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.
With their panties scrunched up in their hands, the girls laying in a row on the ground of a township football stadium range from five to 22 years old. The virginity tester, whose job it is to determine whether the girls are still virgins, uses the same pair of gloves for all 85 girls. Certificates are exchanged, at a cost of R5 each, for all but the three of the girls who "failed" the test. This is a scene described by University of Natal anthropologist, Suzanne Leclerc-Madlala who points out that regular virginity testing is gaining growing public support as an AIDS prevention strategy in South Africa, especially in KwaZulu'€“Natal.
"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.
HIV 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.
Volunteering 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.
For 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.
The 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.
Gail 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."
"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.
Brett 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.
DURBAN - 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.
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.
For 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.
A 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.
The 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.
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