Health e News
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The United Nations Secretary-General has called for the creation of a global fund to battle HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases in Africa. Speaking at the Organisation of African Unity summit on HIV/AIDS being held in Nigeria, Koffi Annan said between US$ 7 – 10 billion was needed over an extended period of time to combat the pandemic. This is a seven fold increase from the 1 billion US dollars presently being spent on HIV/AIDS in developing countries in Africa.
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April 25 is Africa malaria day. South African health authorities will purchase thousands of mosquito nets as part of the campaign to protect people living in malaria areas. Research has shown that bednets are effective, well accepted by local communities and cheaper than residual spraying of houses in affected areas.
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The much-spoken of TRIPS Agreement – or Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights – is often cited as key factor which cannot be violated in the quest for access to cheaper medicines. But what does TRIPS actually say? Law analyst Jonathan Berger offers a brief history of TRIPS and how pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and computer king IBM pushed for World Trade Organisation approval for such an agreement. He argues that TRIPS balances protection of intellectual property rights with the right of people to access essential medicines.
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The South African Students Congress in Bloemfontein made sure that HIV/AIDS was on the agenda of their annual gathering. But besides the “official line”, what are students saying about the epidemic and safer sex behaviour?
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Government should immediately adopt a practical plan for treating HIV positive people with drugs, challenged Judge Edwin Cameron last night at the opening of the international conference, AIDS in Context.
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Seabelo Kgarose is a young mother living with HIV/AIDS. For a while her youngest son, who is also HIV positive, was in a care centre at a local hospital. On one occasion when she and her other two children went to visit him, she was verbally abused by one of the nurses. However, months later, this same nurse turned up at the AIDS counselling centre where Seabelo works seeking counselling and support to come to terms with her HIV positive status. In this audio report, Seabelo tells the story.
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Seeing a simple idea and “storing it because you never know when you’€™re going to use it” is what led to University of Cape Town (UCT) lecturer Dr George Vicatos to design a device which has saved a 18 year old cancer patient’€™s leg. A Senior Lecturer at UCT’€™s Department of Mechanical Engineering, Vicatos and his team worked against the clock to design the endo-prosthetic replacement for part of the patient’s femur and knee.
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In green valleys in northern KwaZulu-Natal, hundreds of children are negotiating lives alone as HIV/AIDS claims their parents.
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KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and Gauteng have emerged as the epicentres of the HIV/AIDS epidemic raging in South Africa with the Free State following closely, according to the latest national HIV survey released yesterday(Tuesday). Based on the 16 548 blood samples tested in October 2000, it is estimated that nationally, 24,5% of the women who presented at the public health facilities (for the first time during that current pregnancy) were infected with HIV by the end of the year.
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South Africa’€™s welfare system is in the midst of a massive shake-up which stakeholders are hoping could result in government paying out more money to destitute children. At a recent meeting in Cape Town, about 90 roleplayers from the children’€™s sector and government officials, including those from a special committee charged with revising the entire social security system, grappled with how to set up an efficient “safety net” for the children of South Africa.
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Mthobisi Simelane (7) has been orphaned and abandoned by his family at Mosvold Hospital in Ingwavuma, rural KwaZulu-Natal. Unless he gets a birth certificate, anyone caring for him will be unable to access any grants.
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Renowned author John le Carre delves into the dark and dangerous world of drug trials and pharmaceutical profits in his latest novel, “The Constant Gardener”. In the afterword to the book he says that although his novel is a work of fiction and doesn’€™t reflect the actions of any real people, the real goings-on in the industry make his story seem like a “holiday postcard”. Sue Valentine spoke to him, this is a transcript of part of their conversation.