NEWSLINE

The Tobacco Free Association of Zambia has cautioned that any plans that the government of Zambia has to reduce the prevalence and impact of Cancer will fail if it does not address tobacco use. Association Executive Director Brenda Chitindi, explains that this is because tobacco is the leading cause directly responsible for cancer which is the second largest cause of death worldwide. According to the Ministry of Health, tobacco is responsible for over 7,000 deaths annually in Zambia, translating to a health cost burden of approximately 2.8 billion Kwacha each year, which equates to 1.2 percent of the Gross Domestic Product-GDP. There has been calls from various stakeholders for the  Government to prioritize the tabling of the draft Tobacco Control Bill in parliament  and develop policies that are aligned with and support its effective implementation  so as to save lives. And Ms. Chitindi has emphasized that Tobacco consumption is the number one cause of preventable d...

  The Water Resources Management Authority-WARMA, a statutory body mandated to conduct drought and flood forecasts, has issued a flood warning for three districts namely, Kabwe and Luano in central province, and Luangwa District in Lusaka province. WARMA Public Relations Officer, Mubiana Nalwendo, explains that the flood monitoring system currently has 3 triggered points with an 80 percent probability of occurrence. Mr. Nalwendo says one alert is on the Mulungushi River, the other one on the Mkushi River and two on the Luangwa River. He added that the high rise in the river flows is likely to affect the Kabwe, Luano, and Luangwa districts. Mr. Nalwendo said details are that the Mulungushi River in Kabwe District is currently showing a trigger of a medium flood which is likely to reach the peak on the 28th of January 2023 which he said will affect Mwilaba and Chebende villages, King George Youth College, Mulungushi University including farms around Mulungushi village. He also revea...

“If only I knew that there were services such as Sexual and Reproductive Health Services, I could not have fallen pregnant while I was still at school,” Faith Buyamba, a youth based in Kitwe, on the Copper belt province believes. Faith Faith who fell pregnant at the age of 17, recalls that after missing her menstrual periods ,she decided to go for a pregnancy test but because of the way she was treated by some healthcare providers she opted to abort, after being advised by her friends but did not succeed. “I went to do a pregnancy test, because I wanted to be sure whether I was pregnant or not after missing my periods.  However, I was afraid to go to the nearby health facility because there were a lot of people I knew who were so close to my mum. So I was afraid that if I went there they could tell my mother that I was pregnant knowing how tough she is. “I decided to do a pregnant test from some health workers who were offering services within my community during their community ou...

Upon reaching   Mununshi village ,30 minutes past midnight,  during my second visit to  Mwansabombwe District of Luapula province, I noticed that the village was not as dark and as scary as it used to be, during my previous visits some years back . Although it was late in the night, I could see from a distance, some houses looking lit , compared to my past visits ,when the village was ill-lighted and the  only light one could see was that from the motor vehicles' headlights  and cyclists riding at that time of the hour. Picture for illustration purpose  Mununshi village which is one of the wards in Mwansabobwe Constituency is situated in valley of Luapula River which is the home of Umutomboko traditional ceremony of the Lunda speaking people. Going by nature of economic activities taking place in the area, the  impact of the Rural Electrification  Authority-REA's project dubbed Mununshi Grid Extension Project are too visible and self explanat...