Michael Logan

Novelist, Journalist and other things ending in -ist

The hunt for a vaccine

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As a journalist working in the developing world, I often find myself writing about creaking healthcare systems, but I have never been personally affected. Until now.

My wife Natalie last week gave birth to our first child, Charlotte Elizabeth. We are lucky enough to be able to afford to got to a private hospital for the delivery, but this did not help us when it came to getting a BCG vaccine, for there were no doses available.

Kenya has the 13th-highest prevalence of Tubercolosis in the world. The WHO reported 140,000 new cases in 2008. Yet it has now been suffering a shortgage of the BCG vaccine for around three months, putting tens of thousands of infants, including my daughter, at risk.

The vaccine is now the holy grail for parents, who are scouring Nairobi looking for it. Favours are being called in and rumours exchanged via text message. Gangs of furtive parents are lurking in doorways outside hospitals and offering wads of cash to passing doctors.

I was told that a private clinic was selling it for 20 euros – shameless profiteering since the vaccine is supposed to be free in Kenya. Nonetheless, I went there ready to pay. When I asked, the receptionist appeared to glance furtively around the room and announced loudly that she had no vaccine. However, she then had me write down my name and number and said she would call if any came in. I couldn’t help but wonder if she was being clandestine since they are probably selling vaccine obtained through government channels in a corrupt manner. She hasn’t called yet.

I now have another lead, which I am chasing up on. I can only hope that I get there before the other parents who would no doubt elbow me over a high railing or drop kick Charlotte over a fence to make sure they got the vaccine for their child. And who can blame them?

The question has to be asked why there is no vaccine in the country when donors have been pouring money into anti-TB programmes. The answer could lie in incompetence – which would not be a great surprise to anyone who has dealt with Kenyan government officials – or the old problem of corruption. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria has in the past suspended funding to Kenya for disappearing millions of dollars intended to buy ARVs through fraudulent NGOs, and that wasn’t even considered a big corruption scandal.

I have been too busy changing nappies and trying to get the vaccine for Charlotte to look into it properly yet, but it wouldn’t surprise me to find that somebody is putting children at risk in order to fill their pockets.

The hunt for a vaccine

by

As a journalist working in the developing world, I often find myself writing about creaking healthcare systems, but I have never been personally affected. Until now.

My wife Natalie last week gave birth to our first child, Charlotte Elizabeth. We are lucky enough to be able to afford to got to a private hospital for the delivery, but this did not help us when it came to getting a BCG vaccine, for there were no doses available.

Kenya has the 13th-highest prevalence of Tubercolosis in the world. The WHO reported 140,000 new cases in 2008. Yet it has now been suffering a shortgage of the BCG vaccine for around three months, putting tens of thousands of infants, including my daughter, at risk.

The vaccine is now the holy grail for parents, who are scouring Nairobi looking for it. Favours are being called in and rumours exchanged via text message. Gangs of furtive parents are lurking in doorways outside hospitals and offering wads of cash to passing doctors.

I was told that a private clinic was selling it for 20 euros – shameless profiteering since the vaccine is supposed to be free in Kenya. Nonetheless, I went there ready to pay. When I asked, the receptionist appeared to glance furtively around the room and announced loudly that she had no vaccine. However, she then had me write down my name and number and said she would call if any came in. I couldn’t help but wonder if she was being clandestine since they are probably selling vaccine obtained through government channels in a corrupt manner. She hasn’t called yet.

I now have another lead, which I am chasing up on. I can only hope that I get there before the other parents who would no doubt elbow me over a high railing or drop kick Charlotte over a fence to make sure they got the vaccine for their child. And who can blame them?

The question has to be asked why there is no vaccine in the country when donors have been pouring money into anti-TB programmes. The answer could lie in incompetence – which would not be a great surprise to anyone who has dealt with Kenyan government officials – or the old problem of corruption. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria has in the past suspended funding to Kenya for disappearing millions of dollars intended to buy ARVs through fraudulent NGOs, and that wasn’t even considered a big corruption scandal.

I have been too busy changing nappies and trying to get the vaccine for Charlotte to look into it properly yet, but it wouldn’t surprise me to find that somebody is putting children at risk in order to fill their pockets.

How not to pay bribes to cops in Kenya

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A few months ago, somebody told me the best way to avoid paying bribes to cops in Kenya is to be polite and waste their time, which they would rather be using to collect bribes from more cooperative people. I got the chance to try it out last week, when a cop pulled me over in Kilimani at lunchtime. The following is the abbreviated exchance, leaving out the call he took from his girfriend and attempts to gain sympathy for having a cold:

Cop: “You are displaying a duplicate insurance certificate. That is an offence in Kenya.”

Me: “Oh, I’m very sorry. I just bought this car and didn’t know.”

Cop: “I understand, but we will have to go the police station. There will be big fine, and it will take a long time.”

Me: “OK officer, no problem.”

Cop: “Do you know where the Kilimani station is?”

Me: “Yes, it’s just round the corner. I’ll meet you there.”

Cop: “Ah, no. I can’t let you drive off. I will have to impound the car and we walk.”

Me: “Well, jump in and I’ll give you a lift. You can impound the car there.”

COP CASTS FORLORN GLANCE AT OTHER, JUICY POSSIBLE BRIBES GOING PAST, BUT DECIDES TO PLAY IT OUT

Cop (IN CAR, LOOKING AT MY LICENCE, GRINS): “Ah, you have not signed your licence. That is also an offence in Kenya.”

Me: “Oh, I’m sorry officer. I didn’t know. We can sort it out at the station.”

Cop: “That will be another fine.”

(SIGNIFICANT PAUSE).

Me: “No problem.”

Cop: “It will be very expensive.”

Me: “Fair enough.”

(CONFUSED PAUSE)

Cop: “You are a very cooperative person.”

Me: “Well, I need to have respect for the laws of Kenya and the officers who uphold them.”

Cop: “The fine will be at least 5,000 shillings for each offence.”

(SIGNIFICANT PAUSE, ACCOMPANIED BY EVEN-MORE SIGNIFICANT LOOK)

Me: “If that is the penalty, then I will have to pay it.”

(CAR IS APPROACHING POLICE STATION, COP IS LOOKING THOROUGHLY STUMPED)

Cop: “Are you sure you want to go through all the trouble?”

Me: “The law’s the law.”

(SILENCE, CAR ONLY 50 METRES FROM STATION)

Cop: “I tell you what, why don’t I just give you a warning this time? We can just pull this off.”

(COP PULLS OFF INSURANCE STICKER, WHICH IS THE EXPIRED ONE SO COMPLETELY IRRELEVANT. THE CURRENT STICKER IS PERFECTLY LEGAL)

Me: “Thank you very much officer, I appreciate your kindness.”

Cop: “It is no problem. You will know next time. So, where are you going now?”

Me: “I am going to the office. Do you want me to drop you back at the junction?”

Cop: “Yes, please.”

(I DROP COP OFF AT JUNCTION. HE LOOKS AT THE ONCOMING TRAFFIC, READY TO POUNCE).

How not to pay bribes to cops in Kenya

by

A few months ago, somebody told me the best way to avoid paying bribes to cops in Kenya is to be polite and waste their time, which they would rather be using to collect bribes from more cooperative people. I got the chance to try it out last week, when a cop pulled me over in Kilimani at lunchtime. The following is the abbreviated exchance, leaving out the call he took from his girfriend and attempts to gain sympathy for having a cold:

Cop: “You are displaying a duplicate insurance certificate. That is an offence in Kenya.”

Me: “Oh, I’m very sorry. I just bought this car and didn’t know.”

Cop: “I understand, but we will have to go the police station. There will be big fine, and it will take a long time.”

Me: “OK officer, no problem.”

Cop: “Do you know where the Kilimani station is?”

Me: “Yes, it’s just round the corner. I’ll meet you there.”

Cop: “Ah, no. I can’t let you drive off. I will have to impound the car and we walk.”

Me: “Well, jump in and I’ll give you a lift. You can impound the car there.”

COP CASTS FORLORN GLANCE AT OTHER, JUICY POSSIBLE BRIBES GOING PAST, BUT DECIDES TO PLAY IT OUT

Cop (IN CAR, LOOKING AT MY LICENCE, GRINS): “Ah, you have not signed your licence. That is also an offence in Kenya.”

Me: “Oh, I’m sorry officer. I didn’t know. We can sort it out at the station.”

Cop: “That will be another fine.”

(SIGNIFICANT PAUSE).

Me: “No problem.”

Cop: “It will be very expensive.”

Me: “Fair enough.”

(CONFUSED PAUSE)

Cop: “You are a very cooperative person.”

Me: “Well, I need to have respect for the laws of Kenya and the officers who uphold them.”

Cop: “The fine will be at least 5,000 shillings for each offence.”

(SIGNIFICANT PAUSE, ACCOMPANIED BY EVEN-MORE SIGNIFICANT LOOK)

Me: “If that is the penalty, then I will have to pay it.”

(CAR IS APPROACHING POLICE STATION, COP IS LOOKING THOROUGHLY STUMPED)

Cop: “Are you sure you want to go through all the trouble?”

Me: “The law’s the law.”

(SILENCE, CAR ONLY 50 METRES FROM STATION)

Cop: “I tell you what, why don’t I just give you a warning this time? We can just pull this off.”

(COP PULLS OFF INSURANCE STICKER, WHICH IS THE EXPIRED ONE SO COMPLETELY IRRELEVANT. THE CURRENT STICKER IS PERFECTLY LEGAL)

Me: “Thank you very much officer, I appreciate your kindness.”

Cop: “It is no problem. You will know next time. So, where are you going now?”

Me: “I am going to the office. Do you want me to drop you back at the junction?”

Cop: “Yes, please.”

(I DROP COP OFF AT JUNCTION. HE LOOKS AT THE ONCOMING TRAFFIC, READY TO POUNCE).

Kenya birth and hospital hostages

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Given that my wife, Natalie, is about to pop out (well, she hopes it will be that easy) our first kid in a Nairobi hospital, I found this article from Edmund Sanders at the LA Times particularly pertinent.

Sanders talks to several woman who were held captive in Kenyan hospitals when they failed to pay their bills for giving birth. Horrible, yes, but not surprising given that public services, and not just healthcare, are dire in Kenya while ministers and MPs live the high life.

If ever a town demonstrated the worst elements of rampant capitalism and its every-man-for-themselves attitude, it is Nairobi.

We are fortunate not to be in the same position as those poor women, although I may find myself lowering Nats out of a toilet window and smuggling the baby out in a plastic bag if any of the additional items on the hospital’s a-la-carte birth menu (c-section, episiotomy, vacuum removal, drugs to revive fainted husband) need to be purchased.

Kenya birth and hospital hostages

by

Given that my wife, Natalie, is about to pop out (well, she hopes it will be that easy) our first kid in a Nairobi hospital, I found this article from Edmund Sanders at the LA Times particularly pertinent.

Sanders talks to several woman who were held captive in Kenyan hospitals when they failed to pay their bills for giving birth. Horrible, yes, but not surprising given that public services, and not just healthcare, are dire in Kenya while ministers and MPs live the high life.

If ever a town demonstrated the worst elements of rampant capitalism and its every-man-for-themselves attitude, it is Nairobi.

We are fortunate not to be in the same position as those poor women, although I may find myself lowering Nats out of a toilet window and smuggling the baby out in a plastic bag if any of the additional items on the hospital’s a-la-carte birth menu (c-section, episiotomy, vacuum removal, drugs to revive fainted husband) need to be purchased.

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