Med Schools welcome community service for other health professions
Medical schools have welcomed a move by the health department to introduce community service for a further seven health professions, the majority by 2003.
Anso Thom
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Decisive measures to control TB and Malaria
South African health minister Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang has recommitted herself to fighting TB and Malaria. She has ordered a forensic audit of the SA National TB Association and expanded the use of DDT to control Malaria in Mpumalanga and the Northern Province.
Mental Health Bill enacted by December
Several pieces of legislation are expected to come before Parliament before the end of the year. The health minister describes the Mental Health Care Bill as one of the most interesting pieces of legislation while the crucial National Health Bill will not be tabled this year following Constitutional hitches.
Global petition to put people before profits
Third World Network, Oxfam International and Health Gap Coalition are accusing US trade policy of robbing the poor of their health and have launched a petition to try and change US president George Bush's mind on the matter.
Mother-to-child HIV prevention – the science, the costs, & the pilot programme
The Treatment Action Campaign's decision to turn to the courts comes after four years of campaigning for a national programme to prevent mother to child transmission (MTCT).
Racial bias still distorts social services
There was an urgent need to make healthcare facilities and services for the elderly more accessible to the entire population in the Western Cape and not only to those living in Sea Point and Claremont, delegates argued at the recent racism conference held in the province.
Big plans for mother-to-child HIV prevention in W.Cape
Around 90% of HIV positive pregnant women in the Western Cape should have access to anti-AIDS drugs to prevent them transmitting the virus to their babies by early next year. The Cape Town Unicity and provincial government have agreed to make funds available to extend the prevention programme to a further nine sites by April next year.
Worms can compromise AIDS vaccine
Scientists need to take into account that worm infestation could compromise the success of a potential AIDS vaccine as is the case with established vaccines against viral diseases such as cholera and tuberculosis, local researchers have warned.
SA hopes to qualify for cheaper MDR-TB drugs
World Health Organisation (WHO) representatives will visit South Africa next month to assess whether the country qualifies for the hugely reduced multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) drugs being made available.
Government shifts TB programme into a higher gear
Health workers, researchers and international experts will share their knowledge at a workshop which starts today [Tuesday] aimed at setting clear and achievable goals to cut South Africa's shockingly high TB rates over the next four years.
Row brewing between ANC and South Peninsula Municipality over smoking laws
While the rest of country is implementing the new smoking legislation that came into effect on Sunday, Cape Town's South Peninsula Municipality is being accused by the ANC of stalling the process. The municipality  is in the process of rescinding a by-law that takes precedence over national law, but the ANC's National Health Secretary Dr Saadiq Karim says they have been given ample time to make the changes and should be fined.
Enough is being done for those living with HIV, but more children should be saved – NorthWest Health MEC
Until access to more affordable AIDS drugs becomes a reality, government has responded as best as they can for those living with HIV, according to NorthWest Health MEC Dr Molefi Sefularo.He said the province'€™s aim was to follow urgently on the mother-to-child transmission pilot phase with the expansion of the programme to the rest of the province. "In the end, no child must be born with a lifespan predetermined by HIV and AIDS to be no more than five years."