Growing up in a remote town in Africa, I have always known that a new
life is welcomed with much mirth and joy. In fact we have a special
"clarion" call (or song) in our village reserved for births and another
special one for marriages.
The first day of every baby's life is celebrated by the entire village
with dancing (real dancing!) and clapping and singing - a sort of
"Gloria in excelsis Deo."
All I can say with certainty is that we, as a society, LOVE and welcome babies.
With all the challenges and difficulties of Africa, people complain and
lament their problems openly. I have grown up in this environment and I
have heard women (just as much as men) complain about all sorts of
things. But I have NEVER heard a woman complain about her baby (born or
unborn).
Even with substandard medical care in most places, women are valiant in
pregnancy. And once the baby arrives, they gracefully and heroically
rise into the maternal mode.
I trained and worked for almost five years in a medical setting in
Africa, yet I never heard of the clinical term "postpartum depression"
until I came to live in Europe. I never heard it because I never
experienced or witnessed it, even with the relatively high birth rate
around me. (I would estimate that I had at least one family member or
close friend give birth every single month. So I saw at least 12 babies
born in my life every year.)
Amidst all our African afflictions and difficulties, amidst all the
socioeconomic and political instabilities, our babies are always a firm
symbol of hope, a promise of life, a reason to strive for the legacy of a
bright future.
So a few weeks ago I stumbled upon the plan and promise of Melinda Gates
to implant the seeds of her "legacy" in 69 of the poorest countries in
the world (most of which are in Sub-Saharan Africa).
Her pledge is to collect pledges for almost $5 billion in order to
ensure that the African woman is less fertile, less encumbered and, yes,
she says, more "liberated." With her incredible wealth she wants to
replace the legacy of an African woman (which is her child) with the
legacy of "child-free sex."
Many of the 69 targeted countries are Catholic countries with millions
of Catholic women of child-bearing age. These Catholic women have been
rightly taught by the Church that the contraceptive drug and device is
inherently divisive.
Unlike what we see in the developed Western world, there is actually very high compliance with Pope Paul VI's "
Humanae Vitae."
For these African women, in all humility, have heard, understood and
accepted the precious words of the prophetic pope. Funny how people with
a much lower literacy level could clearly understand that which the
average Vogue- and Cosmo-reading-high-class woman has refused to
understand. I guess humility makes all the difference.
With most African women faithfully practicing and adhering to a faith
(mainly Christian or in some cases Muslim), there is a high regard for
sex in society, especially among the women. Sex is sacred and private.
The moment these huge amounts of contraceptive drugs and devices are
injected into the roots of our society, they will undoubtedly start to
erode and poison the moral sexual ethics that have been woven into our
societal DNA by our faith, not unlike the erosion that befell the
Western world after the 1930 Lambeth conference! In one fell swoop and
one "clean" slice, the faithful could be severed from their professed
faith.
Both the frontline healthcare worker dispensing Melinda's legacy gift
and the women fettered and shackled by this gift, would be separated
from their religious beliefs. They would be put in a precarious position
to defy their faith - all for "safe sex."
Even at a glance, anyone could see that the unlimited and easy
availability of contraceptives in Africa would surely increase
infidelity and sexual promiscuity as sex is presented by this
multi-billion dollar project as a casual pleasure sport that can indeed
come with no strings - or babies - attached. Think of the exponential
spread of HIV and other STDs as men and women with abundant access to
contraceptives take up multiple, concurrent sex partners.
And of course there are bound to be inconsistencies and failures in the
use of these drugs and devices, so health complications could result;
one of which is unintended abortion. Add also other health risks such as
cancer, blood clots, etc. Where Europe and America have their
well-oiled health care system, a woman in Africa with a
contraception-induced blood clot does not have access to 911 or an
ambulance or a paramedic. No, she dies.
And what about disposal of the medical waste? Despite advanced sewage
disposal in the First-world countries, we hear that aquatic life there
is still adversely affected by drugs in the system. In Africa, be rest
assured that both in the biggest cities and smaller rural villages,
sewage constitutes a real problem. So as $4.6 billion worth of drugs,
IUDs and condoms get used, they will need safe disposal. Can someone
please show us how and where will that be? On our farm lands where we
get all our food? In our streams and rivers from whence comes our
drinking water?
I see this $4.6 billion buying us misery. I see it buying us unfaithful
husbands. I see it buying us streets devoid of the innocent chatter of
children. I see it buying us disease and untimely death. I see it buying
us a retirement without the tender loving care of our children.
Please Melinda, listen to the heart-felt cry of an African woman and
mercifully channel your funds to pay for what we REALLY need.
We need:
-
Good healthcare systems (especially prenatal, neonatal and pediatric care).
Needless to say that postpartum and neonatal deaths are alarmingly high
in many Sub-Saharan African countries. This is due to the paucity of
specialized medical personnel, equipment and systems. Women are not
dying because they are having "too many" babies but because they are not
getting even the most basic postpartum care. A childbirth or labor
complication can very easily be fatal, for both mother and baby. To
alleviate this problem new, well-equipped and well-staffed birthing
centers with neonatal units need to be built in easily accessible parts
of the poorest communities. And if Melinda Gates really insists on
reducing population, she can have highly trained Natural Family Planning
(NFP) instructors strategically placed in these women's healthcare
facilities. At least then there would be a natural and holistic
approach.
-
Food programs for young children.
This would serve a two-fold purpose if it is incorporated into free or
highly subsidized nursery school programs. It would nourish and
strengthen the growth of these children, who are so, so vulnerable to
malnutrition, and it would also serve to encourage parents to bring
their youngsters, ages 3 or 4, to nursery school. In so many parts of
Africa, children miss out on nursery school education because it is
expensive and considered a luxury reserved for the rich and middle
class. As a result, the children miss the first few crucial years when
basic math and reading are easily learned. By the time they are
considered "ready" for school, at age 7 or 8, they struggle
academically. Many of them never quite catch up and so drop out after
six or seven years. This is when a lot of young girls are married off as
mid- to late-teenage wives who unfortunately would become the perfect
recipient of the Melinda Gates comprehensive contraceptive care!
-
Good higher education opportunities
Not just new school buildings or books, but carefully laid out
educational programs that work - scholarships, internships at higher
levels, etc. - are needed. Despite the problems and obstacles to primary
and secondary education, a significant number of young girls make it
into universities, polytechnics or colleges. The problem however is
that, most of the schools and resources are substandard and outdated. As
such, the quality of higher education is low and cannot compare to that
of more privileged countries. Even though the teachers put in their
very best and the students work hard, the system is inadequate and will
always produce disadvantaged graduates who are not confident enough to
stand with their counterparts who have studied in other parts of the
world.
-
Chastity programs
Such programs in secondary schools, universities and churches would
create a solid support system to form, inform and reassure our young
girls and women that real love is that which is healthy and holy. Many
African girls are no longer sure about moral sexual ethics thanks to the
widespread influence of Western media, movies and magazines. More
support should be given to programs that encourage abstinence before
marriage and fidelity in marriage. This approach would go a long way to
combating the spread of HIV and other STDs through the continent. And it
would certainly lead to happier marriages!
-
Support for micro-business opportunities for women
The average African women is incredibly happy, hard-working and
resilient. Any support both economic and through training would most
probably be used well and wisely.
-
Fortify already established NGOs that are aimed at protecting women
from sex-trafficking, prostitution, forced marriage, child labor,
domestic violence, sex crimes, etc.
Many of these NGOs do not have much success because they are not
well-funded. Though most of them have good intentions, they lack
professional input from those such as psychologists, logisticians or
medical personnel needed to tackle various problems.
$4.6 billion dollars can indeed be your legacy to Africa and other poor
parts of the world. But let it be a legacy that leads life, love and
laughter into the world in need.
