Exactly what infrastructure and staff are needed in order for a clinic or hospital to offer effective prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission? There is no doubt about the urgency of expanding such services - 70 000 HIV positive babies are born in South Africa each year - but implementing an effective service requires more than dispensing a pill.
How safe is the antiretroviral drug Nevirapine? Last week, the withdrawal of an application by the manufacturers of Nevirapine to register it with the United States Food And Drug Administration was allowed to generate considerable concern and confusion in South African medical and political circles about the safety and efficacy of the medication. On Tuesday, a trans-Atlantic link with leading scientists in the US and South Africa categorically laid these concerns to rest and clarified the nature of the application to register the drug.
Documents circulating in government circles have once again disputed the link between HIV and AIDS and questioned scientific knowledge and practice in relation to the HI virus. In this audio package, acclaimed South African scientist, Dr Carolyn Williamson, who last year received the World Technology Award for Health & Medicine in recognition of her efforts to find an AIDS vaccine, speaks about the scientific evidence.
Misguided national leadership, particularly President Thabo Mbeki's questioning of whether HIV causes AIDS, has contributed to South Africa's HIV/AIDS prevalence rate amongst pregnant women jumping from 7,6% to 24,5% in seven years. This is the view of researchers writing in the 2001 SA Health Review, due to be released by the Health Systems Trust (HST) in Pretoria today (tues).
After four days of hearing evidence and going through written submissions from community organisations, NGOs, research institutions and government departments last week on child sexual abuse, a preliminary report on the hearings was discussed in the National Assembly yesterday. In this audio report, the chairperson of the parliamentary task group on child sexual exploitation, Cas Saloojee explains some of their findings.
Carol Snyman (32) wipes the tears from her cheeks. "They swear at you, they call you horrible names. It hurts me very much when they speak about us like this. These are my children and I love them." Snyman'€™s family is the perfect example of why Tuberculosis is so rampant in this part of the country and even more specifically in Uitsig, a suburb typical of the poorest working class areas of Cape Town.
While it  is still unclear what all the factors  are driving the high TB rates in Cape Town, it is certain that inequitable access to good housing, employment, education and as a consequence, nutritious  food play a major role. Comparisons between two nearby suburbs, the more affluent Bothasig and mostly poverty stricken Uitsig,  highlight the stark inequities when  mapping the TB  rates and comparing it with indicators such as housing, overcrowding and unemployment.  Â
What memories would a mother wish to leave her children should she know she won't live to see them grow up? The work of care-givers in the home-based care programme at the South Coast Hospice in Port Shepstone includes finding ways to help parents leave behind messages for their children and then to support those children in their bereavement. In this audio report, the deputy director of the South Coast hospice Mabuyi Mnguni explains some of the work of their children's team.
International research shows that between 50% and 65% of adult sex offenders commit their first sexual offences as children aged between 13 and 17 years.This is according to a report tabled at the parliamentary hearing on Sexual Abuse of Children last week by Buyi Mbambo, a United Nations representative for the Child Justice Project in South Africa. In sharp contrast to these grim statistics are three teenagers who work as volunteers at Molo Songololo, a non-governmental organisation dedicated to promoting the rights of children and their general wellbeing. In this audio report in isiXhosa and English the three volunteers speak about the cases they witness and the work they do.
When there's no one to turn to, or when fear makes it impossible to speak out about one's HIV status, creating a memory box is one of the first steps towards breaking the silence. Memory boxes offer individuals a way to talk about themselves and what its like to live with an infection like HIV. In this audio report, we visit the memory box workshops currently being held at the South African National Gallery in Cape Town.
Doctors, researchers as well as nutrition and child health experts have warned that a decision to offer free formula feed to HIV positive mothers could be doing more harm than good, especially for those infants living in rural settings or poor peri-urban poverty. But those who have been dispensing formula feed in the urban areas warn that the debate should be placed in context with different solutions for different areas, depending on issues such as access to water, health services and levels of poverty.
"A sin of grand proportions" is how Anglican Archbiship Njongonkulu Ndungane has described the slow response of church leaders to the needs of people with HIV/AIDS. Opening a workshop of faith-based communities from nine southern African countries, Njongonkulu said churches needed to acknowledge the sin of omission in their response to the pandemic.
In the Umzimkhulu district of the Eastern Cape, the widow of the late Chief of the AmaBhaca, Zaineth Bly and a few elderly women have taken it upon themselves to look after orphans whose parents have died of AIDS-related illnesses. Bly says this group of elderly women felt that there was a need to help the children who are living alone without parents or relatives. Poverty and hunger are the most pressing issues, leading some of the children to steal food to stay alive.
A report on sexual offences against children by the South African Human Rights Commission is due to be released this month. Entitled "Sexual Offences Against Children - Does the Criminal Justice System Protect Children?", the report concludes that the justice system is failing.
Last year alone, 1 732 children were raped in the Western Cape. That is according to figures provided by the Child Protection Unit in the province. The CPU says when dissected the figure accounts for 866 cases of rape committed on girls younger than 18, plus an equal number of rapes on boys of the same age group. However, the figure could be higher. The statistics record some 2 469 cases under a category of "Rape and Attempted Rape of females under 18." It's anyone's guess how many girls represented in this figure were actually raped. Yet, these figures only reflect cases that have been reported to the police.
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