Government moves towards treatment
In a wide-ranging, exclusive interview, Dr Nono Simelela, head of government'€™s HIV/AIDS Directorate, spells out to Kerry Cullinan how government is fighting the epidemic.
Kerry Cullinan
Read More »Government moves towards treatment
Gauteng builds its armoury against HIV/AIDS
For once, it's good news. Gauteng is getting it right in its fight against HIV/AIDS.
Parents must know: AIDS is real
Preventing pregnancy is uppermost in many parents and teenagers'€™ minds, says clinic nurse Noxolo Ntenetya. But HIV/AIDS seems to be far less of a concern.
AIDS epidemic is no election issue
We are all the losers as political parties cynically exploit HIV/AIDS to win votes. Kerry Cullinan reports.
Love them enough to talk to them about sex
Parents generally are still not advising their children about sex '€“ despite the fact that unprotected sex can kill their children, thanks to HIV/AIDS.Most new HIV infections take place amongst youngsters between the ages of 15 and 20. If the current infection rates continue, statisticians predict that 50% of all 15-year-olds could die of AIDS-related diseases. Kerry Cullinan reports.
Khayelitsha women get lucky
Lucky is not a word usually applied to people living in wind-swept Khayelitsha. Yet this is how Pumeza Bikwe and over a thousand other mothers feel, thanks to a unique health programme that may have saved their babies'€™ lives.
World experts give antiretrovirals the go-ahead
Experts believe "the benefits outweigh the potential adverse effects" in the use of antiretroviral drugs to prevent mother to child transmission of HIV.
Cholera epidemic highlights need for safe water
While the cholera epidemic in KwaZulu-Natal has highlighted the desperate need for communities to have access to clean water, poor households are only likely to taste President Thabo Mbeki'€™s promise of 6 000 litres of free water per month by mid next year. KERRY CULLINAN reports.
No clarity on unicity health staff transfers
Despite the decision to transfer over 2 500 health workers from Gauteng province to Johannesburg once it becomes a unicity, no formal agreement exists between the city'€™s management and the province on how this will happen. KERRY CULLINAN reports.
Quality of health care declines in SA
The problem of access has been sited as one of the reasons for the decline in the quality of healthcare in South Africa.
Low muscle tone and young children
Three-year-old Alexander Heyns plays next to his mother at the physiotherapy centre, fitting shapes together into a box. "Look, mama, they are all in now," he says, blue eyes sparkling. "When he first came here, he would never do this," says his mother, Lynette. "He would come in shouting and charge around, touching everything. He found it difficult to focus."
Provinces delay on Nevirapine research
Concerns around the efficacy of the drug Nevirapine in preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV causes delays in provinces responding to an October 1 deadline for identifying their own sites for testing. KERRY CULLINAN reports.