Health e News
- ///Health
Part three in our four-part series tracking the life and death of Nokwanda, an Eastern Cape mother of four. In this instalment Nokwanda slowly begins to let go of her life as her caregivers sing her soul to rest.
Part two in our series on the life and death of Nokwanda, a 27-year-old Eastern Cape mother of four. Writer Susan Winters spent four years with Nokwanda and her family as she faced death from HIV-related illnesses.
- ///Health
South Africa has one of the highest rates in the world of Foetal Alcohol Syndrome – a condition that retards growth and can cause permanent brain damage to unborn babies. Prevention is simple – pregnant mothers should avoid alcohol.
- ///News
After the birth and sudden death of her fourth child in 1997 the 27-year-old Nokwanda learnt that she was HIV positive. Writer SUSAN WINTERS tracks the final four years of Nokwanda’€™s life and the emotional and physical journey of the brave Eastern Cape mother and her family.
- ///Health
When it comes to HIV/AIDS in South Africa there is no shortage of heartbreaking stories. But there are also many life-affirming testimonies about remarkable people making a difference. Among these are the staff and volunteers of Hospice in 60 branches around the country who offer holistic care not only to patients sick with AIDS, but to their families as well.
- ///Health
The multiple impacts of HIV/AIDS on our society requires an imaginative response. In the rural areas outside White River in Mpumalanga, the Masoyi Home Based Care project co-ordinates a variety of activities to enable the community to respond to the challenges created by HIV/AIDS and poverty.
- ///Health
The health department aims to provide 53 000 people with AIDS treatment by March of 2005. At present, about 8000 people are receiving free antiretroviral therapy in the public health sector. Health-e spoke to Dennis Matwa of the Treatment Action Campaign about the Civil Society Monitoring Forum launched recently to monitor the government’€™s Comprehensive HIV and AIDS Treatment Plan.
- ///Health
A lack of targeted prevention and sexual health services puts men who have sex with men at a disproportionately greater risk of contracting HIV than the rest of the population. That is according to a pilot study conducted by Wits University’s Peri-natal HIV Research Unit.
Consumers using prescription drugs are confused and it’€™s hardly surprising. The health department recently implemented a range of regulations to reduce the price of prescription medicines and to ensure transparency. Opposition from pharmacists has added to the confusion and, in some instances, a hike in drug prices.
- ///Health
Uganda’€™s efforts to reduce its HIV prevalence rate from a high 18% to 6% in a population of 24 million has earned it the title of Africa’€™s success story in the fight against AIDS. But, as Health-e News Service reports, activists are concerned that Uganda’€™s success story might breed complacency.
- ///Health
HIV positive children are often discriminated against in schools if their HIV status is known, but the South African Children’€™s Rights Bill stipulates that children have a right to be protected against unfair discrimination. Health-e visited a crèche that accepts only HIV positive children in Khayelitsha and compiled this report.
The most common cancers affecting women are breast and cervical cancer. A regular pap smear can help women detect cervical cancer early when effective treatment is possible.