Global Healthbeat: Kenya - What happened?

Kenya, to most North Americans, has long been one of those African nations that seemed safe and stable. We know that it is on the east coast, on the equator, it may be the birthplace of our species, and with exotic wildlife in a gorgeous setting, a place to take the family on safari. We know there is high employment and extreme poverty but we knew that up until late December 2007, Kenya was politically stable. Elections were held in December 2007 for a new President. Incumbent President Mwai Kibaki (Party of National Unity - PNU) was running against Raila Odinga (Orange Democratic Movement and while Kibaki has been sworn into power again, many claim the results are suspect. Kenya has descended into violence and mayhem since then, and many lives have been lost, many more are internally displaced.

Had we been paying attention, we would have noticed some unsettling facts: it is a nation of 37 million people but the GNI per capita is about $540 and the life expectancy; 46 years for women. It is ranked one of the 20 most corrupt countries in the world. The US gives $1 billion annually in aid for health care, education, and HIV/AIDS prevention.

Lucas Sang and Wesley Ngetichc, track and field stars, were killed in the violence. Sang competed in the Seoul Olympics in 1988. Mugabe Were, a member of parliament and a peacemaker, was killed. U.S. presidential candidate Obama has family members in Kenya who are affected by the violence. Gender based violence - especially rapes of girls under age 18 - including brutal gang rapes - has escalated. Women and children, forced to flee their homes and seeking shelter in camps with little or no security, are in double jeopardy. UNICEF has launched an appeal for an emergency $3 million to assist women and children displaced by the violence in Kenya.

Thank you ActionPix Maruko for use of photo 2007 Post election violence Kenya.

Labels: Kenya, rape, violence

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Global Healthbeat: Pakistan - The World Mourns Benazir Bhutto

Multiple trauma - a bullet to the neck, head injuries, shrapnel wounds from a suicide bomb detonated caused the death of former Prime Minister Bhutto of Pakistan. Educated at Harvard, she was the first female elected head of a Muslim state and campaigned for the rights and welfare of women. She had returned from exile to speak out for Pakistanis living in poverty and to fight for their freedom. In a country of 160 million people it is estimated that one third live below the poverty line.

Low levels of female literacy and a high maternal mortality rate are indicators of the reduced status of women in Pakistan. Poor reading ability and poor health are clearly related. Hygiene, sanitation, nutrition, food and clean water supplies - the basics for supporting life and health - are still not in place for most Pakistanis. 90% of Pakistani households are headed by males and the remaining 10% are extremely impoverished.

But the outright murder of women in Pakistan has been reported in the Western press for seven years now - in documentaries like Murder in Purdah and License to Kill.
According to reports in the BBC news, women are imprisoned, traded in marriage, murdered for breaking with religious traditions - and these activities are sanctioned by state institutions. Honor killings - including those of mothers by their teenage sons, daughters by their fathers, wives by their husbands - have been given state sanction as a means of social control and a deterrent to sexual immorality. A leading Pakistani Islamic scholar expains that sexual "immorality" is considered a worse crime than murder.

In the first 7 months of 2004, 151 Pakistani women were gang-raped and 176 were victims of honor killings. Almost 50% of women in jails in Pakistan are awaiting trail for suspected adultery. Yesterday, a talented, intelligent woman was murdered in Pakistan.

Merci Christiane Michaud for use of photo A sad day...Madame Bhutto.

Labels: assasination, bhutto, pakistan health, violence

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Thank You Dr. Deb at Encephalon!

Dr. Deb is a brainy psychologist whose blog, Encephalon, features articles about the human psyche. She picked up my post stating we should give Michael Vick a break, The Warrior Archetype and Violence. Thanks!

Labels: archetype, Michael Vick, psychology, violence

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