Children with learning difficulties not only have to live with their problem, but also the labels that go with them. While some learning difficulties are neurological, some children struggle simply because they have not been exposed to books and pencils.
The growing problem of drug dependency and alcoholism among youth worldwide is well documented. At the 10th World Congress of the International Commission for the Prevention of Alcoholism and Drug Dependency held recently in Cape Town, several presentations focused on how to protect teenagers from dangerous choices. A crucial element it seems, is in meaningful relationships between adults and children.
The need for cheap alternatives to hospitalisation for patients with AIDS-related diseases has led to increasing government support for home-based care. However, a study released by the Centre for Health Policy at the University of the Witwatersrand warns that home-based care is not always a cheaper solution. The study shows that home-based care also needs resources, even if the programme relies mainly on volunteers.
Flu experts hold different views as to which strain of influenza is going to hit South Africans hardest this winter, but they all agree on one thing: a flu jab is a must. An anti-flu vaccine administered in March will help boost your ability to resist the virus or to recover quicker from the flu should it strike.
A wild plant that produces beans and potato-like roots, for decades harvested by the San people in Nambia, is showing huge potential towards solving many malnutrition and hunger problems in Africa, but specifically southern Africa. The marama bean is proving to be a very versatile legume, say researchers at the University of Cape Town.
A resourceful attitude and creative approach to the humble plastic soft drink bottle have produced a new device to help children with asthma inhale their medication. Researchers at the University of Cape Town and the Red Cross Children'€™s hospital have designed a local version of the inhaler-spacer which costs just R1 to make and is just as effective as commercial spacers which cost about R160. The plastic bottle spacers will soon be distributed free of charge to primary health care facilities throughout the Western Cape. The device is good news given that between 10 and 15% of children in South Africa suffer from asthma.
The biggest killer in history has not been TB or warfare, and  projections suggest that not even AIDS will  kill as many people as a parasite injected into the bloodstream by a female Anopheles mosquito: malaria. South Africa is not immune. With more than 43 000 cases and 310 deaths reported since September last year, experts are warning that the worst is yet to come, particularly as there has been heavy rainfall over the past few weeks in KwaZulu/Natal, the Northern Province and Mpumalanga the country's malaria hotspots.
Giving some patients priority over over may be tough, but it is necessary if the TB epidemic is to be beaten with limited resources. This is the logic of international experts who are urging South Africa to pour resources into curing new cases of ordinary TB rather than spending any more money trying to treat multiple drug-resistant TB. Â "Pay attention to the new cases and fix them the first time around or they become retreatment and multiple drug-resistant cases. First we need to shut the tap," says Professor Don Enarson from the World Health Organisation TB review team.
Sex workers are leading the fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS on the mines around Carltonville. The challenge is daunting -- a recent survey shows 47 percent of women and 40 percent of men from both the township and the shacks are HIV positive, while 28 percent of mineworkers are infected. However, since the Carltonville AIDS project, Mothusimpilo ("working together for health"), started almost two years ago, it has trained 90 sex workers as peer educators. The results have been phenomenal. In a recent survey, eight out of 10 sex workers reported using a condom every time they had sex. Last year, only two out of 10 of the women were using condoms.
The question is simple, the answer is not. How do you explain the fact that South Africa has one of the best AIDS plans in the world, but also the fastest growing epidemic?
"We are burying about three truck drivers a day because of AIDS, and at this rate we will have no drivers left by 2003," says Paul Matthew, acting chief executive office of the Road Freight Association'€™s training board. But even though forecasts for the trucking industry are dire, Matthew says it'€™s a "slow process" getting employers to put money into fighting the epidemic.
When she realised she was HIV positive, Faghmeda Miller'€™s first thoughts were: "I have shamed my family, they are going to shun me". But the church needs to be able to offer hope and acceptance to people living with AIDS.
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.
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 on how to treat severely malnourished children.
The Directorate of Public Prosecution may reinstate murder charges against the killers of AIDS activist Gugu Dlamini following public outcry.
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