WRITER: Brian Mukalazi. PHOTO/FILE
As a Christian, if there’s one topic that I have struggled the most to understand, it must be death and its timing.
Yes, the Bible teaches us that the Lord gives life, and He takes it away (Job 1:21). But I have always wondered: If all deaths are ordained by God, why do Ugandans (and other Africans) die much earlier than their counterparts in the Western world? Are we a special group of people that God prefers having us in heaven earlier than the Americans or British?
When a boda boda rider, without any safety gear, overtakes a trailer truck on a narrow Kampala road and gets hit by an on-coming car, is that God’s plan? How about when a speeding driver fatally crashes into temporary concrete barriers left by negligent slow-paced road contractors on a busy, dismantled road? Is it still God’s doing, or Satan perhaps has a hand in it — working through the minds of people who ought to be in charge?
My personal conviction is that the high mortality rates among Ugandans have less to do with God’s calling (no disrespect to God intended) than with our country’s long history of lawlessness, weak public health systems, ignorance and investments in the wrong stuff.
Why is the life expectancy in Hong Kong at 84 years while Ugandans are expected to live only to 64 years? It is very clear that the world has an uneven distribution of health or death. And I believe the outcomes (at least seven in 10) for many of our lost countrymen and women would have been different had they lived in a different part of the world. Issues that lead to our shorter life span start even before our births.
If compared to someone in more developed settings, an average pregnant woman in Uganda is likely to be less-healthy, less-wealthy and less-educated. Additionally, she will less likely be married and less likely receive antenatal care during the pregnancy. And when the baby eventually enters the world, he or she feels the stress right from the get-go. At a very young age, children will know what it means to be a Ugandan: From sleeping on empty bellies, dropping out of school over lack of fees, and to waking up at 4am to go digging or cattle grazing.
This life-long stress, coupled with poverty, hopelessness and loss of loved ones, wears you down and leads to other problems. Recent studies have revealed that too much stress could result in emotional strain, heart disease, fatigue, and depression. No wonder it is common to find a 20-year old Ugandan with a body and face resembling that of a 40-year old. But it is also worth mentioning that not every death or problem in Uganda should be attributed to our government.
In many circumstances, we cause self-harm to ourselves: Why drink alcohol so much like your life depends on it? Unless you’re on a treasure-hunt, why have sex with countless partners without protection? This must be utter stupidity and senselessness! Most people I know have died between their 20s and 40s — with many years of life ahead of them — leaving behind a trail of tears, lost potential and life-long mourning. Do we have the ability to avert this trend? Yes. But only if we woke up from our dreadful slumber, and I am quite sure that God also wills that we live long good lives.
Mr Mukalazi is the CEO, Talis Consults Ltd
