There is little doubt of the urgent need to involve citizens in community development. But current labour legislation discourages, rather than encourages, volunteering in South Africa. Non-governmental organisations operating on shoestring budgets cannot afford to employ additional staff and need all the voluntary help they can get.
Read More » Labour legislation discourages volunteering in South Africa"The future of surgery ' and medicine in general ' is not in blood and guts, but in bits and bytes," says University of Cape Town Prof of Cardiothoracic Surgery Ulrich Von Oppell.Von Oppell recently spent seven months at the University of Leipzig which, in his opinion, has one of the most up-to-date robotic theatres in the world. Apart from increasing surgical control and precision, robotic surgery makes possible new surgical procedures which could never be done by the human hand. JO STEIN reports.
Read More » Robotic surgery to become the normHIV positive mothers are often advised to bottle-feed their babies to avoid the possible transmission of HIV through breast-milk. This sets HIV-infected women apart from all other mothers, who are encouraged to breastfeed exclusively for six months. But exciting new research, conducted by Professor Anna Coutsoudis and colleagues at the University of Natal, shows that exclusive breastfeeding for the first three months may result in no greater risk of HIV transmission than exclusive bottle-feeding. Coutsoudis's findings still need to be confirmed by other studies. If they are confirmed, it will be extremely good news for HIV positive women, especially in developing countries such as South Africa where exclusive breastfeeding is cheaper, healthier, and a more socially acceptable option in many communities.
Read More » Breast or bottle? Don’t mix your milkVolunteering is no longer just for those with time and money to spare, it can be a major social force and will become a necessity in order to care for people with HIV/AIDS, says the director of The Volunteer Centre in Cape Town, Joan Daries.
Read More » Volunteers make all the differenceFor many young people, resigned to a life with few opportunities and a future without promise, sex is one of life?s few pleasures. But their lack of faith in the future means that many are not bothering to practice safe sex.
Read More » Safe sex undermined by pessimismThe Compensation Commissioner's Office has been strongly criticised for the time it takes to settle workers' occupational health claims. Some say this is the fault of companies that obstruct the commission's work, but regardless of where the blame lies, it is workers like Derick Wolfaardt who suffer the consequences. Jo Stein reports.
Read More » Workers’ compensation ‘ too little, too lateGail Johnson adopted Nkosi Johnson when he was three years old. Despite being HIV positive, Nkosi is now eleven. Nkosi dreamed the other night that a voice told him he must die. When Gail asked him if he wanted to die, Nkosi said, "No, not yet." "Well then," replied Gail, "We've got to fight."
Read More » Talking to HIV positive children about death and dyingBrett Anderson never thought he had contracted HIV. "I was as sick as a dog but I never thought of HIV despite having all the symptoms. It never crossed my mind. It simply wasn't real to me. Now, it's in my blood. It's part of my life," says the 28-year-old Capetonian.
Read More » Appreciating every day"Nobody says we shouldn't treat TB or cancer because we don't have the infrastructure or the ability to do so properly," said Dr Andy Grey from the Health System Trust in Durban. This was in response to Dr Mazuwa Banda from the World Health Organization, who argued at the AIDS 2000 conference that antiretroviral drugs should not be distributed in countries where "the basic requirements for [their] safe, effective use" are not in place.
Read More » Drugs are the bottom-lineDURBAN - If access to HIV treatment does not exist, should government's promote voluntary testing and counselling among its citizens? This was one of the issues debated at the AIDS 2000 conference this week.
Read More » Testing for HIV/AIDS – what’s the point?The "Positive Lives" exhibition features photos of HIV positive people from around the world in images which challenge the fear and prejudice that surround HIV.
Read More » Putting faces to the epidemicFor many young people, resigned to a life with few opportunities and a future without promise, sex is one of life's few pleasures. But their lack of faith in the future means that many are not bothering to practice safe sex.
Read More » Safe sex undermined by pessimismA new study in the latest American Journal of Epidemiology has confirmed what experts have long suspected - that HIV infection rates based on the national antenatal surveys could well be an underestimate.
Read More » HIV infection rates could be an underestimateThe Legal Resources Centre (LRC) in Pretoria has taken the workers' compensation commissioner to court twice in the last year - and won. The commissioner was found guilty of unreasonable delay and received a penalty in the form of interest payments. The LRC is now considering taking the commissioner to court again, this time concerning delays in the objection process whereby rejected claims can be disputed.
Read More » Patience with the worker’s compensation commission has run out.Until recently, the National Association for People Living with AIDS (NAPWA) has had a policy of hiring only HIV positive employees. However, NAPWA has been re-thinking this policy on the grounds that each and every South African is affected by the disease. Some also feel that the continuing distinction between HIV-positive and HIV-negative people runs the risk of feeding into the very prejudice and stigma which organisations such as NAPWA hope to overcome.
Read More » Who should speak for people living with HIV/AIDS?