Zambia is drinking itself into a coma

By Charles Mafa

It is estimated that one in every five people in Zambia is living with some form of mental illness.

This astonishing figure was first revealed back in 2005 when the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated the prevalence of mental disorders to be at 20% of the population.

They went further and said that 6% to 10% of Zambians have severe mental disorders that need hospital care.

There has been no statistical analysis of the prevalenc...

Along the highway that winds to Livingstone, sex workers are cruising. They are converging on the town from all points within Zambia and from across the borders, heading for the hoped-for rich pickings to come from the delegates, staff and others in town for the UN indaba on tourism later in the month.

Already, as night falls in Livingstone, the girls teetering on high heels totter down the street in their mini-skirts with their jackets slipping provocatively off their shoulders. Perhaps ...

Zambian leaders, including current president Michael Sata, have flocked to South Africa for medical treatment at government expense, prompting a complaint by a leading NGO that “they have no confidence in their own healthcare system”.

This week, a Zambian medical doctor who has immigrated to New Zealand this week blamed the lack of government investment in the state health sector for the skills drain and the worsening crisis in the country’s health services.

Contacted in Christchurc...