JOIN DRIVERN TAXI AS PARTNER DRIVER TODAY!
First Lady, Christine Kaseba, has underscored the effectiveness of information sharing in changing mind-sets of society towards some myths on health issues and in stepping up the general response of the public to accessing health services.
Dr Kaseba said because of massive sensitisation and information sharing, there was now a lot of demand from the Zambian people to access various health services.
She said most poor people were now aware of their rights in terms of accessing health services and were, therefore, holding their parliamentary representatives and government accountable.
Dr Kaseba was speaking today during a panel discussion at the just ended Skoll World Forum on entrepreneurship which was held at Oxford University in the United Kingdom. The theme of this year’s forum was, “ambition;” fuelling opportunity, scaling progress’.
She, together with three other social entrepreneurship leaders, discussed a topic dubbed, “the impact jackpot; service delivery, innovation for the very poor’.
The First Lady pointed out that many Zambians were dying of preventable diseases because they lacked knowledge on when, how and where to access health services.
Dr Kaseba said many Zambian communities were now being reached through the use of mobile hospitals which even the very poor people were able to access.
She noted that mobile hospitals have greatly helped to improve the health of the people who could otherwise not afford to travel to static health facilities.
And Dr Kaseba has explained that young people have played an important role in influencing religious groups, parents and traditional leaders to disbelieve myths that were hampering the delivery of certain health services in Zambia.
She said through vigorous campaigns championed by youths, many retrogressive social-cultural norms have been broken.
The First Lady also said the role of the private sector in complementing government’s efforts should be appreciated.
Meanwhile, Dr Kaseba said identifying existing platforms to use for delivering a full package of health care was important so that all communities can have an opportunity to know more about health matters.
She said the integration of male circumcision issues, cancer screening, reproduction health and many others into mobile health was effectively benefiting many Zambian communities.
Dr. Kaseba thereafter took time to hold meetings with two international organisations involved in issues of health in other parts of Africa.
She held discussions with Medic Mobile and Development Media International on issues relating to the improvement of health care services and bettering the lives of many poor Zambians.
Dr Kaseba was accompanied in all the meetings by Zambia’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Paul Lumbi, and his acting Deputy High Commissioner, Amos Chanda, among other mission staff.
The First Lady has been attending the three-day 2014 Skoll World Forum on social entrepreneurship in Oxford where over 1,000 world’s most influential entrepreneurs met to exchange ideas, solutions and information.
