Mike Roberts Special to The Province Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Two year-old Rose Mwaka had her foot amputated last August after an intern misdiagnosed her illness and gave her the wrong injection.
She is another statistic in the Kenyan medical horror story that estimates up to 50 per cent of the country’s hospital deaths are due to misdiagnosis.
In the village of Kiboje, on Unguja Island, Zanzibar, five-year-old Riziki Emmanuel cannot use her legs. Her impoverished parents have always carried her around because they have been unable to afford the crutches needed to help Riziki move on her own and go to school.
Like many of the poor in Northern Pakistan, Sifat Gul’s family survived on less than $1 a day. The roof of her home leaked during the rains and her children had no education. Her husband did odd jobs and traditions barred her from working outside the home.
Today, thanks to a humanitarian called the Aga Khan, hope has taken root in the lives of Rose, Riziki and Sifat.
Ismailimail 