The benefits of medical male circumcision have been proven to also extend to women. It has been shown that female partners of men who are circumcised have a less risk of contracting the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), a sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer.
A vaccine candidate which showed that it can protect against HIV infection by up to 31% when tested in Thailand three years ago will be further tested in South Africa as soon as next year.
A Medical Research Council (MRC) study warns that as more people move into the cities, their health challenges will become dire. The community of Hospital Hill, in Johannesburg, is a case in point. More than 90 % of the residents live in urban poverty and are unemployed.
Seven out of every ten sex workers have been abused by police officials. A survey done by the Women'€™s Legal Centre, shows that sex workers report having been threatened with arrest or forced to sleep with police officials in exchange for their freedom.
Seventy-five percent of South African women will suffer from vaginal thrush, at least, once in their lifetime. And while the condition may not always be preventable, it is manageable with the correct treatment.
The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) in Gauteng says it will take the Health Department to court to force them to deliver quality health care to the citizens of the province should they fail to do so.
Newly appointed Gauteng Health MEC has a huge task of ridding his department free of corruption. Democratic Alliance Health spokesperson, Jack Bloom says the department'€™s financial crisis is transparent of the corruption within.
: Great progress has been made in reducing early mother to child transmission of HIV in the country. A study by the Medical Research Council (MRC) shows that the national HIV mother to child transmission rate was approximately two point seven percent in 2011.
Newly appointed Gauteng Health MEC, Hope Papo, is determined to turn things around in his beleaguered department. In an interview this week, the MEC expressed his dissatisfaction with the department'€™s current state of affairs.
Child mortality rates have slowly come down, although they are still significantly high. Health experts say this is attributed to huge inequalities that exist in accessing health care.
During a recent visit to the Daveyton Main Clinic, on Gauteng'€™s East Rand, Ayanda Mkhwanazi of Health-e News Service, found patients complaining of appalling staff attitudes, which hinder effective health service delivery.
With maternal health being one of the priority areas for health improvement, it'€™s important for primary health care facilities to improve care for pregnant mothers. The Witkoppen Health and Welfare Centre in Fourways, north of Johannesburg, says it'€™s trying to improve on these health indicators.
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