Politics : How we let ourselves down
Like in our personal lives, there are a lot of things that happen in the life of a nation that the nation has no control over.
When these events come unawares, it is understandable and everyone appreciates it.
These challenges can be conveniently categorised as those which are predictable and those which are by no stretch of imagination fathomable.
Fortunately we are not a nation plagued with devastating national disasters as most countries are prone to. Scarcely is there news of impending winds that are capable of uprooting the foundation of the nation.
Rarely do we experience earthquakes and other forms of devastating earth movement. Hardly are economic activities stalled by blizzards and other extreme temperature forms.
We are fortunate to have everything in moderation. None of our weather patterns are as debilitating as the case is with other countries. Yet, we are unable to take advantage of such advantages and do more to improve our lot.
Question bordering on public health have been in the news for some time now. My present preoccupation would be on the cholera pandemic.
Let’s face it. Who, reading this piece would not for a second have predicted, that there would be an outbreak of cholera this year? It happens every year.
Kofi Baah-Bentum in a piece entitled “Hurray! Our annual cholera is here” summed up the cost of us staring and allowing the disease to wreak the havoc that it has in the following words: “Recent media reports put the cases reported to health facilities between June and July at almost 578 in the Accra Metropolis with 18 dead. Last year, a similar outbreak in the Kumasi Metropolis reportedly killed 13 people.”
The surprising thing is that when such preventable and predictable events happen, the health institutions unfortunately seem unprepared to deal with them.
At the onset of the disease, there were reports of persons suffering from cholera being turned away from the hospitals. This was attributed to the hospitals being under pressure as a result of the high numbers.
Cholera is not Ebola. The manner of acquisition and prevention is well understood. The conditions that give rise to the disease are well understood amongst public health experts. And yet there is no galvanised effort aimed at making the contraction of cholera a thing of the past.
Probably, we have resigned ourselves to fate and we are just hoping that some year (with the same conditions prevailing) we would be lucky not to have any such outbreak.
Or maybe we are just hoping and praying that some foreign entity takes up the initiative (as the case is with polio), launch one huge campaign in order to ensure that cholera is eradicated from the face of the country.
It cannot always be the case. Whatever intervention that the authorities decide on should be prompt, effective and aimed at ensuring that lives are not lost unnecessarily. Sadly most of the interventions can be described as face-saving and firefighting measures which benefits no one.
The Daily Graphic reported on Tuesday of a joint clean up exercise between the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development and the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) at some 18 dumpsites in the metropolitan area. The exercise was led by the Vice-President, Mr Kwesi Amissah Arthur.
The obvious objective was to reduce the impact of the cholera outbreak.
The nonchalance and cavalier outlook of the AMA, the Local Government Ministry and other allied institutions responsible for public health should be put to a stop.
And to the politicians and public office holders who show up only in the midst of unnecessary and preventable crisis, they need to be reminded of how such stunts are not the least impressive.
Whichever way the question is posed, the lot falls on the individual victims as well who are required to take a personal responsibility for their health, life and well-being.
This may sound insensitive but the question has to be posed: “were the victims of the cholera outbreak and the relatives of such victims sincerely helpless, hapless and blameless in all these?”.
Certainly not! They live in the filth. In some instances, it is their creation. In other situations, they look on without concern as waste generated elsewhere is dumped on their premises and surroundings. They cannot be innocent.
And one last thing- what happened to the once vibrant youth groups that we once had in our communities? Those who had notice boards conspicuously fixed in the middle of the locality; and who met regularly to discuss issues of concern? It is hard to find an answer to these questions.
It is a good thing to look in the direction of the government. But our common experience has thought us that it is better when citizens take proactive steps.
Cholera can be a thing of the past. Let us not keep entertaining it year after year. We should not continue to let ourselves down this way.
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