Traditional medicine almost kills baby
When it comes to traditional medicine, some young parents are torn between the advice of nurses and that of their own parents. For one young Mpumalanga mother, this battle of wills almost cost her baby’s life.
Cynthia Maseko
Read More »Traditional medicine almost kills baby
Stock-outs, low awareness stymie immunisations
Stock-outs and a lack of trained health workers are just some of what stands between children and vaccines in Mpumalanga where mothers say they also want to know more about immunisation.
Noon ‘too late” for treatment
Noon is too late to be treated at one Mpumalanga clinic near Nelspruit as nurses allegedly turn patients away at midday.
The scars of ‘manhood’
For Vusimuzi Sibanyoni, the quest to “prove his manhood” to friends at 14 years old has left him with scars he will carry for life after he struggled to cope with his HIV-positive diagnosis.
The other side of the female condom
Female condoms are not just for the ladies as some gay men in KaMsogwaba Township outside Nelspruit have found, but nearby clinic nurses are still not sold on the idea.
A child with a child
When young Nompumelelo Sithole* from a small farming town in Mpumalanga asked local clinic nurses for contraception, they told her to come back when she was 18 years old. Now 13 years old, Nompumelelo has an eight-month-old baby.
“How am I going to tell my parents?”
Thembi Khabonina Nkomo, from Daantjie in Nelspruit, was diagnosed with HIV 13 years ago. She was afraid of being disowned by her family. She now credits her family’s love and support for her strength and happiness.
One pill a day makes all the difference
In April, the Department of Health introduced South Africa’s first three-in-one fixed dose (FDC) antiretroviral (ARV). OurHealth speaks to an FDC veteran about the difference one pill can make.
Patients drink water from used urine cups
Ermelo Clinic patients say they have been drinking water from used urine containers after the cups were left near an outside tap.
Sex work a dangerous job in Ermelo
Sex workers in Ermelo, Mpumalanga pay a high price for financial freedom.
Cervical cancer can be treated
One woman tells OurHealth her story of battling one of South Africa’s deadliest cancers.
Standerton TB Hospital’s kitchen burns
A fire in the kitchen of the Standerton TB hospital has rendered the kitchen unusable and there's no indication of how long it will be before it is returned to working order.