Health e News
Refugees, asylum seekers, economic and undocumented or illegal migrants all flock to South Africa for particular reasons. Often, locals believe that these are to steal away what belongs to South Africans, such as health care. Two refugees who benefit from the South African health care system explain that when they fled their countries of origin, it wasn’t to seek antiretroviral therapy.
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The senior regional HIV/AIDS coordinator for the United Nations’ High Commission for Refugees, says the inclusion of refugees in South Africa’s antiretroviral therapy programme will not result in the influx of refugees into the country.
As with every citizen, refugees have rights, including the right to health care. In line with that the Southern African HIV Clinicians’ Society and the United Nations’ High Commission for Refugees recently launched a policy to guide health workers in the region on providing antiretrovirals to refugees.
Organizations representing Zimbabwean refugees in South Africa are calling upon the government to intervene in challenges they face in accessing health care in the country.
From April 1st, insurance companies belonging to the Life Offices’ Association, will no longer deny policy holders life, disability or funeral cover benefits should they become infected with HIV.
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Medical experts say that lack of education about TB among patients is contributing to the development of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB).
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A much larger TB drug resistance problem exists than researchers previously thought. New global data on TB, published this week by the World Health Organization (WHO), highlight serious weaknesses in many national TB programmes, increasing the potential for widespread TB drug resistance. How did we reach this precarious state?
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Not much good news tends to emanate from Khayelitsha. More often than not the sprawling Cape Town township is associated with high levels of violent crime, poverty, disease, unemployment and a lack of basic services and housing. But the township has made huge inroads in tackling TB, a curable disease that mostly infects people living with HIV and poor people.
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Until recently, Mandla* was a nurse at a Durban hospital. But for the past few months, he has been a patient trying to shake off multi-drug resistant (MDR) TB.
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The emergence of Extremely Drug Resistant Tuberculosis is an indication that national TB control programmes fall short from being effective. As part of improving these and preventing a massive spread of the deadly strain of TB, improved methods of diagnosing the disease are needed.
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Children under the age of two born to HIV-positive mothers are at risk of getting TB, but the risk doubles if the child also has HIV.
A new publication, ‘Off the Map’, shows how the exclusion of sexual minorities in national HIV/AIDS programmes in Africa could jeopardise the continent’s efforts to rid itself of the epidemic.