Is it too late to wish a happy new year? In Zambia, I'm still exchanging "Happy new years"s and "Celebration of the season"s with the random work acquaintances, and it's almost February. It's fantastic to see how refreshed people are, and coupled with a smile, "How are you?", kiss on the cheek, Zambian handshake (handclasp-rotate around hooked thumbs and clasp-then back to normal handshake clasp), it's really great to feel welcomed back to Zambia. That and the fact that it's about forty degrees warmer in Lusaka is making me pretty happy to settle back into things.
Zambia
Thought I'd start with a quick tutorial on Zambia. Other than being the lucky country where I'm living and working for the Clinton Foundation right now, here are few more facts that might give a little context. When I agreed to come to Zambia back in May, I think my exact words upon being asked "I know you were supposed to go to Uganda, but I think Zambia will be a better fit. It that ok?" was an overconfident "Sure!" as I hopped on wikipedia to find out a little more about my future home. This is what I've learned, plus a little I've picked up in the last 5 months of being here:
What Zambia lacks in coastline, it makes up in neighborliness-- it shares borders with DRC, Tanzania, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Botswana and a contested sliver of land that now belongs to Namibia. People really are the friendliest I've ever met anywhere. A smile and sincere "How are you?"-- with an actual wait for response-- is absolutely required with anyone and everyone. You could even bust it out with a stranger on the street, and it would be greeted with a handshake and smile if you even intimate that you might be putting your hand out for shaking. This led to some extended, funny conversations when I tried to translate this practice in New York when home for the holidays.
Independent, politically stable (democratic) and peaceful with a population just over 11 and a half million, Zambia is a pretty good haven in which to camp out considering how rocky other areas of sub-Saharan Africa can be. The official language is (Queens) English (good for me), although there are over 70 local languages, and the kwacha settles around 4000 to the dollar, which makes for lovely huge sums of money like 15,000 kwacha for a drink (under $4). 7 major tribes make up the 9 provinces of Zambia, so meeting people in Lusaka often starts with "So where are you from?"
With a life expectancy of 40 years and official HIV prevalence rate of 16%, (a prevalence which, in-country, clinicians suspect to be more around 20-25%, so 1 out of 4 or 5) over 2 million people in Zambia are living with HIV, so it's still not quite a rosy picture.
But things are looking better. The life expectancy is up from 33 years in 2003, when it was the second-lowest in the world. And while I can only speak really knowledgeably about HIV, over 13,000 HIV+ kids have been put on treatment since the national pediatric HIV program's inception 2 years ago, with over 6,000 in the last year. By the end of 2008, the Ministry of Health (MOH) is hoping to get 200,000 Zambians on antiretroviral treamtent (ART), and the Clinton Foundation in Zambia is helping out by focusing on strengthening the national pediatric HIV program and procuring ARVs. Zambia is moving in the right direction, and starting 2008 by being a tiny part of that push is a really good feeling.
Enough warm, fuzzy feelings?
Next lesson: CHAI.
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