THE startling statistics in Namibia is that men’s life expectancy is very short, they die at very young age than do women and the number of widows in the country continues to rise at a high rate. A husband’s death is possibly the most devastating event wives will ever experience, and they may even be wondering if they will be able to make it on their own. In Namibia and many parts of Africa, men and husbands remain the financial pillars of their households or families and the death of a husband results in financial crisis and breakdown of many family structures. The majority of women don’t know their husband’s source of income, they receive money end of the month but they may not know the stress the husband goes through at the workplace and many women don’t know how the husband manages the money, household bills such as water and electricity, and other financial tasks. In this article I share with you ways to implement a sound strategy that can help minimize any potential financial burdens so that you can focus on what’s truly important, healing and moving forward.
Men are becoming endangered species
It is not an exaggeration to say that men are becoming an endangered species in Namibia, and all precautions must be taken to preserve them. The death rate for men is very high and both women and government must therefore take measures to reverse the high death rate of men to avoid financial crisis and a rise in poverty. It is a well-established fact that the life expectancy for men is much shorter than for women and one distinct advantage of being a woman is that you can expect to live much longer than men by an average of seven years. Namibia is no exception as the Namibia Household Income and Expenditure Survey (NHIES) of 2010 shows the sex ratio falling from 99 in the age group of 5 years, falling to 77 in the age group of 40 years and finally falling to 35 in the age group of 85.
A lower ratio below 100 means there are more females than males, for example a sex ratio of 77 means that there are only 77 men for 100 women available to be dated or married. A sex ratio of 35 means there are only 35 men for 100 women.
Because men tend to have higher income than women their death often brings a big income shortfall in the family. A short survey I carried out in different regions in Namibia shows that the death of a man in a family or village is accompanied by a rise in financial crisis, poverty in that family and in most cases the family structure disintegrates and breaks down, testifying to the fact that men are the pillars of family stability.
Main cause of men death
Men as head of houses and breadwinner tend to worry more about finances all the time and this puts them at high health risk. Men work harder, doing hard jobs at sea, in mining, manufacturing and all industries. Many men don’t live long enough to collect the retirement pension and employment benefits that they spent a lifetime working for which will eventually be enjoyed by the wives and children. Financial problems can affect a person’s health status and overdue bills such as water and electricity, medical costs, mortgage, etc. can result in physical symptoms of stress (e.g. migraines, insomnia and anxiety) and delayed or inadequate treatment can be a major cause for death. Many researchers also found that people in poor health often die at a relatively young age and spend thousands of dollars on medical drugs and health care costs that could otherwise have been invested. In addition, researchers found that men are likely to indulge in smoking, drinking alcohol, sexual immorality, eating junk food and other bad habits than do women.
Advice to women
Men can live longer with the good care and support from their female partners. Although no woman wants to think about losing her husband, the fact of the matter is that 5 out of 10 wives are expected to outlive their husbands. While wives can assist their husbands live a healthier life and prolong their life span, there is medical evidence showing that biologically women will outlive their men counterparts and it is advisable for women to make sure that their income earning capacity is enhanced and learn how to manage the family finances while the husband is still alive. I have heard some women say my job is to spend the money and enjoy the sweat and labour of my husband. My advice to you is take care of your male partner or husband and start preparing to handle the family finances while your husband is still alive and don’t leave everything to your husband. Here are some tips for women and wives to create a healthy living environment for their husbands or male partners to help prolong his life:
- • Women can change a moody attitude and be happy, as it would help create a conducive home environment that will attract the husband or male partner to come back home on time.
- • Cut out unnecessary arguments and let go of your need to be right. If you want to address an important issue wait until you have both cooled down and communicate your thoughts with patience and kindness at the right occasion.
- • Stop demanding luxury things he cannot afford and hold back on the nagging.
- • Encourage him by taking an interest in his hobbies and in what he does.
- • Let him know that you respect and admire his leadership.
- • Although you might not have solution to his problems, listen to him when he is stressed.
- • Make his favourite meal or dessert.
- • Send him a romantic email or text message and offer him a word of encouragement by saying something positive.
- • What is romantic for a woman may not necessarily be romantic for a man and therefore, you should pay extra attention to what makes your husband happy and this may help prolong his number of days on earth.
• Martin Mwinga works for First Capital Treasury Solutions and can be contacted at mwinga@firstcapitalnam.com.
By Martin Mwinga