What can be done in societies with a legacy of violence and division to help heal children to enable them to develop to their full potential and break the cycle of violence and poverty? Sue Valentine attended a meeting of the Northern Ireland-South African colloquium for a day of realistic and inspiring discussion of what interventions can make a difference.
Read More » Breaking the cycle of violenceLarge numbers of children as young as seven years old can recognise product logos and names - even for products they don't use such as cigarettes, snuff and beer.This, says Dr Krisela Steyn of the Medical Research Council, is all the more reason why the new tobacco control legislation should impose strict controls on the advertising of tobacco products and their logos.
Read More » Protecting kids from tobacco advertising
Nkosi Johnson is 11 years old and is living with AIDS. His mother died from AIDS when he was very young and he has grown up in Johannesburg with his adopted mother, Gail Johnson. Among the giant sets and razzmatazz of the opening ceremony of the 13th International AIDS conference in Durban in July, Nkosi cut a small figure as he stepped onto the stage to deliver his poignant message to the world.
Read More » Nkosi Johnson talks to the worldIf the rich consume more health resources than the poor, any efforts to redress the gap between the haves and have-nots must include a commitment to equity and not just equality. Sue Valentine attended a recent international workshop in the North West Province aimed at developing efective equity gauges to measure the gaps in health spending and resource allocation.
Read More » Making people countThe Tobacco Products Control Amendment Act, which comes into effect on October 1st, imposes tight controls on smoking in restaurants, pubs, shebeens, hotels and workplaces, as well as limiting tobacco advertising and the sale of tobacco products.
Read More » Smoking ‘ what the regulations say
Now that the delegates have left town, the exhibition halls emptied and the media centre silent, what impact has the 13th International AIDS conference had on efforts to prevent and treat the disease in our country? Sue Valentine reports
Read More » The highs and lows of the AIDS 2000 conferenceThe 11th World Conference on Tobacco OR Health currently underway in Chicago has honoured the South African health ministry for its leadership in tobacco control.
Read More » S A wins Anti-Tobacco Award
The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) is heading for a showdown with the government if it does not approve the use of Nevirapine to prevent mother to child transmission of HIV. The question of giving Nevirapine to pregnant women is on the agenda for the next MINMEC meeting on August 12 when the Minister of Health, Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang is scheduled to meet with the provincial MECs for health.
Read More » Nevirapine ‘ when will we decide?DURBAN- "The challenge is to move from rhetoric to action," said Nelson Mandela at the closing ceremony of the AIDS 2000 conference, as he underlined the importance of safer sex, the use of condoms and interventions to stop mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS.
Read More » Mandela stills the tormented hearts of South AfricansDURBAN- "The challenge is to move from rhetoric to action," said Nelson Mandela at the closing ceremony of the AIDS 2000 conference, as he underlined the importance of safer sex, the use of condoms and interventions to stop mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS.
Read More » MandelaDURBAN - More than 5 000 scientists re-affirmed their assertion that HIV causes AIDS and endorsed the Durban Declaration at the AIDS 2000 conference yesterday. (Thursday).
Read More » Scientists re-affrim assertion that HIV causes AIDSDURBAN - The South African government should be in a position to make a decision about the provision of Nevirapine to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS by this afternoon. (Friday)
Read More » Government should decide on Nevirapine by the end of the conference – Coovadia
The South African Department of Health is "very pleased" with the results announced by researchers working on the Nevirapine Trials which showed a significant reduction in mother-to-child transmission of HIV.
Read More » More work before Health Department considers Nevirapine
Addressing delegates at the AIDS 2000 conference on the role of gender and sexuality in the transmission of HIV/AIDS , Dr Geeta Rao Gupta said that "Empowering women does not disempower men".
Read More » Empower women to combat the spread of HIV/AIDSDURBAN - The Medical Research Council of South Africa has received more than R100 million over five years to establish two new research units for the study of HIV/AIDS prevention strategies and vaccines.
Read More » MRC receives R100-m boost
