disease associated with its use as it is the only product in the world that kills nearly 6 million people every year.

The WHO recently stressed that if current trends continue, tobacco will kill nearly 8 million people every year throughout the period leading to 2030 since most tobacco-related deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. 

In this context, health pundits are of the view that unless counter measures are taken, tobacco will kill more than 1 billion people in the 21st century.

In Zambia, over 7,100 people die each year and 60 percent of deaths are of people under 70 years,  according to Centre for Trade Policy and Development (CTPD) research on Tobacco.

As the tobacco industry sells 6 trillion cigarettes every year, with revenues estimated to a tune of $614 billion in 2009, tobacco companies are unrelenting in their efforts to counter and undermine tobacco control initiatives and activities.

In response to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, tobacco companies have altered their tactics by strengthening the cooperation network they have established with their allies through innovatively communicating with the media, building a network with decision-makers, and creating links with key statutory institutions.

For this reason, relevant stakeholders including Nongovernmental organisations and health care institutions need to work hand-in-hand with governments to counter tactics of tobacco multinationals aimed at undermining the implementation of the WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in a bid to curtail the increase in tobacco consumption among the youth in Zambia.

“Government should adopt appropriate laws and measures to ban tobacco advertising, increase taxes on tobacco products and ban smoking in public places are the only ways to counter the tobacco epidemic,” said Thomas Kalaba, a second year public health student at Apex University.

Arguably, tobacco is a major problem in Zambia which affects nearly 140 lives every week, according to health statistics. The southern African country is a major tobacco producer and has ratified the WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and has some tobacco control measures in place.

Centre for Primary Healthcare communications officer Paxina Phiri said that the more the Government drags the process for enacting the Tobacco Bill into law, the more lives will be lost and the higher health expenses will be.

Phiri lamented that despite efforts to engage the Government as to why the draft Tobacco Bill has stalled at the Ministry of Justice, no response has been given which she said raised speculation.

“As Civil society, on 17th July this year, we sent a letter requesting the Minister of Justice to explain why the draft Tobacco Control Bill has been delayed for over four months. However, to date, there is no response. So we don’t know why there is this delay but one thing for sure is that the more the Government sits on the Bill, the more people are dying and the more health expenses,” Phiri explained.

Zambia Tobacco Control Consortium (ZTCC) Vice President Webby Mwamulela reiterated that passive smoking is more harmful than first hand smoke.

And Ministry of Health Acting Chief Non-communicable Disease Officer  Enerst Kakoma said that Tobacco has remained a global agent of death as its use causes over 40 diseases, many of them fatal.

“Combustible tobacco products other than cigarettes are also associated with the same sort of chronic disease outcomes associated with cigarette smoking, such as cancer and cardiovascular disease,” Kakoma explained.

As one of the key measures to counter tactics by tobacco multinationals, CTPD programs Coordinator Natalie Kaunda noted that the commodity’s taxation is still very low hence the need to look at ways of increasing tax because when tobacco tax rates go up, tax revenue also increases which could help in economic transformation.

“The Government should significantly increase tobacco taxes from the current 37.3% of retail price to the WHO recommendation of 75% of retail price. In an effort to grow the economy, it is critical that opportunities in key economic sectors such as the agriculture sector are all identified and maximised with the view to generate more income,” Kaunda insisted.

Zambia leverage Hitech in agriculture

By Derrick Silimina

Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU) wants to improve agricultural yields for farmers and puts special emphasis on leveraging technology. Therefore, it organized an agricultural exhibition.

The Union’s president, Jervis Zimba, believes that Zambia can leverage its vast natural resources to provide employment opportunities. With the expansion of agricultural-value chains, predominant unemployment amongst the youth and women will be a thing of the past, he hopes. 

ZNFU organized an event called “The 2023 AgriTech Expo” in Chisamba district, together with a civil-society group, DLG Agriculture.

“AgriTech Expo aspires to connect all farmers in different parts of Zambia to deepen economic integration and to boost trade and investment in the agricultural sector – not only in the country but also to serve the export markets in the region and beyond,” Zimba said. 

The ZNFU’s flagship event is certainly one of the largest agricultural trade fairs in sub-Saharan Africa which is a meeting point for practitioners in plant and livestock production.

“We believe that by promoting trade amongst African countries, we are strengthening the continent’s industrial base and ensuring that we produce goods for ourselves and each other,” the farmers Union leader stated.

The activity showcased live demos of the latest kit to crop plots profiling developments in agronomy, and had workshops and seminars, among other events. It proved to be an important event in Zambia’s agricultural calendar, offering networking and learning opportunities for agriculturalists.

Technologically advanced farming tools are crucial because farmers are increasingly looking at sustainable production systems that ensure a fair economic return on their enterprises while at the same time, looking after and enhancing the environment.

Among the state-of-the-art precision agriculture apparatus showcased at the just-ended event were smart agricultural spraying drones from various leading local and international firms. Sunagri Investment Zambia Limited – a local drone-technology firm incorporated in 2017 demonstrated how gadgets in the agriculture sector have evolved over the years in enhancing farmers’ productivity.

“Over the five years of our operations in Zambia, we have grown our drone capacity from accommodating four litres of pesticides covering one acre of land to the latest drones with 40 litres capacity with the capacity to spray five to six hectares,” the company director, Frazer Zhang said. 

Other firms that showcased their equipment were Tata Zambia’s John Deere tractors which have been in Zambia for over 20 years and have worked with subsistence and commercial farmers and large corporations. 

In the seed agribusiness, Syngenta was present to showcase its crop solutions. “Our technologies enable millions of farmers around the world to make better use of limited agricultural resources. Through partnerships, collaboration and a good growth plan, we are committed to improving farm productivity, rescuing land from degradation, enhancing biodiversity and revitalizing rural communities,” Syngenta Zambia managing director and Southern African head, Given Mudenda, said.

Lackson Mweemba, a small-scale farmer who travelled from Choma in Southern province to attend the event said: “I am excited to see the latest agricultural gadgets on display here. This experience has reawakened my passion to go into agribusiness full time.”

Zambia’s mining safety record raise alarm bells

By Derrick Silimina

The mining industry’s safety record has raised alarm bells, with 12 fatalities and 14 perilous accidents reported by the Ministry of Mines by June. 

Paul Kabuswe, the Mines and Minerals Development Minister, voiced deep concern over the surge in accidents compared to the previous year. 

He issued a stern call to stakeholders and mine operators, stressing the urgency of prioritizing worker safety and adhering unwaveringly to mine safety protocols.

Kabuswe highlighted the role of the mining sector, represented by the chamber, in setting an industry-wide example that instills confidence in safe mining practices.

Speaking at the 16th Intercompany Mining First-Aid Competition in Kalumbila District, Kabuswe commended participants for their remarkable first aid skills and stressed the intrinsic link between a secure workplace and healthier, more productive employees. 

He underscored the broader impacts, including contributions to sustainable development and a favorable industry reputation. He reiterated his message from the previous year, asserting, "Occupational health and safety is not negotiable! We all have a responsibility to guarantee the safety and health of our workforce.

FQM Trident Mining Limited was lauded for hosting the event, under the theme Learn First Aid You Never Know When You Need It. 

Chamber of Mines President Godwin Beene echoed Kabuswe’s concerns, emphasizing that non-affiliated mining operations were responsible for the majority of fatalities. 

Beene urged the Ministry of Mines to engage these companies with the Chamber of Mines, providing access to vital safety programs.

The 2023 Intercompany Mining First-Aid Competition showcased over 20 teams, with Lubambe Copper Mine Support Services securing the top position with an impressive 76.93%. KCM Geology followed closely in second place with 75.75%. Teams from Mopani Copper Mine and KCM Nchanga mine secured third and fourth places, respectively.

Chamber of Mines President Beene’s call for collaboration echoed, as he urged the integration of non-affiliated mining operations into safety initiatives. 

The competition celebrated the dedication of high-performing teams to safety and emergency response. 

Kabuswe’s message resonated throughout – ensuring safety is a collective responsibility that leads to a healthier workforce, increased productivity, and a more resilient industry.

Invisible hand in drug shortages

By Derrick Silimina

In public health facilities in Zambia, there is an ongoing drug shortage and patients fear not getting vital medicine.

The country’s national drug stock levels currently stand at 53.1 %, way below the World Health Organization’s stipulated minimum threshold of 70 % to 80 %, according to the Zambia Medicines and Medical Supplies Agency (ZAMMSA).

“The ongoing shortage of medicine in all government health facilities is worrying. As a diabetic, I take injectable insulin regularly. When I go to the public facility, I am told they have run out and must opt for the expensive private drug stores,” Sarah Tembo, a Lusaka resident, says.

In many of these health facilities, several essential and life-saving medicines are in short supply. These include painkillers such as paracetamol, nifedipine for hypertensive patients and insulin used by diabetics. Health care workers in these facilities are helpless and cannot offer the needed care without the required drugs.

Critics have blamed corruption and embezzlement for the current drug shortage. As the drug and medicines supply chain continues to be a big business globally, some local pharmaceutical experts have hinted at the practice by individuals in the procurement and supply chain departments in public health facilities to steal medicines and sell them on the black market.

“There’s a very big cartel in the procurement and supply of medicines. The government has been procuring quite alright, but there’s an invisible hand, which is reselling drugs using government resources and that powerful syndicate went to an extent of bringing in expired drugs in the country,” Peter Makayi, a pharmaceutical expert, says.

Some stakeholders are calling on the government to declare a “State of Emergency” in the wake of this ongoing crisis. They argue that this will allow the invocation of disaster management procedures and accord the issue the much-needed attention it deserves.

The government is however hesitant to take up the recommendation. They have instead announced that they have procured enough essential medicines for health facilities to address the nationwide shortage of drugs.

Mutale Nalumango, Zambia’s vice president, acknowledges that the country faces the challenge of lack of essential drugs countrywide. She believes that part of the problem is the messy supply chain in the pharmaceutical industry which costs the state a lot of money. She also expresses frustration with unscrupulous individuals who steal drugs meant for public facilities. “When there is a middleman, there are challenges. My appeal is that we do away with most of these intermediaries,” she suggests.

Sisters improve access to health care

By Derrick Silimina

Initially, Naomi thought health care delivery at her local clinic in Lusaka in Zambia seemed well organized, but later she realized how challenging access to antiretroviral therapy was due to the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS, even in the health facility setting.

Naomi, who didn't want her last name used, discovered that she was HIV-positive five years ago but resisted telling anyone, fearing the stigma and having clinic workers disclose her status to others. Then the 35-year-old developed tuberculosis, and then AIDS two years later. On the brink of death, she sought refuge at Our Lady's Health Centre — a Catholic sisters-run health facility in Kalingalinga township, east of Lusaka about 3 miles (about 5 kilometers) — where she was put on antiretroviral drugs.

"Had it not been for this medical facility's unique initiative on access to antiretroviral drugs in our community, I would be dead by now!" she told Global Sisters Report. "Today, despite my HIV status, I live a healthy and happy life."

According to the Zambia Population‐based HIV/AIDS Impact Assessment (ZAMPHIA 2021) Report, HIV was markedly higher among women than men in each age group from ages 20-24 through ages 35-39 and among those ages 45-49.

According to a recent study, "Zambia has yet to meet global testing and treatment targets among adolescent girls and young women living with HIV," particularly due to stigma in health facility settings. Stigma about the virus and the disease is perpetuated by friends and relatives, who often shun those who are HIV-positive or have AIDS. Getting antiretroviral drugs at a public health clinic, where identities are easily exposed and there are concerns about health care workers disclosing information, compounds the challenges patients face.

However, Catholic sisters are at the forefront of addressing health challenges that include stigmatization, and are strategically placed to be key players and problem solvers. For this reason, Sisters of the Holy Cross, a Roman Catholic congregation of women religious based at the Archdiocese of Lusaka, manages Our Lady's Health Centre to address the inequalities which are holding back progress in ending HIV/AIDS. 

Nestled in Kalingalinga, one of the densely populated slums near Lusaka, Our Lady's Health Centre was established in 2001 in a bid to provide quality health care and equalize access to essential HIV services, particularly for key populations among the marginalized people in society.

Kalingalinga is one of the poorest areas in the region, and due to high poverty levels, the slum overflows with terminally ill patients, most of whom can't afford better medical attention. In this context, the religious sisters' health center is strategically located to provide quality health care to these patients, especially those in need of antiretroviral therapy.

"When I first came here, I discovered that most of our people in this community living with HIV/AIDS used to avoid coming to collect ARVs due to stigma," Sr. Adelina Adao, assistant administrator for the center, told Global Sisters Report. "We found out that only patients from other towns came to get ARVs and that's why we came up with a strategy to establish three 'community posts' within local markets where our staff could easily engage and attract clients back to our ART [antiretroviral therapy] services."

"Our initiative works out in such a way that since our community posts are situated amidst shops, salons and market stands, people would think that someone is just going to a market while they are just coming to collect their medicines. When you see the number of people on ART therapy, the response is now overwhelming," Adao said.

Adao noted that each community post is staffed by a clinician and a counselor who attend to their clients in confidence. That helps eliminate the stigma for those with HIV, while being accessible in a market environment for easy access.  

Before it transitioned last year from being a hospice center to a health center, the facility also attracted patients from outside the area. Previously, the Oblates of Mary Immaculate was one of the four religious congregations involved in building and managing the medical facility to help provide palliative, end-of-life care for patients with HIV/AIDS and other ailments.  

Now, Adao said, the medical facility's health delivery concept in Kalingalinga township has also attracted people living with HIV from outside Lusaka to access ARVs with ease, which is more conducive to their treatment.

With its slogan dubbed, "holistic health care for all," Our Lady's Health Centre offers a broad range of health care specialties. In addition to the antiretroviral therapy, it has a general clinic, ultrasound, obstetrics, gynecology, dental and other services.

Currently, with 25 medical staff, Adao is assisted by a fellow sister who belongs to the Religious Sisters of the Holy Spirit.  Demand for the center's services has been strong but she could not offer an estimate of the number of people treated each month. For COVID-19, the center provided testing. Those who were positive with severe symptoms were treated and quarantined at the center, while those with mild cases were urged to quarantine at home. Vaccinations were done at government health facilities.  

Their faith in Jesus Christ drives their dedication to serve, Adao said, as she and others work tirelessly to treat and support those with HIV/AIDS. Yet the conditions in which they work can cause them to feel burned out at times.

"I recall during my first days here, I was so traumatized and emotional to see how patients, especially those with HIV/AIDS, were suffering since it was my first time to work in such kind of a health facility," said Adao, who was trained as a teacher. "But after fellow sisters strengthened me, I got attached to each patient and whenever they get better, I usually get fulfilled," she added. 

Other patients getting treatment for other conditions are enthusiastic about the center. "I am so thankful to the midwives at this clinic where I had a successful operation," said Belinda Ngoma, a mother of two. "My second-born child is now 4, but each time I think of how traumatizing it is to give birth via a caesarean operation, I am grateful to the staff at Our Lady Health Centre for their dedication to duty." 

A Lusaka-based teacher lamented how she recently survived a protracted urinary infection, and had it not been for the swift intervention she got from urologists at Our Lady Health Centre, her health would have been severely affected.

"The health staff are simply the best we can ever have in our community because my condition might have worsened had it not been for the quality health care treatment I got here," she said.

She has since been recommending anyone with any illness to seek medical attention from the Our Lady's clinic, and says those she has referred have reported progressive results.  

Following its revolutionized health care system that it offers to HIV-positive clients and other patients to keep their hope of recovery alive, Our Lady's Health Centre is certainly saving lives, according to Clement Tembo, a teacher in Chipata in eastern Zambia. He travelled to Lusaka for treatment of his chronic headache and said it was worth the trip, about an eight-hour drive. 

A bus driver based in Kabwe, central Zambia, is also impressed with quality medical attention from the health centre for his backache, which almost rendered him jobless. 

"Due to the long-distance driving, I used to have a constant backache," Bruce Mwenda said. "This affected my work, until a colleague advised me to seek medical attention at Our Lady Health Centre and I have now recovered."

Meats from birds

By Derrick Silimina

Whereas chicken is a very popular meat in Africa, most of it is imported. Many African nations lack the technology to rear chickens on a large scale and process the meat to acceptable market standards.

It is the same in Zambia. Meats from birds such as chickens, ducks, turkeys, geese and pigeons among others are consumed. However, in many grocery stores and supermarkets, meat freezers are full of imported meat. 

Among the top sources of Zambia’s meat is South Africa, the continent’s leading producer of poultry products. Local farmers are afraid that they may be pushed out of business. 

Recognising the special needs of the agricultural sector, the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock is looking for ways to promote local farming and value addition. It is estimated that over half a million citizens engage in poultry farming. 

For this reason, Zambia’s first-ever international poultry exposition (ZIPEX) was recently held in the capital Lusaka. The goal was to provide a platform for players to network, build long-term relationships and learn about new technologies.

“These private sector initiatives show Zambians’ amazing ability to create and innovate, and as a government, we are here to support such initiatives that seek to display Zambia’s opportunities in this industry,” Makozo Chikote, fisheries and livestock minister, said at the event. 

The ZIPEX attracted all types of poultry farmers, breeders, processors, traders and distributors. The three-day event also attracted participants from the greater poultry value chain, who included equipment and feed suppliers, allied technical experts, private and public institutions and visitors from the region.

Daimone Siulapwa, one of the ZIPEX organisers, said: “We are very confident that we will contribute to the growth of the poultry industry in Zambia by creating the much-needed link among the various players.” Dominic Chanda, president of the Poultry Association of Zambia, hopes that his industry can address some of the challenges, such as import duty on poultry equipment which hinders mass production.