DEADLY MEDICATIONS... GREED KNOWS NO BOUNDS

There is a raging problem affecting health systems in most African nations tipping to the point of becoming a serious pandemic if interventions are not stepped up. This problem involves the counterfeit drugs business which is estimated to be worth around £46billion euros. Africa seems to be the hardest hit, thanks to porous borders, inefficient institutions to review the medications imported into our respective countries and apathy to the problem. Countries of origin for most of these fake drugs are China and India. Aside people losing their lives as a result of being treated with these fake medications, there is another worrying aspect to the problem; certain serious illnesses are becoming drug resistant because these counterfeit drugs contain inactive ingredients.

Unfortunately, our country – Ghana – is one of those being hit hard with this growing problem as human greed continues to trump conscience – some of our local pharmaceutical companies are engaged in this business. Sometimes one can only sit down and wonder what humanity has become. Do we still value human lives? Do we still know its worth?
News broke during the past week about three Ghanaian companies supplying fake drugs to hospitals and pharmacies throughout the country. The drugs in question were Oxytocin, Ergometrine and Quinine and I initially thought the news article could be a mistake because those three medicines are one of the essentials in our health system. Not that other drugs are less important but these are the basic lifelines currently in health delivery, which makes the the thought of someone making fake versions of them even more harrowing.

This incident is sadly, not rare. We hear of stories such as this constantly where the Food and Drugs Board issues warnings to avoid fake medications alongside hearing reports of arrests being made yet, it appears people are still not deterred from the practice. It also seem we are losing the fight against counterfeit drugs as it’s been estimated by the World Health Organization (WHO) that thousands in the West African Sub-region lose their lives yearly from taking these counterfeit medications.

Quinine is an anti-malarial drug and usually the choice for treating severe malaria cases. Ergometrine is a drug used in obstetrics and is meant for smoothening the muscle tissue of the uterus (womb) so as to reduce blood flow. Essentially, it facilitates the delivery of the placenta after childbirth and also prevents postpartum bleeding. Oxytocin is also a medication in obstetrics which aids the cervical dilation during labour and also helps curtail postpartum hemorrhage.


Among the the Millennium Development Goals, the eight aims agreed globally to be achieved by 2015 in tackling developmental challenges in countries including Ghana, is the improvement of maternal health. Meanwhile the current maternal mortality rate in Ghana is 350 deaths out of 100,000 live births.
The major causes of maternal mortality in Ghana includes postpartum hemorrhage (after birth bleeding) where postpartum hemorrhage can be defined as the loss of greater than 500ml of blood following vaginal delivery or 1000ml of blood following caesarean section and is the number one cause of maternal death in our country.
Other causes include pre-eclampsia, eclampsia, abortion complications, lack of access to health facilities and skilled attendants, and inadequate antenatal care. High maternal mortality rate for a developing country has economic implications as these women form part of the work force and contribute to economic development and it is very sad that child birth, which is a natural process and essential in continuing our existence is claiming lives. Therefore to learn our hospitals are being supplied with fake drugs which are meant for preventing some of these deaths is appalling.

What comes to mind is the thought of a laboring mother after going through the excruciating process of child birth being given fake Oxytocin or Ergometrine, unbeknown to the well-meaning midwife or doctor. While these health professionals think the medication administered would help in the delivery of the placenta and stop postpartum hemorrhage, they find out too late about the non-effectiveness of the drug making the woman bleed to death, leaving the midwife or doctor distraught and wondering “what went wrong? “What did I not do right?”

It’s really sickening that human greed knows no bound and is being directed to our health system. Yet, we all know how this harrowing story would end – a committee would be set up to investigate the incident and we shall be informed about their findings. But my question is, will we go the extra mile of hauling these pharmaceutical companies involved in this evil act to court and prosecute them accordingly? – That is for you and I to follow up in the coming days. But, I sure do hope justice is served because there is too much blood on the hands of those behind this evil.

A CUP IN HAND FOR SURVIVAL

We encounter them daily on our way to work, in our markets, at strategic traffic stops, in front of offices and increasingly on our church premises. I am talking about the beggars dotted all over the city. They are usually people living with physical or mental disabilities. The act of begging remains a complex issue with different facets and has been aptly described in Aminata Sow Fall’s satire, The Beggars Strike. In Islam and Christianity, alms-giving is one of the tenets to profess one’s faith hence people sometimes drop some coins or notes into the cups of these beggars so as to fulfill their religious/ spiritual obligations.

We should not necessarily assume beggars are people who do not want to earn their own living as some do have the desire to work but cannot find jobs. They are sometimes people stranded in their search for better lives in the city hence resort to begging for survival. But where does a giver draw the line so as not to be taken for granted for their generosity? Because it appears people’s acts of giving alms are creating “job opportunities” for others. You will find people capable of holding decent jobs resorting to begging as it’s getting increasingly lucrative. How many “preachers” haven’t we come across who conveniently ride our buses, scream out their lungs and at the end of their evangelical sessions ask passengers to donate money to continue the work of the Lord?

What about the smartly dressed gentleman, student or lady who claims he or she is short of money to board a bus home therefore needs an additional one or five cedis to continue their journey? You give them the money yet find them standing at the same spot three weeks later telling the story they previously told you, to others. What of that parent who approaches you with a prescription asking for support to buy medication for their sick child? Oh, what about the mother carrying a baby on her back who comes to you with the sad story of how she lost her job, was abandoned by her husband and needs money to feed her children?


There are even those bold enough to enter church premises after services to play the guilt trip on you – but of course, you just closed from church right? Where the Lord has admonished you to be kind and generous to your neighbor, the poor and needy, not so? Are you going to deny him or her, right in front of the Lord’s house? Of course not – mission accomplished! Indeed, some of the stories you hear can be heart wrenching but due to the increasing number of swindlers amongst us one can no longer be sure of their genuineness. Only the heavens can verify these stories.

What really worries me is the fact that a good number of these beggars are usually people living with physical or mental disabilities. This says a lot about our society as it appears less is being done to assimilate them enough to access meaningful jobs for survival. We are ignoring their needs and forcing them to live stereotypical lives where people erroneously assume people with disabilities cannot do much for themselves hence must constantly depend on others for their needs. That should not be so as I’ve come across quite a few who through being educated or given the opportunity to learn a trade have made wonderful accomplishments for themselves and contributed meaningfully to society.

Whereas some people genuinely need our help to survive through begging, we will never know if the next person who approaches you for alms will be a fraudster or a lazy person refusing to utilize their potentials. I only hope as a nation, we find ways to create more opportunities for the marginalized in our society because I believe a good number of them can do meaningful things if given the chance. But while at it, hope the next beggar whose cup you drop your coins into genuinely needs the help.

I LIVE IN A COUNTRY...

I live in a country where water, gas and electricity are rationed
I live in a country where increase in fuel price affects everything under the sun including burial charges
I live in a country where 55%of the adult population are not literate
I live in a country where mineral rich communities are impoverished
I live in a country where road traffic accident claims more lives than malaria and HIV combined
I live in a country where childbirth could possibly be your death sentence
I live in a country where it's health system is teetering on the brink of collapse
I live in a country where mediocrity is glorified
I live in a country where officials elected to solve problems of the nation rather add to the problem
I live in a country where women are still marginalized
I live in a country where the naming of the seat of government is national debate for a week
I live in a country where drinking bars abound and libraries are scarce
I live in a country where Christians abound but corruption and bribery is rift
I live in a country where God is the one duty and every other person is waiting on him
I live in a country whose citizens are more religious than God himself yet these same people hide behind the name of God to do unimaginable things
I live in a country where even though we have elected public officials, we entrust our future to 200 supposed 'men of God' to go to Jerusalem to seek solution to our problems.
I live in a country where in the face of all these challenges people still have hope and wake up each day to make a difference

PLASTIC ‘PORTUGESE MAN O’ WARS’ AT SEA

It was a bright sunny day, the sort of weather that made a trip to the beach inviting so off I went with a friend to enjoy the beautiful scenery and breeze from the ocean. Times have changed since the last time I went to La Pleasure Beach. Upon arrival I observed they had more restaurants and bars, interspaced with khebab vendors, all over the long stretch of beach providing good food and drinks.  We finally found a great spot to do the things we had intended. Everything was going perfectly well but for the occasional interruption by the beads or adornment vendors, photographers as well as tattoo artists. Well, I would have gladly accepted their offers if they were for free.

We then decided to take a walk close to the shores so we could feel the waves hit our legs; it was going great until I felt something latch onto my foot that made my heart jump into my mouth and I let out a scream. It felt as though a Portuguese Man O’ War (a sea creature that resembled a jelly fish) had grabbed my legs! Only to realize it was a polythene bag clinging to my foot like a leech.  Well, that was a huge relief to me as the bag could not bite but a closer look into the sea revealed more plastic water bottles, bottles of soft drinks, food containers (takeaway / to-go boxes) among many other trash were floating in the sea. Let’s just say that section of the beach literally appeared to be a dump field and though other ends of the sea seemed perfectly fine without traces of any trash, there were high chances the pollutants from the waste we were seeing at our end would be getting to those swimming at the other side.

There have been countless debates over the inefficiencies of our city’s waste management system; though these debates have made huge headlines in our print, electronic media, documentaries among many others, it seems our dear city is losing the battle of tackling this issue. How many television commercials haven’t I seen over the years to enlighten people about littering yet you find them doing it and when you reproach them some tell you “What is Zoom Lion there for? / Do you work for Zoom Lion? / That’s why Zoom Lion is being paid to clean the city”.

Believe you me; this is not what Accra used to be. Until the 1990’s where we had the sudden explosion of plastic bags, most people shopped with cane woven baskets. Our food vendors used to serve food in those beautiful leaves which even added extra flavor to the food until they started using those take away / to-go boxes. And because the leaves were biodegradable, even when people failed to drop them in litter bins, those leaves were able to biodegrade on their own. Now you walk all over the city and feel as though you are being buried alive by plastic waste. One reason I believe we are losing the fight against this menace is the business interests of the producers. There have been times where suggestions have been made to stop the production of sachet water and plastic shopping bags and probably revert back to what we used to use but these suggestions have been vehemently opposed by these producers because they argue their businesses create jobs hence closing them will result in unemployment among the youth.

I think this problem is also attitudinal because there are some people out there who, so far as the waste is not on their compounds, they are good to go; meaning, they wouldn’t mind sweeping off the dirt and disposing it in the open near their streets. Somewhere along the line people in this city have lost their sense of responsibility towards our environment and it’s very, very sad. I seriously do not know where or how we got to this because I grew up in a time where we used to have ‘communal labour’ in our communities in which during one or two Saturdays of a month everyone gathers to clean around the neighborhoods. These days, people simply do not care in our city and it’s such a shame. Go to our rural areas or country sides and you see something different. Those places are very clean. While others will argue that the bigger the city and greater the population the harder it is to maintain I disagree because you go to cities in different parts of the world or even on our own continent and you realize they’ve been able to manage their waste efficiently. You would even wonder if those cities had things made out of plastic there.

We need change and I think it must start from an individual level. If you are reading this article and in the habit of throwing waste in the streets, please make a personal resolution to stop it. I also think it’s about time our city authorities enforced fines against persons caught littering and also more bins should be placed at vantage points. Yes, Zoom Lion or any of our waste management agencies are there to clean up the mess, but it does not mean you should consciously litter. And to our waste management agencies, we know you are doing your best because I see some of your workers in the streets doing their jobs and I congratulate you all, but please there is more to be done. I’m saying this because there have been instances where people’s trash are left uncollected for weeks which poses health hazards compelling those living close to beaches to resort to dumping into the sea. And if producers of plastic products in our country are not already being made to contribute their part in helping resolve this issue, I would like to see more regulations introduced in that direction because so far as they are the ones producing, they should equally be involved in cleaning up the mess.

At the rate we are going, if we do not take proactive measures in tackling this issue, a time will come where we wouldn’t be able to see a single sand under our feet but be walking on plastic-carpeted streets and where we would see more plastic ‘Portuguese Man O’ War’ clinging to our feet on our beaches.