On Thu, 9 Dec 1999 12:40:56 PST saiks samateh
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Even if Jones figures are correct that 97 % of Gambian
children under the age > of 12 have undergone the
immunization program,which is very doubting,might
> be based on the fact that our estimated population is
just 1.5 million,many > times less than that of Lagos.If we
even based our arguments on these figures > it will mean
that almost every Gambian child under the age of 12 have
been > in contact with the health service in the
country,which is very doubting. > >
Hi Saiks,
Just a point of observation on the above quotation
attributed to me. I never said that 97% of all children
under 12 year have adequate immunization. What i said was
that 97% of all children under 12 months had access to
maternal and child health(MCH) care. This is the result of
a well functioning and funded program that is easy to
monitor and is well targeted up and down the
country. Nothing to do with Nigeria or size.
Yes there are lies, damn lies and statistics, but
statistics is just a guide to facilitate planning. In the
case of Gambia, what needs to be implemented is adequate
planning that is targeted to reduce poverty as sister ndey
mentioned. Let me take your example of Badibu Mandory or
Kerr Mama. Lets assume that Gambia family planning
association in collaboration with the DOH wants to reduce
the infant and child mortality rates in this area. Don't
you think that it is useful to know the target population
of all children under 5 in this area, resources provided
and a system of monitoring their progress instituted to
establish their survival rates. The number of babies born
can be established and monitored. That's how statistics
help in planning economy wide.
As i said, the challenge is development and without
planning there can be no development. So statistics are
just a guide in identifying your target population.
About 9 years back, i used to take my son to clinic every
saturday at leman street as my wife did the cooking for the
week (I am a 90s man). In Gambia on the birth of a child,
you are issued with a clinic card and in villages there are
trained traditional birth attendants that are taught what
to do and fill in forms to deliver to the community health
nurse ect. With the clinic cards, it is easy to monitor the
level of vaccination in Gambia. Even countries that are not
in political turmoil in Africa are studying our success in
this area. So let us promote the good and see how it can be
enhanced.
You said that economic statistics do not correspond to the
realities of the average Gambia. I think that is precisely
what Ebrima showed in his article. When you make a
statement like that, it is a normative statement based on
your value judgment. Ebrima is making a positive statement
backed with facts and figures. He is proving his point with
concrete evidence to establish his assertion. This is what
statistics give you that you otherwise do not have.
For certain areas such as unemployment we know that it
exists but we do not know the actual level. In Gambia the
problem is more of underemployment that unemployment -i.e
there is the tendency for more people to engage in
productive employment during the rainy season. I
deliberately avoided talking about inflation and other
economic statistics and instead concentrated on health and
education. If anything Ebrima has shown as you said in your
last statement the extent of personal sacrifices needed
for nation building.
basil
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