Free State community marches against TB
Bethlehem community members in the Free State recently marched against tuberculosis (TB) in an effort to promote testing and treatment.
Health
Read More » Free State community marches against TB
True Life: “I’ve never seen an ambulance”
On the heels of the recent South African Human Rights Commission’s hearing on the lack of emergency medical service in the Eastern Cape, OurHealth speaks to one woman who says she has never seen an ambulance in 35 years.
Schools go green to beat hunger
Khangezile Primary School east of Johannesburg has been chosen as one of eight schools nationwide to help pilot new, eco-friendly ways for women to feed their families.
True Life: Flipping the switch, hearing again
Hearing her mother’s voice for the first time in five years brought tears to her eyes, writes tuberculosis (TB) activist Phumeza Tisile just weeks after cochlear implants restored the hearing multidrug-resistant TB treatment took from her.
Slideshow: Left for dead in the Eastern Cape
Dozens of people recently testified before the South African Human Rights Commission about the Eastern Cape's lack of emergency medical services and patient transport. Testimonies paint a stark picture of the thin line between life and death in the rural Eastern Cape.
Villagers spend ‘as much as R40 million’ on emergency transport
Eastern Cape villagers are being forced to pay up to R800 each way to transport sick family members to clinics and hospitals as bad roads, ambulance shortages and poorly trained staff conspire against critically-ill patients fighting for their lives.
Eastern Cape dying for EMS services
Xolise Sam watched his sister, Tumeka, writhe in pain for almost a week before she died in Frere Hospital’s Ward Four. She lay screaming in between the seizures that had begun to jolt her frail frame as Xolisile dialled “112” for emergency services again and again.
Johnny Clegg donates R100,000 to TAC
South African musician Johnny Clegg has donated R100,000 to AIDS lobby group the Treatment Action Campaign to mark World Tuberculosis (TB) Day.
MDR-TB: The struggle at home
After being diagnosed with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), Olebogeng Selumi was recently discharged from the Northern Cape’s Kimberley Hospital. Back at home, it is a daily struggle to stay on treatment – and keep his family safe.
South Africa launches massive TB screening programme
South Africa aims to test up to 6.2 million people for tuberculosis (TB) in the next three years, according to an announcement made yesterday by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa.
New book profiles early work of HIV activists
In 2002, only 25,000 HIV-positive South Africans had access to exorbitantly life-saving antiretrovirals (ARVs) costing thousands of rands. Today, the story is much different and a new book chronicles one of its most important chapters.
More than 40,000 prisoners screened for MDR-TB
More than 40,000 prisoners have been screened for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) this year as government attempts to tackle TB in correctional facilities.
Drug-resistant TB: The distance between
Tugela Ferry was the epicentre of a high profile and deadly outbreak of extensively drug-resistant (XDR) tuberculosis (TB) in 2006. Now, the rural community is pioneering new ways to treat drug-resistant TB, but patients still face a long road to treatment.
Editorial: Decentralise treatment for drug-resistant TB
Decentralised treatment of people with drug-resistant TB reaches more patients and is cheaper - yet government is dragging its feet to implement this approach, which it adopted as policy in 2011
Young women expelled for wearing trousers
Ntokozo Mathonsi, 18, says she should not have to wear a skirt to get an education. About two weeks after Ntokozo and seven other girls were suspended from an East Rand high school, the girls are back to school after the Department of Education intervened.