Mercy Makhalemele has been thrown out of home, fired from her job, rejected and beaten, all because people discovered she was HIV positive. She is now open and outspoken about her life and the virus she lives with. Listen to her talk about living with AIDS.
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.
If party political promises would translate into improved basic health care, the lives of many underprivileged South African would be transformed - and yet when it come to health issues most parties are only interested in beating the HIV/AIDS drum to woo voters. By Anso Thom
In the past ten years, conservative estimates show that the HIV infection rate has risen from 0,2% in 1990 to 22,4% in 1999. Clearly the prevention message has not been heard. In this week's feature, health workers in the Western Cape speak out about what they think should be said and done.
Mavis Mtandeki is utterly convinced of the importance of talking to her children about sex. 'We can't hide just because our parents didn't want to talk about sex.' Mavis and another parent, sex educator and clinic nurse share their thoughts on talking to children about sex.
Suzanne believes in not telling children more than they ask when it comes to sex. 'Don't overload them,' says the mother of Cape Town teenager Catherine (14).
It can be uncomfortable talking about sex and sexuality because it's such a private thing, acknowledges psychologist and guidance counsellor, Ingrid Owens, but she has no doubt that children want to talk.
An initiative, aimed at striking a balance between the need to sustain and conserve the natural medicinal plant resources and the growing demand for products from traditional healers, will be launched in Mpumalanga at the end of this month. ANSO THOM reports.
In this programme, we spend a few minutes in the company of satirist Pieter Dirk Uys as he does his one-man AIDS awareness show for school pupils at Simonstown School. In the audience at this performance is the health minister, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang. Sue Valentine reports.
Some mining companies have adopted a controversial new approach to HIV prevention which involves the ongoing use of antibiotics among women at high risk of spreading STDs. The programme translates into a saving of almost R4 million per annum to the mining companies involved.
The Medicines Control Council last week approved a new HIV/AIDS antiretroviral drug that combines AZT and 3TC. But it's going to cost patients over R1 000 per month. By ANSO THOM.
Sindiswa Gondwana is HIV positive, but lives a full and active life, thanks largely to the support of friends and family. She believes firmly in the value of support groups and is herself a volunteer who visits people who are HIV positive, encouraging them to adopt an optimistic approach to life.
The Gates Foundation will now devote at least two-thirds of its $21 billion charity fund to third world healthcare. "The worlds poorest two billion people desperately need healthcare, not laptops," he reportedly said to the dismay of America's business community. Jo Stein reports.
Evidence from over 35 studies is increasingly showing that male circumcision provides significant protection against heterosexual HIV infection and that circumcised males are two to eight times less likely to become infected by women with the virus. Some researchers say the jury is still out on the procedure, others are calling for immediate implementation. Anso Thom investigates
Rapid HIV tests, which allow you to get your HIV test result within a few minutes, should be in use country-wide within the course of next year. But only those rapid tests used in government health facilities have been properly evaluated for reliability. Quality control of the other brands on the market is not yet assured. Jo Stein reports
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