Health e News
Despite its small population of around 2.2 million, the mountain kingdom of Lesotho is concerned that its HIV transmission rate is increasing. The official prevalence rate is 31%. Only a handful, about 5% of the infected, pay for treatment provided by the private health sector. But a grant donation has enabled Lesotho to begin ushering in a small-scale treatment initiative.
Le ha baahi ba Lesotho ba ballwa ho dimilione tse 2.2 feela, mmuso wa naha eo o tshwenyehile haholo ha e le mona palo ya batho ba nang le tshwaetso ya HIV e batla e ata. Ba ballwa ho dipesente tse 31 batho ba nang le kokwana hloko ena. Ba mmalwa feela, ba ka eba dipesente tse hlano, ba kgonang ho ithekela meriana e thusang ho theola bohale ba HIV mmeleng wa mokudi. Empa, jwalo ka ha Health-e News Service e tlaleha, dintho di a fetoha ka ha e le mona mmuso wa Lesotho o qadile morero wa ho fumantsha bakudi meriana ena morao wa hore o fumane mpho ya tjhelete.
In a small village outside Burgersfort on the Mpumalanga-Limpopo provincial border women are taking control of their lives. Early results from a unique pilot project are showing that once women are financially empowered, they can have better relations with their male partners. And with economic power comes a sense of optimism leading to better health decisions and reduced risk of contracting HIV.
Motsaneng wa mahaeng wa Burgersfort moeding wa diprofense tsa Mpumalanga le Limpopo basadi ba ntshetsa maphelo a bona pele. Ditholwana tsa ho qala projekeng e ntjha motseng oo di bontsha hore hang ha basadi ba fumana monyetla wa ho iketsetsa tjhelete dikamano pakeng tsa bona le balekane ba bona e eba tse kgahlisang. Sephetho se seng ke hore matla a ho eba le tjhelete a thusa ho etsa qeto tse bolokehileng bakeng sa bophelo bo botle. Hona ho akaretsa le ho itshireletsa kgahlano le kokwana-hloko ya HIV. Health-e News Service e a tlaleha.
Migration is taking its toll on health services in Gauteng, South Africa’€™s economic powerhouse.
Ten years later, health services in the flat, often bleak, central province of Free State are stable and the quality of care is improving.
The Limpopo province is one of five provinces that the government says will soon be ready to join the Western Cape and Gauteng in providing AIDS treatment in the public health sector. In this feature Health-e visits Tintswalo Hospital, Limpopo’€™s second largest hospital in rural Acornhoek, and met Dr Paul Pronyk, an American who has been working at the hospital for the last six years as part of Wits University’€™s Rural AIDS and Development Action Research project.
Profense ya Limpopo ke e nngwe ya tse hlano tseo mmuso o reng di tla fana ka meriana ya Phamokathe haufinyana. Hona ka mora hore profense ya Gauteng e qale ho fumantsha bakudi meriana ena ka la 1 Mmesa. Tlalehong ena Khopotso Bodibe o etela sepetlele sa Tintswalo, se seng sa dipetlele tse kgolo profenseng ya Limpopo, se leng motseng wa mahaeng Acornhoek. Moo teng o ile a teana le ngaka Paul Pronyk eo a e nang le dilemo tse tsheletseng a sebetsa sepetleng seo ka tlase ho morero wa Rural AIDS and Development Action Research ya yunibesithi ya Wits.
Jwalo ka ha meriana ya lefu la Phamokathe e kena tshebeletsong ya tsa bophelo bo botle, tshabo e teng ya hore mosebetsi wa ho hlokomedisa setjhaba ho itsherelletsa kgahlano le tshwaetso ena o tla salla moraho. Empa, ho molemo hore batho ba hlokomele hore ba se tshwaetsehe le hore na meriana ena e sebetsa jwang. Ngaka Zola Ntshona a sebetsang ka mafu a bomme sepetleleng sa profense ya Limpopo, o bua ka ho otlolloha mabapi le ditaba tsena.
With antiretroviral medication now becoming an integral part of AIDS treatment in the public health sector, there are concerns that prevention efforts might feature less prominently. However, it is essential that South Africans change their sexual behaviour to protect themselves from HIV and understand how treatment works. Dr Zola Ntshona, gynaecology and obstetrics specialist at the Polokwane provincial hospital in Limpopo, shares her experiences.
Although health care delivery in the Eastern Cape still faces major challenges, there are positive developments. Some 131 new clinics have been built since 1994 and the department is committed to improving services as Dr. Litha Matiwane Head of Hospital Services explains.
One of the best-resourced provinces in the country, the Western Cape’€™s health services function well.
