World Consumer Rights Day: So Much Left Unsaid

 Today as we celebrate World Consumer Rights Day, the world marks its 21st anniversary. Indeed consumers have come a long way in ensuring their rights are heard. Thanks to a round-table discussion sponsored by the Competition Authority of Kenya, NTV chaperoned key regulatory bodies in the ICT, telecommunication and selected mobile service providers on shedding light on consumer rights.  You and I have a right to protection against substandard products, products that endangered our safety and unfair contracts with service providers.

However, the focus was solely on counterfeit mobile phones and service providers that fail to deliver was somewhat one sided in comprehensively marking this grand day. Also the fact that so far, the Ministry of Health is not even aware that this indeed an official day in the world health calendar raises eyebrows.

Matters of health and safety should not be taken lightly. When the HIV testing kits faced public scrutiny in the past for being faulty, the nation was introduced to the culture of multiple testing of HIV and a lack of trust in the Ministry of Health.

It is a surprise that on this day, the herbal clinics and their products are not even being mentioned yet the raiding fiasco is very recent.

In a society where individuals are striving to stay healthy and do everything in their power to stay safe, consumer rights need to be clear cut in all industries beside ICT. We have health, food, transport, energy and many others in need of regulation to ensure Kenyans are using products that do not put them in harm's way.

Natural, specially manufactured, safe, efficient, custom made, these are the words we love to hear. This is why branding in all matters green is indeed a trend, almost all companies are adopting. In their bid to remain acceptable to the public, companies are going out of their way to ensure they make products that bring life to Kenyans and ensure their safety. The question, however, is: Who ensures that Kenyans stay safe?

The transport is one of the ministries that is making great strides to ensure safety on the roads in spite of the recent Nandi Hills and Salgaa incidents. The ongoing vetting of police should ensure qualified police are tasked with checking of vehicles takes into consideration that vehicles are up to standard and road worthy.

The Kenya Bureau of Standards remain the number one institution mandated to be on the lookout for consumers in the country. The notion has always been:"if it's has a KEBS stamp then it's safe and genuine". The KEBS print usually gives a sense of security so that we go ahead and use products knowing they are not harmful. When the switch-off campaign was launched to move Kenyans to register their phones, the idea was to protect them against fake phones. This is according to Linston Kirui, assistant director of Licensing and Compliance at CCK, who adds that many Kenyans in the past were putting their health at risk by using counterfeit mobile phones.

Dr. Wang'ombe Kariuki of the Competition Authority of Kenya, points out that many Kenyans are not aware of their rights with regards to the products they use thus they need to be empowered against products that are injurious to their health.

In matters health, we are all about labels. We only buy that cooking oil if it has zero cholesterol, only take that tea bag if it is herbal. In our efforts to lose weight, manage stress and depression, stay cancer free and have all our nutrients in check, we just pop a vitamin pill and go for "fat free, no sugar, gluten free" products. All this drive, with little consideration to whether the labels actually mean what they say literally.

In a world where the market is left to "merchants", we are all at risk if no one takes the responsibility of being solely in the business of protecting consumers. We have let advertisers conceptualize what we think we want and not what we need. We let celebrity choices and endorsements for products to drive our desire for this and that. This in hair products, skin regiments, nutritional preferences, exercise, u name it.

The misconception at bay is that consumer protection is merely a business affair so when universities, hospitals, hotels, food parastatals are declared ISO certified, we still claim we are safe. Yet our healthcare systems, education institutions and food security strategies are at risk.

This is the era where we have phlegmatic personalities. We sit back and engage in R&R, hoping the government will take care of us, doing little to ensure our health and safety. So what happens when the government and other extended regulatory bodies like Kenya Bureau of Standards and the Consumer Federation of Kenya fail? Will you be the one consumer left standing?

The conversation continues…                                                                                        

Nyeri Leads in County Sanitation

 It gained media hype and public criticism for being home to "iron ladies", a twisted tale of reversed domestic violence but now things are looking up for Nyeri in matters health. A report of WHO's Water and Sanitation Program, rates Nyeri County as the cleanest.  With a 96% score card, the county is the best sanitized among 47 counties. Indeed gone are the days when sanitation was a private affair. Something that Yolande Coombes, a program officer of WSP, says is putting public sanitation at risk.

In the fight to keep diseases at bay and possibly eradicate them, poor sanitation is costing the Kenyan tax payer 27 billion. Something that is not a pill we would want to swallow lightly with the cost of living on the rise. Nyeri is a good example of how good sanitation goes a long way in ensuring we spend our money where it is most needed, development being key.

It comes as a shock that this being the 21st century, people are still doing their toilet business like they are out roaming with the wild. The 4 million grant for Nyeri County comes as relief for the residents and in aiding in building of pit latrines.

While as a country we are busy making ends meet, driving the economy to greater heights, health is usually one among many other things that is sidelined until it becomes a national hazard. We choose to work in markets that are filthy hoping the county council will look into it. Environment campaigners tell you to promote a clean environment by making use of trash bins but we don’t have the time so we continue to litter.

We fail to realize that our public outlook as a nation, a county reflects highly on our values. Poor sanitation is a deal breaker in engaging with investors. Kibera is a good example, the toilet project that was a dead end because residents were treated to new toilets but no one took the time to show them how to clean them so they became inoperable with time.

It is almost impossible to talk of sanitation without bringing water to the mix. A lack of that precious resource, makes it impossible to maintain a healthy environment. It is not uncommon to hear news of hotels closed for not being up to par with regards to hygiene.

Poor sanitation is a little embarrassing, imagine a state official being described in parliament as "governor so and so of the dirtiest county". The task of public health systems has never been more important with governments being tasked to ensure citizens have facilities to ensure sanitation is a reality. Availability of public toilets and not just that, but clean ones, is key to mapping the road towards a cleaner country.

In the wake of global warming and other environmental hazards, we are being reminded again and again to take care of our environment to ensure sustenance of resources, water being key. The recent advice by the National Irrigation Board calls on Kenyans to take into account rain harvesting to ensuring a sound water supply.

Nyeri aims to have enough toilets for residents by 2015. With legislators in the area announcing a tighter observance of county laws with regards to sanitation.

How clean is your county?

Kenya's Status on Maternal Health

 According to the government, 5,550 women die each year due to pregnancy and other maternal complications. A shocking statistic that gets worse with 10,000 children being lost annually with 25% dying within the first week of birth. As you went about your day today, 15 women somewhere in the country lost their lives. Maternal health is being threatened by the high health costs, services not being available or if available not being accessible in time.

Pregnancy is among key emergency health services that is not treated with the urgency it demands. Those few microseconds a woman goes into labor is a matter of life and death, both for the mother and child. The global health campaign “Every child, every Woman” has seen two nations overcome international boundaries and make maternal health a priority. South Africa and Bangladesh have joined hands to show the world that indeed successful pregnancies can be a reality. The campaign has seen the two countries incorporate mobile technology in healthcare with emergency responses being rapid and timely, saving thousands of women.

In reducing high risk pregnancies and mother-child HIV infections, Kenya needs to step it up a notch higher. HIV remains the no one most funded diseases in the country thus the financial burden of healthcare only gets worse when maternal health is not checked.

While we promote family planning to reduce the nation's 17% rate of unwanted pregnancies and further lower the neonatal death rate from 30%, care for mother and child cannot be over emphasized.

Most nations have been accused of giving more attention to the mother during pregnancy and doing little afterwards hence child death is on the rise. While it is important to ensure a successful pregnancy, it’s paramount to take into account what happens to the mother and child later. This is where factors of nutrition, regular hospital checkups, immunization and other key health services come into play in ensuring the longevity of mother and child. Access to maternal health services should be an integral part of any national healthcare plan to ensure achievement of MDGs and in Kenya seeing the reality of vision 2030.

The first lady's Margaret Kenyatta, has pointed out that the Beyond 0 campaign is an excellent example of how the UK places value on new born babies. The campaign is aimed at reducing and possibly eradicating child mortality hence its name.

Imagine a world where no child has to die. Poor maternal health practices is costing the country its generation. Of unrealized dreams, unexplored potentials and the traumatic blaze it imprints on the mother. A mother who may never try again.

What can Kenya do to improve its status on maternal health?

The conversation continues…

What's the Plan for Food Security in Kenya?

 The consolidated act that collapsed and melted the commissions of pyrethrum, sisal, coconut, sugar, tea and horticulture among other parastatals into one body: Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Association (AFFA) comes in the wake of efforts of The Ministry of Agriculture to streamline their functions.

On food security, Cabinet Secretary Felix Kosgey advice to Kenyans is to diversify their agricultural practices to incorporate a wide range of food crops and an emphasis on research. The government's initiative to make this a reality through subsidizing the prices of fertilizers to make crop production more affordable in the country. Also in support of the wage bill move to cut on public expenditure, Kosgey announced that it was allocating 1 billion shillings to revitalize the Kenya Meats Commission (KMC) and rectify mismanagement that has contributed to its dismal performance.

Most African nations wait for disasters to occur before they map out a plan to counteract it. In light of food security, it is when a nation faces an impending famine or drought that we realize something needs to be done. Reforming the parastatals in the business of food management is indeed a good start.

In most cases, a country is held responsible for food insecurity when it fails to harness the full potential of the resources available to them. Before we go knocking on the doors of donors amidst huge debts, there is a need to work from within. Kilifi County is an excellent example of how an emphasis on horticulture goes a long way in not only boosting tourism, exports but also keeping food security in check. The recent announcement by Governor Amason Kingi on plans to develop a food processing plant to be at the heart of agribusiness in the county is an indication of the role of government officials in focusing on developing the country. Kilifi is home to fruits like banana, mango and pineapples, essential crops that have a ready market but with hindrances like poor road networks, their benefit is limited to the county.

The propose wage bill should contribute to initiatives meant to ensure Kenyans do not go hungry and do not simply make ends meet, getting by with so little. Agriculture remains the number one avenue through which Kenya can feed its people. The need to sensitize the public on modern agricultural practices cannot be underplayed. The country has been accused of just being all about maize and beans while ignoring drought resistant crops like cassava. In the wake of lifestyle diseases and varied cases of malnutrition, Kenyans are encouraged to stretch their taste buds and widen their food varieties. So that when there isn't enough "unga" in the country they don’t say they are on the end stages of starvation when there are fruits, vegetables and other delicacies out there.

A sustainable environment is indeed the way to go if agriculture will remain the only way to food production. Following in South Africa's continual move towards a "green" economy is something Kenya can consider as a key agenda in strategizing for food security.

But is the entire goal just to ensure Kenyans have food? Any food at that? With adverse climate changes and unfavorable weather conditions that have made traditional farming techniques a dreamboat, we now have turned to food science and technology as our only hope. So we started off with green houses then we realized, oh, GMOs foods are far much better. So now the lives of many are being altered with chemically induced foods that indeed fill up our bellies but in the end harm our health in more ways that we can imagine. In the drive to be industrialized and efficient, we want things instantly. We’d rather cut down the hours spent in a farm so that we better use it in food processing. Of vegetables and fruits that magically grow under induced conditions. This is indeed the era of canned foods and preservatives.

So where does the government draw the line between simply giving a nation food and ensuring the food is safe? When quantity is valued over quality so that we claim we produce tonnes and tonnes of crops, enjoy high export rates yet all we are doing is profiting from poison and threatening our lives and of generations to come.

The question that remains unanswered is: 'Does the country have a sound food security plan?'

The conversation continues…

A "Pollution Premium" vs your Health

 If you were told that you would be paid more if you get by with pollution, would you say yes? That is what is happening in Beijing, China amidst smog thanks to the rapid industrialization being witnessed in the country. It comes as the first of its kind but not a total surprise as most people asked to work overseas are usually promised hardship allowances to be encouraged to work in uncomfortable regions and unimaginable working conditions.

Coal burning in China is on the rise with manufacturing plants mushrooming, an indication of a vibrant economy. China has recently been described as being "unsustainable" with regards to growing pollution dubbed "China smog". The call for companies to clean up their act in China is really something to be adopted in any industrialized country. It is taking care of the environment that in turn enables it to sustain us.

That aside, most of us would forgo our health for bigger salaries without even blinking. As people strive to make ends meet, employers are taking advantage of this vulnerability in order to push people almost over the cliff. By using lucrative health covers, people are bearing with working conditions that are threatening their lives. In China, for instance, people are given extra allowances in order to work in rooms full of smoke and other hazardous emissions. Back home, the recent Nyatike Siri gold mines that caused the death of two miners is no different.

What profit then lies in wealth that will later be used for numerous health checkups and treatment of health complications that could have been avoided altogether? Many of us opt to put ourselves in life threatening situations all in the name of "putting food on the table". The rise of unemployment does not make things any better so we cling to any job that comes along as we have limited options. Indeed work should be honorable but where is the honor of the employers to their workers?

Pollution is behind the still air, stuffed working areas and generally a stressful environment. When one is subjected to such on a daily basis, what becomes of their health in a month, a year, 10 years down the line?

The pollution premium can be arguably be compared to the many other conditions faced by professionals around the world. Soldiers in constant risk of death by working in danger zones; investigative journalists always on the run from powerful states men; workers in manufacturing plants dealing with dangerous machinery. These are indeed clear cut examples, but the missing link is how their health is affected. The reason why the pollution premium directly threatens the health of workers.

I am yet to hear of a health insurance company in the business of insuring individuals who intentionally put their lives at risk and hoping for compensation in the end. So the dilemma becomes whether to financially sustain our livelihoods or stay healthy.

How egocentric should we be when it comes to our health?

The conversation continues…