Health
Is drug-use amongst South African youth increasing
There has been an alarming increase in the proportion of adolescent patients at drug treatment centres countrywide, according to Charles Parry of the Medical Research Council. In Cape Town, for example, the proportion of patients under 20 drug treatment centres in Cape Town has more than doubled since 1996 from 6% to 15% in 1999.
Medical Research Council honours black researchers
For the first time the Medical Research Council honoured two black researchers for their contributions to medical research. The role of the MRC in the coming years is to do research to provide the most up-to-date scientific evidence to allow the public and policymakers to make informed choices.
Thulani battles hunger
When Sipetu Hospital’s matron, Eugenia Ngewu, stood up to pray asking for an end to malnutrition in their community, she had little Thulani (5) in mind. He arrived at Sipetu and was immediately diagnosed with Kwashiorkor, a form of severe malnutrition.
Beating back hunger
Driving to the Sipetu and Mary Theresa hospitals in the Eastern Cape is not for the fainthearted, but every month hundreds of people brave the potholes, mud (when it’s raining) and distances in excess of 50km to bring their severely malnourished children for treatment. More than a year ago most of the mothers would have probably returned home alone, but a simple, cost-effective intervention has seen a huge decrease in the death rates of malnourished children. The developing world is now looking towards the Mt Frere and Sipetu communities, one of the most under-resourced regions in South Africa, for answers
Breast could be best – even for HIV-postive mother
Breastfeeding is still the best option – even for HIV positive mothers, according to the findings of a recent study by researchers at the University of Natal, Durban which has caught the attention of international AIDS researchers.
AIDS orphans betrayed by greedy relatives
The betrayal of Phiwe and Muzi is made all the more difficult because government has no apparent plans for AIDS orphans.
New hope for curbing malaria
South Africa, Mozambique and Swaziland this week launched a R40-million, five-year programme aimed at controlling the spread of malaria. The control of malaria has also been complicated by the development of drug-resistant strains, forcing up the drug treatment costs. However, last year the World Health Organisation tested another drug in the Ndumo area that may be a useful addition to treatment options.
Scare-tactics don’t work
Rather than preach about the dangers of HIV, condom-promotion should show that when people are comfortable with, and in control of, their sexuality, condoms do not result in unsatisfactory sex.