Live not for battles won,Live not for the-end-of-the-song...

In the face of all obstacles on our way, as youth activists we should never ever give up, for  the cause we are fighting  for is not only noble but just....Gwendolyn Brooks' in her poem Speech to the Young : Speech to the Progress-Toward is urging you and I to:
Live not for battles won,Live not for the-end-of-the-song,  Live in the along.

Courage folks don't give up...savour a complete version  of this great peom...

Speech to the Young : Speech to the Progress-Toward

Say to them,
say to the down-keepers,
the sun-slappers,
the self-soilers,
the harmony-hushers,
"even if you are not ready for day
it cannot always be night."
You will be right.
For that is the hard home-run.

Live not for battles won.
Live not for the-end-of-the-song.
Live in the along.

Gwendolyn Brooks

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/speech-to-the-young-speech-to-the-progress-towar/

Act to promote the rights of all young migrants and maximize the development potential of youth migration.

 

Act to promote the rights of all young migrants and maximize the development potential of youth migration.

The above is what I consider to be the take home message from the United Nations Secretary General's Message for 2013 on the International Youth Day, celebrated on August 12th of every year.

Please read further

Secretary-General's Message for 2013

This year’s observance of International Youth Day focuses on the issue of youth migration.  Of the annual total of some 214 million international migrants, young people constitute more than 10 per cent, yet too little is known about their struggles and experiences.
The reasons young people migrate are many.  Some are fleeing persecution, others are escaping economic hardship.  Some are alone, others part of a family – with parents, siblings and even children of their own.  Some have communities to go to, others must make new connections.  In transit and at their final destinations, many young migrants face equal or greater struggles, including racism, xenophobia, discrimination and human rights violations.  Young women, in particular, face the risk of sexual exploitation and abuse. 
Poverty, crowded and unsanitary living conditions and the challenges of finding decent employment are regular features of the migrant experience.  These challenges are exacerbated by the current global economic and financial crisis.  Migrants are also often accused by communities and politicians of taking jobs from local people, exposing them to further risk of discrimination.  In other cases, young people left behind by migrating parents face psychological and social challenges and greater vulnerability.
It is important to emphasize the positive contribution young migrants make to societies of origin, transit and destination – economically and by enriching the social and cultural fabric.  Most work hard to earn a living and improve their circumstances. 
The remittances they send to support families in their home countries are a major contributor to economies worldwide.  When they return home, young migrants often enhance development by applying skills and ideas acquired abroad.  And, in many cases, women are empowered through migration as they gain financial and social independence.
In October, the United Nations General Assembly will host the second High-Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development.  I urge Member States to consider youth migration.  Working with and for young people is one of my top priorities.  On this International Youth Day, I encourage Member States, youth-led organizations and other stakeholders to act to promote the rights of all young migrants and maximize the development potential of youth migration.

Policy Makers: Deliver on your Promises to Girls, Women, and Youths to Sustain Mankind

What if all the empathy that transpired in the speeches and talks of policy makers I listened to today at the Women Deliver pre-youth conference could immediately be converted to action? This is the question I asked myself during my reflection on the pre-youth conference that ok place on the 27^th May 2013 in Kuala Lumpur.

Gaston Kwa with Kathy Calvin- President and Chief Executive Officer of the United Nations Foundation after an inspiring exchange at the Women Deliver pre-youth conference

Passion, enthusiasm, and determination were perceptible in the way the policy makers I listened to and spoke with today spoke about how painful, frustrating, and humiliating the consequences of inequalities that exist in today‘s world are.   But does this mean these people have finally heeded to the call of social activists to act now for inequality to be eradicated? Only time will tell as youths will be keeping a keen eye on these people to ensure that all the promises they will make this time around are kept and within the minimum possible time frame.

“The biggest risk to the continuity of humanity is inequality“, declared UNFPA‘s deputy Director; Kate Gilmore during an intervention at the Women Deliver pre-youth conference. Conscious of this, it is unavoidably true that, by delivering on their promises to not only reduce but eradicate inequalities and injustices of every nature, policy makers will be contributing to the continuity of humanity. Therefore by failing to deliver for Girls, women, and Youths, policy makers of this generation will be committing a crime that present and future generations will not pardon.

But well, we the youths of this generation won‘t sit arms folded to see you commit such heinous crimes, because our silence-that of Girls, Women, and Youths is a roar that will degenerate into something worse if not listened to.

African Union You are 50. Deliver for Girls,Women, and Youths Now !

"To  free the people still under colonial  rule, let us  accept to die a little or even completely so that the  African Union doesn't become mere words".  These are the words of Ahmed Ben Bella one of those African leaders present in Addis Ababa on the 25th of May 1963 to form what is today known as the African Union.

Why do I quote Ahmed Ben Bella? and why am I talking about the African Union?, it's exactly 50 years today that this historic event took place and I happen to be in the very historic town of Addis where African heads of states and other major decision makers from around the African continent have also gathered to celebrate this event.

  50years is worth  celebrating no doubt, but what  do Africans have to celebrate the African Union for ? Economic growth ?,political independence ? social progress ?,or  technological advancement ? An answer to this will depend on which side of the board one finds his/herself. There is no doubt that strides have been made  in some of the mentioned above areas, but  if there one area in which the African Union has woefully failed is in the area of the empowerment of  girls, women, and youths.

 Having a woman at the  helm of the African Union-Nkosazana Nzuma, and another -Helene Johnson Sirleaf at the helm of one of its nations ;Liberia is the arguement many will advance to contradict my above assertion, but they are just two in  millions who are languising in poverty,dieing while giving birth,reduced to sexual slaves, and considered in many cultures  as good only for child bearing. Statistics on these issues in Africa abound and I will not like to come back to them here. Same arguement will be advanced as concerns the plight of African youths.But how many of them occupy posts of responsibility in the communities from which they hail or live in ? How many of them have been given the opportunity by policy makers to participate in the formulation and implementation of policies ;even on issues that affect them the most ? A very tiny proportion, is the answer I will give you.

In a write-up to mark this day titled : The Africa We Want to See,the current chairperson of the African Union commission, Nkosazana Nzuma amongst other things talks of this being an opportunity to take stock of Africa today,its assets, capabilities,opportunities , and challenges. She is definitely right and inorder  for the African Union not to become mere words as feared by Ahmed Ben Bella, Africa through the African Union and its people must deliver for its main assets which is its people- especially girls, women , and youths. The time is for African girls, women, and youths is now ! I am utterly convinced that the African delegates and other stakeholders at the 3rd Global Women Deliver conference will make cristal clear and that concrete actions will be taken  to ensure that the plight of the African girl,woman , and youth takes  central stage in the various policy formulation and implementation processes accross our beloveth continent ;Africa.

Sexual and Reproductive Health Services: Access is Good But Quality is Better.

Wow! How time flies. I can’t imagine I am year older (again), thought I this morning when I received an SMS from a friend I have long lost sight of. It read thus; “Happy Birthday and many more years” This is a classical birthday message that anyone will send to a friend or even an unknown person, you might be thinking. But this is not the case for me because unlike in the previous years when I will just receive these messages and file, I have this year decided to carefully study these Birthday messages before filing or even deleting and as well carefully look through all the Birthday  messages I have been sent at each one of these occasions.

Though written in different styles and strongly influenced by the nature of my relationship with the sender of the birthday message, there is a wish that was omnipresent in all the messages: Wishes of Good Health; which is what my friend’s, “Many More Years” in the above extraction from his birthday wish message to me seeks to express The result of this crazy study revealed to me how much Cameroonians care about their health.

The health of the average Cameroonian, like that of any normal human being in the world, is very important to him/her. What would vary might be the approach to ensuring that they stay healthy and maintain an equilibrium that is necessary for them to live a life worth living. Important as being healthy might be to Cameroonians, they are not unaware of the barriers to staying healthy. Talking about barriers to staying healthy in Cameroon, if you ask any Cameroon what  the greatest barrier to  staying healthy  is, you would likely  hear  him/her answer   ‘ACCESS’.

While it is clear from all indications that access to health is a stumbling block to Cameroonian’s staying healthy, it should be noted that even where these health facilities are available, users complain bitterly of the quality of the services rendered. Thus, it is common place to see a health practitioner sarcastically questioning   a teenage girl about the reason for her pregnancy and making fun of her pregnancy by using very insulting and violent language. Worst still, it is common place to get a health practitioner who openly discusses results of the medical test of his/her patients without any sense of guilt or fear. The judgmental nature and lack of confidentiality in Cameroon’s health services is so widespread and across all spheres of society that a government minister recently declared that a journalist who had been tortured to death while in detention had died of HIV/AIDS.

With judgmental attitudes like these from health professionals and lack of confidentiality, no wonder an ever increasing number of pregnant teenagers  refuse to go for prenatal checkups. To stay clear of insults and other traumatizing language and behaviours, they thus decide to stay at home with the risks that this carries.

It is high time the quality of health services in existing health facilities be improved so that patients, especially young persons, can have the best possible experience and not be afraid, for instance, to get an  HIV test because they are not sure the results will remain between them and the health professionals.

The quality of health services, though often ignored, is an important factor in reinforcing the access of   young people in particular and society at large to health facilities and should be considered as such by policy makers and health professionals. The availability of health facilities that have little or no consideration for the quality of the services offered creates more problems than it solves.

                                                       

As government leaders, policymakers, healthcare professionals, NGO representatives, corporate leaders, and global media outlets gather in Kuala Lumpur to attend the Women Deliver 3^rd Global conference to hold from the 28^th-31^st May 2013, it is  my  greatest desire that  the quality of health services as they are now be carefully studied and appropriate action taken to make them  less judgmental, more efficient, and more youth friendly.

Want to Kick Out Malaria? Then Walk the Talk; Fight Poverty First

« KO! KO! KO! », shouted the crowd .Mind you, they weren’t participating in a boxing match, neither were they at a musical concert, they shouted KO! in response to the health officials that took turns in sensitizing the crowd of more than 5000 that gathered at the Douala Place du Gouvernement to participate in the 9KM sensitization Walk that was organized by the Cameroon’s Coalition of Businesses for the fight against HIV/AIDS, Malaria, and Tuberculosis and better known by its French acronym CCATSIDA, Cameroon’s Ministry of Public Health, and other stakeholders (local and international) in the fight against Malaria this Saturday 20^th April 2013.

Being a participant, I could not help but be marveled at how engaged fellow participants were as we criss-crossed the streets of Cameroon’s most populated town. Young and old, and from diverse horizons, one thing united this people; that Malaria be kicked Out of Cameroon.

 This passion and demonstrated in the endurance of the participants all through the alertness of their  footsteps and the smile on their faces, could not however stop me from asking myself fundamental questions around the strategy for the fight against Malaria in my country. Thus, when  one of the thousands of spectators that had  amassed  at  streets corners shouted, “Where are condoms?”, there was  an outburst of laughter from the crowd, I began asking myself  what might have prompted this spectator to ask the question he did. As I thought about this, my eyes fell on the logo of the Cameroonian Coalition of Businesses for the fight against HIV/AIDS, Malaria, and Tuberculosis and on the T-Shirt of the participant ahead of me, my answer was here. The words AIDS on this coalitions logo prompted the question from this spectator.

AIDS and its prevention methods are better known in Cameroon than Malaria and its means of protection.  This is paradoxical given that Malaria kills in Cameroon and Sub-Saharan Africa than HIV/AIDS. Mind you, I am in no way saying that resources (human and material) should be shifted from the fight against HIV/AIDS, which is causing havoc in Cameroon especially amongst youths, to the fight against Malaria. The point I am trying to make is that the fight against Malaria, HIV/AIDS, and Tuberculosis has for long been done as though they were isolated.

It is true that a person that has Malaria  or Tuberculosis is not automatically an HIV/AIDS patient, but  most often people suffering from HIV/AIDS in Cameroon are  victims of the  Malaria and tuberculosis given the milieu in which they live and  the little means they have to survive on.

I have for long being convinced that an effective fight against Malaria cannot be done in an isolated manner but must be inclusive; taking into consideration the vectors of the disease in various communities in Cameroon. A dirty environment provides good breeding grounds for Mosquitoes especially the female Anopheles mosquito, through which Malaria is spread, the fight against Malaria must start from there. If a clean environment is achieved through mechanism through efficient urban development and poverty reduction strategies, Malaria will be made history. After all, isn’t it common knowledge that prevention is better than Cure?

In Cameroon and I guess is the case elsewhere in the world, a change from a dirty and crowded environment to a cleaner environment is the main indicator that a person has emerged from poverty. This is so because people who could barely afford 3 meals a day will have little time to think about the environments in which they live talk less of women in this bracket going for prenatal consultation or even having time to take their infants to the hospital when they are sick. Thus, despite the bed-nets distribution campaigns that  have been organized all over Cameroon and despite the fact that  Malaria treatment is free for  children and pregnant women  in Cameroon, Malaria killed more than 3000 people most of whom children.

Without an efficient attack on poverty, which is fertile ground for poor living conditions, I am afraid our walk and much talk on the fight against Malaria will be in vain. For Malaria to be kicked out of this country, we must not only walk on occasions like those organized  to mark the World day for the fight against Malaria, we must truly walk the talk on the fight against Malaria daily, by  launching an immediate assault and poverty. Because Malaria is the consequence of a dirty environment which is its self a glaring consequence of poverty.

If Poverty Had a Name

‘If Poverty had a name, it will be called Tansa Rose’, commented in a melancholic mood a reporter of Cameroon’s public Radio (CRTV). Tansa Rose is this 35 year old woman who died while giving birth to 4 babies in Kumba-a populous city in the South Western Region of Cameroon-recently. As shocking as this news is, it is common place in Cameroon to hear of women dying while giving birth so much so that nobody is surprised that in the 21st century; 3 years to the so much talked about 2015 dateline for the achievement of the millennium development Goals(MDGs) and not too far from 2035-the year Cameroon dreams of becoming an emerging nation.
In Cameroon, far from being neglected, Maternal Health has been at the heart of politicians’ manifestos and development policy documents. But the importance of maternal health has never been translated into concrete actions by these politicians once elected into office. After all, which Cameroonian will not remember the famous “Health for all in the year 2000 “slogan and the now ever present “emergence by 2035” argument?
One will never really know how sincere those politicians and policy makers that created such lofty slogans as those above were but one thing one can be certain of is the fact that women like Tansa Rose die while giving birth at home because they are too poor to get prenatal and postnatal care.
Tansa Rose as 1/3 of women in developing nations was the sole bread winner for her family and her children like all those whose mothers die while giving birth to them are 3-10 times likely to die before their second birthday than those whose mothers survive according to the UN in its We Can End Poverty 2015 report and the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) State of the World’s Children 2007. This coupled with the uncertainty of what the future holds for late Rose’s babies in terms of health, education, and opportunity for them to live worthy lives revolts me as while precious resources are being invested in white elephant projects that are doomed to failure, thousands of Cameroonians continue to die because they cannot afford the services of health care professionals or stay in remote areas with the nearest health facility hundreds of miles away. This is shameful and must be change if Cameroon is to ever become the emerging country it so much dreams of becoming because a nation whose women and children plagued by ills of all sorts cannot achieve any development worth its name.
Access to health care for men, women, and children of a nation’s present and future generations must be at the heart of any nation’s development policies. For, “People are dying unnecessarily because they do not have clean water, enough good food, or basic medical care-which is what economic development means for us. The most basic human right of all is the right to life itself, and a life which is not made miserable by hunger, ignorance, or preventable disease”, argued Julius Nyerere in his Plea of the Poor to the world.

Incest: The Ugly Face of a Rising Evil Practice

A 24 year old suing her father. This is a very rare phenomenon in Cameroon which has a culture which makes it taboo for the dirty linens of the family to be washed public. Even more rare is when it is a young girl suing her father and for an atrocious practice which though seen as such by a majority of people in this part of the world is growing in intensity because of inaction on the part of society, guilt and shame on the part of the victims and, desire by most stakeholders not to tarnish the family’s image.
But Elsa II Jacqueline Nyatè, a 24 year old who has been victim of a victim of incest for more than 10 years now took the bold step and sued her father for rape, sexual violence, and incest. Her father, a man whose appetite for his children seems to be unquenchable now sleeps in the same room with Vanessa’s 15 year old kid sister whom Vanessa is more than convinced is Being subjected to rape and repeated assaults by their divorced father. It is conscious of the effects her 10 years ordeal now has on her and what these effects could be on her kid sister that Vanessa has decided to speak out on this rising evil.
The Cambridge Advanced Learners dictionary describes incest as: a sexual activity involving people who are closely related and not to legally permitted to marry. In Cameroon, just as is the case with most societies in our world, incest is a forbidden practice and feelings of guilt, shame, unworthiness, and other post traumatic disorders abound among rape and incest victims.
A study recently carried out by an NGO, Réseau National des Tantines (RENATA), indicates about 10% of unmarried mothers had their pregnancy or an incestuous relationship. Shocking as these figures may be, they are very insignificant compared to the reality as the number of undocumented cases and silent victims far out-number those who are speaking out. More shocking to me is not the incestuous act itself but the violence the victims, who are often daughters, sisters, cousins, and nieces of the perpetrators of acts of incest has to go through-they are molested, beaten, and subjected to all sorts of harsh conditions which will contribute in keeping secret the incestuous relationship
But things are fast changing and need to change even further because despite the taboo surrounding the making public by victims of this demeaning and senseless act, rarely does a day go-by in Cameroon without people in one of its major towns being informed of a victim of incest coming out to denounce the incestuous family member. That the rate at which victims of incest are speaking out is rising is good news. But I am convinced that, though, a necessary step this alone is sufficient. The fact that mothers most victims of incest whom I have known keep a blind eye or helplessly watch their husbands ruining their child’s future pains me so much, the delay in the rendering judgment in cases of incest makes me wonder why the judicial system should exist if it has to cover up perpetrators of hideous acts.
Elsa has knowingly or unknowingly through this heroic act in my opinion become the symbol of the rising rebellion against this rising evil practice-incest-which has long lasting physical and psychological effects on the victims. But we all as a society have to act by denouncing perpetrators of this evil practice and demanding justice for their victims. It’s our duty to spare the children in and around us of this abuse. Together, and only together can we overcome incest in our society.

Survival on Lies: Do People Living With HIV/AIDS have to lie on their Serological Status to avoid Stigma?

A few weeks back  I listened attentively to ‘SOS Doctor’, one of the best health programs that be on Radio in Cameroon. As I listened, I got very happy at the great job that Dr. Dion Grace, a member of the National AIDS Control Committee of Cameroon was doing to educate Cameroonians on anti-retroviral drugs. She eloquently and insightfully answered every one of the questions that were posed to her by listeners who called-in and am sure her intervention in the program was a timely one. Everything was fine until when a listener called-in to ask what is it that could be done to reduce stigma on people who are on anti-retroviral drugs. Dr. Dion as usual gave a very insightful answer to this question going as far as citing the example of Ivory Coast where the drugs are put in anonymous packages so that they can be taken by patients without fear of stigma by the people around them. She went ahead to cite cases where some special containers of various doses is been used in some countries to reduce stigma. This was quiet interesting to know, but when she started advising people on anti-retroviral that they could tell people around them that they are taking vitamins or pills in order to avoid stigmatization I grumbled the following to myself: Do I have to be so ashamed of my status that I have to lie to others?

I have no statistics on this but I can assure you that having to lie on your HIV status is the order of the day in Cameroon especially amongst young people to avoid stigma and discrimination.  Well, this to an extend is understandable given that People Living With  HIV/AIDS(PLWHA)  are considered as being punished by God for either their sisns or those committed by their family. But when telling a lie to avoid stigma is a behaviour that is reinforced health professionals, I have reservations and clearly doubt how efficient this approach could be.

I am utterly convinced that a problem can only be solved if its root cause(s) is/are carefully tackled. As a young person living in a society where most PLWHA are young persons, I compare telling a lie on your HIV/AIDS status to survive to deliberately refusing to tackle the problem from it’s source and launching an attack on its leaves instead. 

"1200 000 People Died of AIDS in Africa in 2011. Millions of  these deaths being avoidable", says this bill board, at the heart of Douala-Cameroon' most populated city

 

 To reduce stigma in the most sustainable way possible, education rather than lies is required.Young  People, their families, and the communities in which People on anti-retroviral drugs have to be educated on the dangers of stigma and on the importance of accepting PLWHA. Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations’ Secretary-General,  vividly spelt out society’s responsibility to PLWHA when he declared that,  “We can fight stigma. Enlightened laws and policies are key. But it begins with openness, the courage to speak out. Schools should teach respect and understanding. Religious leaders should preach tolerance. The media should condemn prejudice and use its influence to advance social change, from securing legal protections to ensuring access to health care."

 

Lies do nothing but contribute in amplifying the myth around HIV/AIDS in the Cameroonian society. People on anti-retroviral drugs do not need to lie on their status to survive stigma, they need to accept themselves as they are and deserve the care and protection that every other human being is due by the society in which they live.They deserve to live a real life and not a life of lies.