Obesity and stunting are both products of the nutrient-deficient food in our supermarkets.
About 1.4-million South Africans with HIV/Aids are receiving ARVs — a figure closer to the target set by the present national strategic plan.
HIV is the driving force behind South Africa’s high child death rates. Unless there is a concerted effort to put child survival strategies in place, the country faces an "unstoppable wave of child mortality", paediatricians have warned. The knock-on effects for the future of South Africa’s youth, and therefore the economy, could be dire.
The young man briefly opened his bloodshot eyes and scanned the bleak, chaotic surroundings. His muscular body shivered uncontrollably beneath the white, government-monogrammed sheet as the paramedics lifted him on to another trolley. He tried to raise his arms; his hands and forearms, thighs, chest, back and feet were wrapped in thick, white bandages.
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/ 13 October 2005
Two HIV-positive women presented to the media in June by the Dr Rath Health Foundation as examples of how its vitamins can reverse Aids have admitted that they were on anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs all along. Meanwhile, the foundation is in the process of expanding its programme to the Eastern Cape.
A group of youngsters brought a hush to Parliament chamber this week when they spoke about their lives of poverty and hardship and how they think the Children’s Bill could create a happier future for them. They call themselves Dikwankwetla, meaning heroes, and this is how they see themselves in the face of the Aids epidemic.
The Northern Cape is not for the faint-hearted. The province comprises almost 30% of South Africa’s land mass, but is home to just 900 000 people, employment is scarce, and teenage pregnancies, alcohol abuse and poverty are the Northern Cape’s key health concerns.
In 1999 pregnant women in Khayelitsha were able to access the drug AZT and two years later, highly active anti-retroviral therapy was introduced to the area. The Western Cape is one of the best-resourced provinces in the country and spends a healthy R1 377 per capita on health, second only to Gauteng, which spends R1 668.
Elsie Mamphoke, a tall, middle-aged woman with a mischievous glint in her eye, breaks into a huge smile as she holds up three fingers. "Yes, I tell my children to bring me three condoms at night, even if I’m not planning to use them. I want them to know I am having sex with my husband, that I am planning to have three rounds and that I will be using a condom every time."
How healthy is South Africa’s public health system? And how big are the gaps between promises and practice? We visit the provinces to determine South Africa’s real state of health. This week the <i>M&G</i> looks at Limpopo, the most northerly of South Africa’s nine provinces, where the extreme poverty of the local inhabitants is constrasted starkly with world-famous luxury game lodges.
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/ 25 February 2004
Three critical pieces of health legislation are about to be signed into law or are being drafted for future legislation. These are the regulations relating to a transparent pricing system for medicines and scheduled substances, social health insurance and the certificate of need.