Health e News
- ///Health
It was with a sense of a ‘big head’ that Alan Brand decided to take an overall medical check up. He had achieved most of his short term goals. Testing positive for HIV never even occurred to him. But soon after finding out that he had the virus, he was overwhelmed by guilt.
For 40 years, the SA Red Cross Air Mercy Service has been flying volunteer health professionals to rural hospitals in KwaZulu-Natal and the Northern Cape.
- ///Health
South Africa will be in the spotlight at the 16th International AIDS Conference in Toronto when the merits of male circumcision come up for discussion.
- ///News
The ‘I didn’t have a condom’ excuse could soon be unheard of if the marketing of an innovative underwear brand succeeds. The underwear features a unique pocket that can carry up to three condoms ‘ for use at opportune times.
Khopotso Bodibe and Anso Thom from Health-e News Service were selected from more than 135 Applicants from 29 African Countries as recipients of the first Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation Award for Excellence in HIV/AIDS Journalism in Africa for their investigative reporting on HIV/AIDS.
Nine years ago, Dr Loyiso Mpuntsha was rejected as a blood donor. Today she is the new Chief Executive Officer of the South African National Blood Service, the same organisation that did not want her blood ‘ solely because she is black.
A study conducted in Orange Farm, a settlement south of Johannesburg, shows that circumcised men are at a lower risk of contracting HIV. But, some researchers warn against the wholesale promotion of circumcision as a barrier against HIV infection.
African AIDS activists at the UN High-Level Meeting on HIV and AIDS in New York are furious over what they see as the overturning of agreed commitments on performance targets and the protection of vulnerable groups by a handful of African governments.
- ///Health
It’s been seven years since the young AIDS activist Nkosi Johnson’s dream was realised. A dream of having a home that houses HIV positive destitute mothers and their children. Now this unique home has more than 90 residents.
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Current research is pointing towards the development of an effective microbicide in a few years time. However, experts believe it could have happened sooner if pharmaceutical companies invested more money in developing a microbicide which could prevent the transmission of diseases, more importantly HIV
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Last week, we visited Tumahole, a township in Parys in the Free State, where we met Khomanani Community Action volunteers as they carried out a door-to-door campaign to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS, TB, substance abuse and other STIs. This week, we hear how the Khomanani AIDS and TB awareness programme has become part of the community’s structures, such as clinics and schools.
- ///Health
Over three-quarters of the sexually abused children who seek help from Childline in KwaZulu-Natal have been hurt by other children, with kids under the age of 12 now outnumbering teens as the main culprits.