Health e News
OPINION: I am visiting the University of Cape Town from Australia ‘ this is the fourth consecutive year I have come to this physically beautiful city ‘ and I see in the media recently all sorts of comments on the proposed NHI. These comments are all almost hostile. But then these comments do not come from all sorts of people. By Gavin Mooney.
- ///Health
South Africa / Johannesburg, Aug 12, GNA ‘ Ms Patricia Lambert, Director of International Legal Consortium for Campaign for Tobacco – Free Kids, has urged the Government of Ghana to consider the health of her people and speed up the tobacco control legislation.
Health minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi is determined to revolutionise South Africa’s health system and his short-term sights are set on the quality of healthcare delivery in the public sector and pricing in the private sector.
The Democratic Alliance has released a report on the assessment of top management at public hospitals in South Africa, which was compiled by the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA).
Pregnant women seeking healthcare in Eastern Cape government facilities are facing abuse and substandard care placing them at high risk of death and injury, a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report has revealed.
‘The case of change in health care financing in South Africa through the introduction of mandatory NHI health is both strong and urgent. The case for change should also be considered in the light of the lack of achievement of the Millennium Development Goals for health, and the stagnation and even deterioration in mortality rates and life expectancy.’ ‘ Confidential National Health Insurance (NHI) Policy Proposal (February 2011)
Every electoral ward is set to have a primary health care, nurse-driven team established as part of the National Health Insurance (NHI) system and specialist doctor teams will be assigned to districts where maternal and child mortality is high.
Health minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has announced cuts in TB medication as well as steps he has taken to improve nursing colleges infrastructure. He also announced changes in the management of hospitals and categorisation of hospitals. Read the full statement here.
- ///Health
To coincide with the 6th International AIDS Society (IAS) conference on HIV pathogenesis, treatment, and prevention taking place in Rome 17-20 July, The Lancet publishes a collection of HIV/AIDS articles.
- ///News
Improved and sustained efforts to diagnose and treat TB need to be made to address tuberculosis infection among children. This is according to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), after results of a clinical study it conducted showed that prophylaxis with Isoniazid does not prevent TB in children.
Health-e News is the proud winner of the prestigious Global Health Council’s 2011 Excellence in Media Award for Global Health (Category: Community Media) for our documentary ‘Thula Mama’ about the prevention of mother-to-child HIV infection.
Despite substantial cuts in donor funds to the HIV/AIDS sector, South Africa has enough money to deal with the epidemic ‘ if we plug the corruption drain.