Khopotso Bodibe

Health

Working to create better men
Living with AIDS #223

What does being a man mean? Violent, abusive, uncaring, arrogant are some of the adjectives that are used to describe men. But a steadily growing number of South African men are slowly changing the male identity.

Khopotso Bodibe
July 13, 2005

Health

Love in the times of AIDS
Living with AIDS #221

Dating can be a risky affair when HIV is added to the mix. The potential of meeting an HIV-positive partner is a reality. But should this possibility discourage anyone from dating? A young couple shares their story.

Khopotso Bodibe
June 29, 2005

Health Systems

HR plan far from ready

Government's plan to address the critical shortage of nurses and doctors is months from developing practical guidelines.

Khopotso Bodibe
May 31, 2005

Health Systems

Right of reply

The Department of Health has responded to a series of print and radio articles produced by Health-e News Service on the human resources crisis facing South Africa's health sector as well as the impact of the Department's delay in releasing a crucial Human Resources Plan.

Khopotso Bodibe
May 31, 2005

Health Systems

Skills allowance proves problematic

In a desperate measure to curb the flight of professionals from the public health sector the Department of Health recently introduced two allowances ' the rural and the scarce skills allowance. But opinion demonstrates that the latter has proven problematic.

Khopotso Bodibe
May 24, 2005

Health Systems

Slow road to transform Chris Hani-Baragwanath

Four years ago, the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehwau) launched a transformation project at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital.

Khopotso Bodibe
May 17, 2005

News

When love conquers
Living with AIDS # 214

Many relationships have collapsed under the strain that one partner has HIV. And the knowledge that a potential partner has HIV has dissuaded some from pursuing the relationship. Others refused to buckle under pressure.

Khopotso Bodibe
May 11, 2005

Health

One person’s disclosure
Living with AIDS #212

Disclosure is hailed as one of the first steps towards living positively with HIV. But numerous factors such as the fear of stigma keep many people silent. Others, like Peter Busse, take the risk.

Khopotso Bodibe
April 26, 2005

Health

Beat it before it beats you
Living with AIDS # 210

Temperatures are dropping and leaves are turning. Winter is on its way and that means the flu is not far behind. Influenza can be fatal for some, including those living with HIV.

Khopotso Bodibe
April 14, 2005

News

When supply doesn’t meet demand
Living with AIDS # 208

Several private sector pharmacies have run out of the Glaxo-Smith-Kline drug 3TC, an anti-retroviral drug used in combination with others. Indications are that GSK is struggling to meet demand.

Khopotso Bodibe
March 31, 2005

Health, Health Systems

Is prevention better than cure?
Living with AIDS # 207

If one is HIV-positive and lives in the developing world is it inevitable that they will also contract tuberculosis? There's no easy answer to that, but because of the sheer scale of TB infection rates among HIV-positive individuals it is becoming standard practice to provide prophylactic medicine to prevent dual infection. But does it work?

Khopotso Bodibe
March 24, 2005

Health, Health Systems

The dark side of TB

Erratic exposure to treatment due to irregular drug supply, inappropriate diagnosis and prescription by health care providers as well as poor adherence to treatment by the patient are all factors leading up to the development of Multi-Drug Resistant TB. Side-effects associated with treatment can also influence patients to stop taking their medication. In this report we visit an MDR-TB referral centre in Klerksdorp, North West.

Khopotso Bodibe
March 24, 2005

Health

Survivor’s tough struggle with drug-resistant TB

Doctors struggle to cure multi-drug resistant TB, while patients experience multiple side-effects. Health-e reports from an MDR-TB referral unit in Klerksdorp.

Khopotso Bodibe
March 22, 2005

Health

‘TB is curable, even if you’re HIV-positive.’
Living with AIDS # 206

South Africa is the country with the highest co-infection rate of HIV and TB in the world, with more than half of those who have TB also testing positive for HIV. People with HIV are most likely to die of tuberculosis than any other opportunistic infection. But if detected early, death from TB can be prevented even in the presence of HIV infection.

Khopotso Bodibe
March 15, 2005

News

HIV/AIDS: challenge to women’s advancement
Living with AIDS # 205

As South Africa joins the world in celebrating the 10th anniversary of the commitments made at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing this week, the threat posed by HIV/AIDS to women's development, particularly in the developing world, continues to grow. Health-e, reports.

Khopotso Bodibe
March 10, 2005

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