Press Release

Basic Needs Basket

JCTR RESEARCH ON STRUGGLE TO MEET BASIC NEEDS EXPOSES CHALLENGES IN HEALTH SECTOR

August 2007

The Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR), through its monthly research on the cost of basic needs and monthly interviews with families in high-density areas of Lusaka, has come to learn of a number of challenges facing Zambians to access basic health care.  The JCTR calls upon the Ministry of Health to address, as a matter of urgency, both actual and perceived factors that impede the poor and vulnerable, especially poor women, from accessing quality, life-saving health care from the government. 

The JCTR conducts monthly interviews with families in the high-density compounds of Lusaka, in order to gain insight into how households are coping with unaffordable costs of basic needs.  Looking at the Lusaka Basic Needs Basket for the month of August 2007, we see an increase in the cost of food from K496,100 in July to K506,950, bringing the total cost of basic needs to K1,530,950.  In light of the high cost of living and average household incomes well-below K1,000,000, many households in Lusaka are resorting to a dangerous practice of self-prescription of medicine.   

As JCTR Research Officer Chris Petrauskis reflects: “Through our research we have uncovered an alarming trend where households in urban areas are oftentimes running to ‘community drug stores’ as the first-stop in seeking medical attention.  This practice poses great danger not only to individuals who ‘blindly’ receive medicines without clinical diagnosis, but also to the wider society that experiences greater vulnerability as common diseases and parasites develop resistance to the most accessible and affordable medicines.” 

For example, one of the Lusaka residents interviewed in the month of August reported feeling fatigue, and therefore he went straight to the local “drug store” where he was advised by the salesperson to get the anti-malarial drug Fancidar, at a cost of only K1,500.  After about 1 week he fully recovered.  Another respondent in the same “satellite home interviews” mentioned that her husband also experienced fatigue and vomiting and was rushed to the local clinic for treatment.  Not having a medical scheme card, he was forced to pay K8,000 ‘emergency fee” to see a clinical officer the same day.  Without any tests being done, the man was symptomatically diagnosed with malaria and given the anti-malarial drug Coartem for free.  At the time of the interview, the wife expressed grave concern that her husband’s conditions had worsened though he had finished the entire course; she was found trying to organise money to take here husband to a private clinic.

Interpreting this and countless other similar stores, the JCTR draws a conclusion that many Zambians have lost faith in the public health system.  “Due to both actual and perceived inefficiencies in the provision of health care, countless Zambians, especially in urban areas, now see government clinics as only a last resort behind “tuntemba” treatments, traditional remedies and private health centres,” comments Mr. Petrauskis.  “Some of the real, well-documented inefficiencies in government clinics include inadequate numbers of personnel, erratic supply of drugs, long queues and others.  Moreover, the constant sharing of ‘bad experiences’ at, for example UTH, has created such a negative reputation of government health care that many people are delaying to seek medical attention from local clinics when symptoms first appear and are showing up oftentimes when it is too late.” 

Though these stories are limited to Lusaka, JCTR research in other areas across Zambia reveals similar challenges to access quality health care.  The cost of basic needs in other Zambian towns, has reached K1,221,630 in Ndola, K1,218,970 in Kitwe, K930,880 in Luanshya, K1,066,830 in Kabwe, K1,224,450 in Livingstone and K991,180 in Mongu.  Recent conversations with various people living with HIV and AIDS on the Copperbelt has revealed that a CD4 Count Test costs between K10,000 and K25,000 in Ndola, Kitwe and Luanshya, whereas it can be obtained for free in other towns such as Lusaka, Livingstone, Mongu and Kabwe.

Also, recent visits made to health facilities in various rural areas, including Saka Area in Masaiti and Malama Area in Mambwe District, have revealed shocking inadequacies in the number of trained medical personnel serving the communities.  In both places persons with absolutely no training in diagnostic medicine were found attending to patients and prescribing medicines. 

In light of all of the “real and perceived” challenges in the provision of health care, the JCTR encourages the Ministry of Health to accelerate construction of more clinics, training of more medical personnel, distribution and monitoring of drug supplies and streamlining of treatment for common ailments, especially Malaria, Tuberculosis and HIV and AIDS.  Furthermore, the Ministry of Health should launch an aggressive sensitisation campaign to inform the public about what services they can expect from and demand for at all government medical facilities, in order to help restore confidence in the health system.

As Mr. Petrauskis concludes, “The challenges are so many, but as the JCTR we only encourage the government to prioritise interventions that will help the poor, especially women, access life-saving health interventions!”

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August 2007 BNB @  K1,530,950 

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