What Happens in Africa happens to the Children and affects them more. This page extracts Child Rights Concerns from Breaking African news to angle it towards the event's immediate effect on the Continent's Children. Broken Heart or Broken Hill? Alex Fundafunda on 07/29/2008 at 11:26am (UTC)   Two weeks ago a young girl called Beverly Shakulunta passed away at Kabwe's Mines Hospital in Zambia's town of Kabwe. She had a heart condition resulting in an enlarged heart. She was a vibrant girl, a member of the local Scouts Troop of Kabwe District. Her death highlights the difficulty of finding adequate health care for complicated medical conditions in Zambia. Heart disease requires expert attention from qualified cardiologists. These are few and far between in Zambia, in semi-rural and rural locations like Kabwe treatment is carried out by any doctor available. Serious cases have to be referred to Lusaka' Huniversity Teaching Hospital; for Beverly, as for many others this came too late. Beverly's death comes with the backdrop of the illnesses of the current Republican President of Zambaia, Dr. Mwanawasa, the immediate past President Dr. Chiluba and that of the main opposition leader Mr Michael Sata. All three suffer heart related problems, all three have recieved treatment abroad. In fact both Dr Mwanawasa and Dr. Chiluba are currently abroad for treatment. Dr Mwanawasa is in Paris and Dr Chiluba is in South Africa where Mr. Sata also received his treatment from. This highlights the complexity of the health services as concerns serious illnesses such as heart trouble. If even Presidents can not find local help when faced with these health challenges, what happens to children of poor parents such as Beverly? What is required is serious investment in the health sector and retention and development of specialised health practitioners. Rights are expensive to protect, but there can be no compromise on the matter. The State must protect the rights of children in practical and value-added ways. Mere promise and plan are not enough, the socio-political contract with children as with all weak citizens is that the State will protect every single Right found in the Bill of Rights. Kabwe used to be known as Broken Hill a name given by the Colonists. They may well have named it "Broken Heart" for all the hearts that are literally and figuratively broken in this impoverished town.   <-Back  1  Continue->