Worrying trend of child rapists
There appears to be an increase in child rape including cases involving
children raping other children.
Health
When a child rapes
What motivates a five-year old to rape a two-year-old toddler? In Umtata and East London such incidents are becoming increasingly common. In the first six weeks of 2004, 40 cases of child rape by other children were reported at Umtata Sinawe Rape Crisis Centre. In the first of a two-part series, Health-e visits the rape crisis centres in Mdantsane and in Umtata.
Harmonising gender relationsLiving with AIDS #165
A new concept is gaining momentum in South Africa. After three years of debate and discussion a Charter for Sexual Rights has been adopted enshrining the rights of women to control their sexual and reproductive health. The Charter advocates mutual respect between men and women and it is hoped that this will prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS.
Managing medicine supply in the E Cape
Access to medicines is still a problem in some public hospitals and many clinics in the Eastern Cape. Despite the reassurance of better service for all by the Department of Health and the Batho Pele principle to put people first, this is not happening in many areas. Health-e travelled through the region and compiled this report.
Comment: Mbeki and AIDS
Interviewed by the national public broadcaster the weekend after his state of the nation address, President Thabo Mbeki still seemed determined to ignore and obfuscate the impact of HIV/AIDS on the country. Health-e examines his remarks.
A dose of strong medicine
Cheaper drugs, certificates of need, social health insurance? Has government made sudden and major shifts in health policy?
Patients may choose
Government'€™s HIV and AIDS Care and Treatment Plan is not only about making antiretrovirals available in the public health sector for the first time. The programme also includes a strong focus on nutrition and traditional medicines. Health-e News Service asked Dr Nono Simelela, co-ordinator of the Plan, how the three components come together in the programme.
Towards treatment
A major hurdle in the path towards the implementation of a national HIV and AIDS Care and Treatment Plan has been cleared. At a parliamentary briefing on Monday, the Minister of Health, Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, announced that tenders for drug procurement in preparation for the roll-out of the Plan are to be advertised this Friday, (13/02/04).
Towards treatment
A major hurdle in the path towards the implementation of a national HIV and AIDS Care and Treatment Plan has been cleared. At a parliamentary briefing on Monday, the Minister of Health, Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, announced that tenders for drug procurement in preparation for the roll-out of the Plan are to be advertised this Friday, (13/02/04).
Cheaper drugs: how it works
Why do South African consumers pay so much for prescription drugs? Health-e News Service follows the money and explains exactly who pockets what in the profit chain.
STIs pose serious health risk
Although two million South Africans were treated for sexually transmitted infections in the public sector in 2002, it is estimated that some 8,4 million people contracted an STI in the same year.
Young and old unite to combat HIV
To a great extent old people have been left out of AIDS education, but a project in Khayelitsha is changing this. Stanley Mcengwa is 65- years old and one of the peer educators who teaches the elderly about HIV/AIDS. He says at first he was scared of HIV/AIDS but he has learnt that HIV is just like any other disease.
Elderly engage with AIDS
About 120 old-age pensioners from Khayelitsha are trying to help their children, grandchildren and communities to better understand HIV and AIDS. The pensioners are trained by the organization, Neighbourhood Old Age Homes (NOAH), in a pilot project that enables senior citizens to take messages of prevention and care to their households and onto the streets. Health-e spoke to some of the grandmothers at the NOAH centre in Khayelitsha.
AIDS stats, just how many of us are dying?
Have AIDS deaths been exaggerated as South African writer Rian Malan claimed in a recent controversial article published in the British magazine The Spectator?
Poetry in an age of AIDS
Safe sex or no sex, that is the message that Ntsiki Mazwai is preaching whenever she's on stage as a musician or poet. She is among many artists and actors who are including messages about HIV/AIDS in their performances.