DR KASEBA ADDRESSES WORLD FORUM IN UK

FIRST Lady Christine Kaseba says government and civil society have devised innovative partnerships that are delivering good results in provision of primary healthcare to vulnerable communities.Dr Kaseba said government’s decision to take over paying of salaries for health workers in church-run institutions has helped expand the provision of critical primary healthcare to rural communities.
She said the programme to increase accessibility to primary healthcare will greatly be advanced by the establishment of 650 health posts and training more health workers. The First Lady was speaking when she addressed the Skoll World Forum 2014 session dubbed `The Impact Jackpot: Service Delivery Innovation for the Very Poor’ at the Said Business School at Oxford University yesterday. “The introduction of a pro-poor and sustainable social health insurance by integrating social safety nets such as the social cash transfer scheme and the increased strategic partnerships and bilateral agreements with cooperating partners and NGOs is helping spread healthcare services to the poor in Zambia,” she said.She said her non-governmental organisation (NGO) Ubutala Bwabumi’s partnerships with traditional leaders and communities in innovations such as screening for cervical cancer and interventions to reduce child marriages has created positive demand for health services.“Chiefs and women in rural Zambia now know basic information on cervical cancer and are telling their political representatives that if they did not deliver those services they would not vote for them at the next elections,” she said.Dr Kaseba said it was regrettable that many women die of preventable conditions which compelled her to set up an NGO to create partnerships with groups that were willing to make a difference.“Zambia has one of the highest death rate from cervical cancer. Some 1,600 women die of this cancer and it is mainly because of lack of information,” she said.Dr Kaseba is happy that NGOs and cooperating partners are buying into the National Health Strategic Plan for better implementation of health services under the coordination of the Ministry of Health.“The scaling up of services using mobile health services to complement static services has increased demand for services due to the provision of a specialist care, continuum of care and better staff attitudes,” she said.The First Lady said as a lower middle income country, Zambia has in the past few years recorded major improvements in macro-economic performance, with the consistent economic growth.“The situation is further compounded by the inequities in the distribution of wealth and socio-economic infrastructure across the country, which currently favors the urban areas and adversely impacts on the provision of social services, such as health and education in rural hard-to-reach areas. “There has been some slight improvement with regard to child and maternal health indicators in the past two years, although the indicators remain very high compared with other countries.”Dr Kaseba was accompanied by High Commissioner Paul Lumbi, acting Deputy High Commissioner Amos Chanda, Counsellor-Economics Ikayi Mushinge and Ministry of Health Deputy Director-Planning Budgeting Mubita Luwabelwa.

Participant Media is joining Image Nation Abu Dhabi as co-financer of the upcoming documentary about Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani student activist who survived a Taliban assassination attempt. Docu is being helmed by “Waiting for Superman” director Davis Guggenheim.
The Malala docu is produced by Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald with whom Image Nation has a longstanding partnership.
In addition to its financial commitment, Participant Media will collaborate with Image Nation to launch a social action and advocacy campaign to expand the reach and impact of the high-profile docu’s theatrical release.
In 2012 Malala Yousafzai was wounded when gunmen opened fire on her school bus in Pakistan’s Swat Valley. The then 14-year-old teenager, who had been targeted for speaking out on behalf of girls’ education in her community, was shot in the head and neck, sparking international media outrage.
Yousafzai was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, becoming the youngest such nominee in history. The United Nations and Gordon Brown, the organization’s special envoy for education, declared July 12, 2013 as “Malala Day” in support of her global education campaign. Malala Yousafzai’s charity, The Malala Fund (www.malalafund.org), invests in projects that support education and empowerment for girls around the world. The film will include her July 12 speech to the UN General Assembly, Malala’s first major public address since being shot.
“We have believed in this project from its inception and are now pleased to have Participant Media, who are strong advocates for social action, as a financing partner on the project.” said Michael Garin, CEO of Image Nation in a statement.
Jim Berk, Participant Media’s CEO, commented: “Malala Yousafzai has said that she speaks, not for herself, ‘but so those without a voice can be heard.’ Jeff Skoll founded Participant Media to provide a platform for voices calling for social change, which is why Participant’s collaboration on this film was so important to him.”
Jeff Skoll is kicking off the Skoll World Forum today in Oxford where Malala is a featured guest and will speak about the project from the stage during his opening plenary.
Producers are aiming for a theatrical release of the “Malala” docu in early 2015 and have not announced a distribution deal yet.
Participant Media has a long-standing relationship with Image Nation, having partnered on the Participant Media/Image Nation Film Fund, which financed pics including “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” “The Help,” and upcoming releases “A Most Violent Year” and “Out of the Dark.” However that fund has expired and Participant in February 2013 pacted instead with the Doha Film Institute on a $100 million revolving fund. Which makes the Image Nation/Participant co-financing pact on the Malala docu especially interesting. ZAMBIA DAILY MAIL