Children without Childhood

If you have had, or will have the opportunity to visit different countries, I invite you to compare the situation of children. The contrast would surprise you.

I say this because even though I am from a developing country (Colombia), I can not stop being  amazed by the privations that the Mozambican children live, but I mean not only material deprivation that would be normal in a country that has placed 184 among 187 countries in the Human Development Index 2011. I refer also to the lack of opportunities that limit their present and future development.

According to UNICEF data for 2010: 883,000 births were stimated in that year; of which only 55% were attended by skilled personnel, while 114,000 children died before age 5. One of the main causes of these deaths is diarrhea (believe it or not) and only half of children with diarrhea have access to oral rehydration and continued feeding. Another reason is that while Malaria treatments are available in health centers, prevention is still poor: only a quarter of children under 5 sleeping under insecticide-treated mosquito nets.

Approximately one fifth of children in early childhood suffer from underweight, moderate and severe, with approximately half of the children in this stage do not have the estimated size for his age. This could be explained by the lack of a balanced diet, drinking water in all regions, health facilities and generally better living conditions.

The threat of AIDS for children is also troubling given that women of childbearing could transmit the virus to their children, if get pregnant, are 760,000. Also, it is estimated that there are 130,000 children in Mozambique under 14, infected with AIDS. An estimated 2100000 children who lost their parents of whom 670,000 were due to AIDS. Among these orphan children 4 out of 5 attend school.

While literacy of young people aged 15 to 24 still has serious deficiencies, the situation is even worse when comparing gender: 78% of men in contrast to 64% of women.

It is estimated that child labor affects one in five children (from what I've seen I would say that the proportion is significantly higher) mainly in the case of girls. Early marriage is also a fact that in the XXI century is unacceptable: 17% of adolescents were married by age 15 and half of 18 year olds were married. Even the 36% of women justify domestic violence including the teenagers.

So if you ask me a strategy for economic development, I would reply that it is necessary to protect and ensure the full development of children, so that when they grow up they can proactively contribute to the growth of their country with ideas and work, but this requires educating them and having a healthy life, including women in the educational system and the labor market.

Everyone's entitled to a toilet?

I recently read an article where Bill Gates stressed the importance of the research to get better hygienic conditions that were affordable for most people considering that approximately 25% of the world's population has no access to potable water and 33% can't use sanitary facilities according to World Bank data.

Perhaps someone tells me that this is just an artifact imported but the importance of hygiene goes beyond being a mere luxury. Lack of aqueduct leads people to seek alternative sources of water that are not always clean, either because the water of rivers or places that are mixed with waste, because the containers used are not appropriate or because their use encourages the proliferation of pests like mosquitoes that cause malaria and every 30 seconds kills a child in Africa.

This is the bathroom for most of the mozambiquean

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The lack of sanitation is an obstacle to evacuate properly the waste. For example, in a neighborhood where I worked in Colombia, the dirty water run down the middle of the road, close to homes and children who inevitably are the first affected by diseases that could be prevented.

Even in the XXI century, women and girls are limited in their daily activities such as work-study when they have their periods. There are still places where there is no access or are not used to using this kind of basic articles.

At least in Mozambique, this is a serious problem that is reflected in the statement of population health. Globally it is estimated that every two seconds a child dies of diarrhea, 57% of pediatric hospitalizations in this country is due to this disease. That coupled with the poor economic conditions and the lack of appropiate food leads to 14% of children die before reaching one year and 24.6% before completing 5 years.

A hole in the ground that is not always connected to a waste management system

So if you ask me some strategy for economic and social development would reply that it is necessary to satisfy itself at least basic health conditions for children to go to school and to be healthy adults who participate actively in the growth of their country.

The quest to get medical attention

A few days ago one of my friends got sick and had an unforgettable experience, but to start would be worthwhile to remember a song in spanish that would help me tell this story: El Niágara en bicicleta by Juan Luis Guerra.

Why? Well because the quest to find decent medical care in this country is more or less what this song tells: a complete ordeal. The only recognized disease in the hospital we went (the best in the area) is malaria, relatively common, even I'm not doctor nor I have no idea about medicine know is not the only one that exists here. It turns out that my partner began to feel ill, to show serious symptoms and went to the hospital where the same nurses determine who has priority, being white entered first. I only did a test Malaria Express, but was negative as was returned home just as if nothing had happened.

And continued several days and returned to the hospital emergency room was closed at dawn. I mean, do not even think about getting ill outside office hours. By the time we got the doors opened, the nurse only gave some medication to relieve chest pain but I really think that she was not sure what was happening. To complete the power went out, no water to take pills or even a blanket for warmth.

When at last the doctor arrived followed by giving more analgesics for pain but had not the slightest idea of ​​the cause. Moreover, he tried several times to complete the injection.

According to WHO there are 548 doctors in Mozambique in 2010, ie 0.3 per 10000 inhabitants but says it takes at least 23 (per 10,000 pop.) to cover at least the basic health needs for the population. The problem is that most of them are in the city and this country needs to supply more than the basic limits because the poor quality of food, water and general living conditions is more a liability than an asset .

Then both the rights proclaimed in the paper, in this case access to care, simply not met. Is it that we call developing countries if we are not betting on the development of our society, people who daily strives to build the country? Sadly there are stories more difficult than ours of ordinary people who deserve but do not have access to such freedoms.

If you ask me any strategy to achieve desired economic development I would answer that investment in improving living conditions for the prevention, medical attention and a health system for the common people would be a first step.

One woman fainted in line to take an exam