LIVING IN PLATO'S CAVE

In the allegory of Plato's Cave is narrated a story too bold to be told that it’s hidden from the view of the common man in the hope he doesn't find it out. In it, Socrates narrates the allegory of people trapped in a cave in order to explain the soul's journey from darkness (ignorance) into light.

  A group of prisoners are chained in a dark cave. Chained from birth, they are unable to move their bodies and can only stare straight ahead at the wall of the cave. On this wall flash objects, like images on a movie theatre screen. The prisoners believe what they see is reality, but these objects are merely shadows thrown against the wall by puppets behind the prisoners. The puppets are controlled by puppeteers who walk in front of the fire, some of them speak, and the prisoners hear the echo of their voices and believe that these faint echoes are real words/sounds of the puppets as well. Along the side of the cave is a rocky and steep path leading to the mouth of the cave. At the mouth, there is a faint glimpse of the sun.

  A prisoner somehow gets free. Since the prisoner has been chained since birth, even moving about is painful. He stumbles and is unsteady. Something compels him up the steep path to the mouth of the cave. This trip is difficult, and once the prisoner reaches the mouth of the cave and is in the light of the sun, he tries to return to the darkness because he is in such pain. But the force that compels him won't let him return. Once outside, the prisoner is be blinded by the sun and at first cannot see. Eventually, he begins seeing shadows and outlines of objects. Next, he begins growing accustomed to the light and can distinguish one object from another. He can see the reflection of the brightest objects in water (sun and moon). Last, he can look at the sun itself. The sun represents good, which for Socrates is truth/knowledge. 

Basking in the sun, the prisoner sees truth. He realizes that life in the cave was an illusion, and that the honors bestowed there are meaningless. Though the ex-prisoner wants to stay in the sun, meditating on truth, he cannot. His duty is to return to the cave and let others know truth. When he enters the cave again, though, his eyes are not able to see in the dark any longer. He stumbles and looks foolish. His words do not make sense. Some of the prisoners mock him, others fear him. Some  try to kill him because he is trying to bring change. On returning at first he is not even be able to compete with prisoners because the darkness is so foreign to him. He learns how to see in the dark again in order to communicate to the prisoners.

 My Conclusion of the Allegory

In this shortened version of the allegory I do deduce that we need to seek enlightenment that is governed by reason and logic. We should aspire to be better and to help society unshackle from the yoke of imprisonment. Trying to find that enlightenment is difficult and beset with challenges. It is not easy to do the right thing and there are puppeteers who seek to shackle humanity from discovering true knowledge. As a prisoner who seeks to escape from the cave, you shall be the target of a hunt to ensure you do not reach the mouth of the cave and if you do, not to return to inspire the prisoners left behind. The worst thing is that the prisoners chained to the cave become so accustomed to their fate that the images on the wall are real and if you manage to bring them the truth they may laugh you off and even think you are one possessed can only hope that we are not deterred by puppeteers or prisoners in shackles but we go forth and seek our truth.

 In the current world there is so much hoodwinking and dishonesty that to accomplish anything close to seeking the truth will require sacrifice. Do the right thing and believe in the power of goodness. All over the world the clamour for freedom, justice and good governance continues and cannot be silenced. There may be temporary challenges but in the end we should unshackle ourselves from the cave and go forth to the light.

KENYA IS A CAVE THAT HAS ITS PUPPETEERS, PUPPETS AND PRISONERS. But we have to do the best to change all that. But do we have the energy?

TEST-TUBE REPLY TO THE SENIOR COUNSEL-(Reply to Ahmed Nassir's Tweet)

Senior Counsel AhmedNassir Abdullahi

Senior counsel,

I just couldn't sleep without answering you.I had other more important things to do but decided to put them aside to reply to your bitter statement on twitter about the doctors in Kenya.I respect that you are entitled to your opinion and that you may decide to lament on lack of quality care in our hospitals.(Its a right enshrined in the constitution) .The only problem is that,had it been said by a lesser person in the form of a unschooled simpleton in the village herding camels I would accept.But coming from a "learned" foe I just have to respond.

In the field of medicine (unlike law),human life is very precious and any action or inaction is based on a set of well-rehearsed and tutored guidelines with the aim to ensure we "Do no harm".To be a doctor requires a strong,capable mind able to put aside personal opinions and even affiliation of any kind to serve the people irrespective of their colour,creed or class in society.As I jot this,at midnight,many doctors are busy on night-duty and others called from their sleep to attend to critically ill patients.I do hope there are law firms open at this hour busy saving lives of individuals and not charging by the hour.Since that is not the case,I would think you owe the Kenyan doctors an apology for insinuating they are less than adequate,not-good or simply incompetent.

I however cannot dismiss your concern on what you perceive as "Not good" about the Kenyan doctor.The doctor has never claimed to cure but rather treats,only God cures.It is evident your tweet was ignorantly and hurried sent.The statement that followed on your tweet clearly highlights your concern.One of cost of care and quality.The crux of the matter is that you may be implying  a totally different thing to competency of the doctors but rather a concern on the state of healthcare in the country.

This in fact forms the core matter of health systems and that's where you have shot yourself in the foot senior counsel.The current health system is and always has lagged behind other countries like India because the laws to regulate healthcare were made by lawyers or had the greatest input from them.So,when you claim there are are no neurosurgeons,you are claiming lawyers messed up not to insist on a certain requirement in law that would force the government to have the necessary structures in place.Of course there are different facets of Health Systems namely

• Governance and Leadership
• Healthcare workforce staffing
• Healthcare Financing
• Infrastructure and service delivery
• Commodities management including medicines and surgical supplies
• Effective Information systems to coordinate all the above

Not to bore you with details on the different issues involved,I wish to inform you that the workforce available is capable and competent as much as competence can be measured.In order to address issues of technical trainings,doctors and all healthcare workers undergo a compulsory Continous Professional Development sessions for licensing and they keep upto date with their profession through various forums.The only issue you should be concerned about in healthcare staffing is whether your relatives in Ramu and El-Wak are able to access service from a competent,qualified doctor when they need to.The answer in most instances is No.This is where your concern is justified and you need to lobby your governor to ensure recruitment and deployment of adequate personnel in facilities in their jurisdiction. You also need to note that not everyone with a white coat is a doctor,even my local butcher has a whitecoat.

Senior counsel,I beg that you do the honorable thing and calmly find a way to get the foot out of the mouth and have piece of humble pie,on me.Once you've had your fill maybe we can "radicalize" you to champion for a better Health System for our country.We need people like you to champion the cause of the mwananchi and to ensure better funding for healthcare for us to attain not just Millenium Development Goals but be able to handle all emergencies within the counties.We would not need to ferry all critical cases to Kenyatta National Hospital ever again.There are many things to be done such as the small mater of the Health Bill awaiting to be acted on.It has the potential to address a number of the concerns above and I challenge you to make it see the light of day in the shortest possible time.

Also the government needs to review expenditure of health as a percentage of GDP to enable attainment of better health for all.

With that said,I beg to sleep.

THE ACHILLES HEEL OF THE BEYOND ZERO CAMPAIGN-Open Letter To The First Lady

Dear Madam First Lady, Am writing this letter with a glow in my heart because of your decision to stand up for a cause. It is admirable that you took up the challenge to lobby and make possible an innovative approach to health delivery especially on a key issue like maternal health. Indeed the nation needs to do more to care for her womenfolk and give our neonates a chance to survive for us to consider ourselves truly liberated from diseases.

The idea of increased access to care is a noble goal. But the constraints are myriad and encompass geographical, financial and also institutional access constraints. Currently we are in the first year of the implementation of the free maternity service by the government. What are some of the challenges and how do we address them? Has the initiative met the intended goal and has it resulted in better care and outcomes? What can be done to strengthen the initiative? Or are we just ditching it in favour of another program. I would hope that the new Beyond Zero Campaign is anchored on the above, rather than be a competing parallel program.

The idea of mobile clinics will alleviate some of the challenges, but is its just a partial solution. A lot more needs to be done and as espoused in the Strategic Framework for the engagement of the First Lady in HIV control and promotion of maternal, newborn and child health in Kenya launched on 1st Dec 2013 which formed the basis of your engagement, local leadership and buy-in is vital. The other aspects of the new Beyond Zero Campaign is also fairly good. However the most important issue to addressed is one of finances.
Sustainability of any program is dependent on continuity of funding, affordability of the long-term program and guarantees of local acceptance and appreciation. I am saddened to see corporates falling over themselves trying to give their donations to the cause.A photo-op with The First Lady,a framed reminder of their visit to State House and the utilization of the audience as a marketing ploy for their commercial interests is all they are looking for.Am looking forward to the day you receive contributions from tobacco manufacturers and it will be a truly sad day.I pray that the commercial lobbies put their money anonymously in the Beyond Zero Account and without media attention,but again I will have to wait till kingdom come for that.Theirs is philanthropy with a flash.Unless the cameras click and mentions in the media made,the Beyond Zero might be hampered with lack of support.The private-sector support is vital but not in the form they have presented it.They will be the greatest cause of the failure of the Beyond Zero Campaign.
Therefore Madam First Lady I urge you to broaden the scope of your agenda in the Beyond Zero Campaign ensure a big picture approach to it,incorporating various other facets of  health systems thinking.

The Health budget in the country has been below the international standards as a percentage of the GDP and it the biggest culprit in the maternal health outcomes we have.If anything,I would urge you to lobby for increased government spending on Health as a percentage of GDP.(Actually its not an increase, it’s a return to the previous levels of government support for Health).Most of the other factors responsible for a working health system require sustainable funding.
You could try to engage with specialists in the various areas of health systems strengthening to come up with a viable and sustainable program.Because in its present form,Beyond Zero Campaign is just another failure in the making,a la Kazi kwa Vijana.

Lastly I do feel you should not be in a camp training for a marathon in London,but rather should be at the corridors of power to advocate for the cause you took up and which you believe in. Am sure Mr.President will appreciate your presence around him and he might just talk to treasury about the health budget since its being prepared now.