OWEYEGHA AFUNADUULA: Why is death claiming the lives of Ugandans, Africans at Tender Ages?

President Museveni is right. The greatest wealth one can have is life, which God gives one in abundance, but environmental factors may work to erode. To have life in abundance one must have health in abundance. Any factors that operate to erode health of a person will automatically erode life. We do not need to ask why Japanese live for so long (even Kenya’s Charles Njonjo who died recently lived up to 101). The Japanese health system is working. And the health system in Kenya, to where we fly our big people when they fall sick, and who are sometimes handled by Ugandan doctors that sought greener pastures there, worked so well for Charles Njonjo.

So if we want to answer why many Ugandans in particular and Afrcans in general, die at early ages, we do not have to evoke God to explain our vulnerability. We have to evoke leadership, because behind every problem is the problem of leadership. We should ask: how seriously is leadership in Uganda or Africa taking health of citizens? To what extent has it priotised people (life)?

In Uganda we know that President Tibuhaburwa Museveni’s philosophy of development priotises things (infrastructure) over and above people and their health. He says development (in our sense reproduction of money and things) should come first, and then people and eñvironment next. This, more than anything else, explains why our health system is in shumbles and why we continue to succumb supersonically to the cruel hand of death at tender ages. Our hospitals are daily becoming dilapidated and some are already derelict. Environment, which is a gigantic outdoor hospital, is being degraded, more officially than unofficially, in favour of grass (oil palm and sugarcane) and concrete, and through land grabbing, mainly by people of power and connected to power, whole natural forests, which make rain, are being decimated in pursuit of property and money at the expense of healthy communities. So health problems begin with leadership as the cause and people as the victims. People include leaders too who must first be people before they become leaders. If we are to break out of the vicious circle of environmental destruction, poor health and death, we have to re-priotise and put people and social services (especially health) as s a top concern of leadership.They have to come first on the list of priorities. Otherwise the Pearl of Africa, its people, its communities, its health system and eñvironment will continue to degrade to diminishing returns. And we shall continue in ignorance of our being the main cause of our troubles and instead blame God, not ourselves.

One thing is true. We do not have sustainable capacity to ensure every big person is treated in the best hospitals outside. It is an illusion. If we priotise life as the principal wealth in Uganda, Africa, we shall make our area a respectable member of the global community; not just a source of raw materials ( including people. So we must rethink leadership. What kind of leadership do we want?

For God and My Country.