Migrant nurse tells of UK experience
For the last 10 years, professional nurse AILEEN TURNER has commuted between Cape Town and London in an attempt to make a decent living doing what she does best.
Read More » Migrant nurse tells of UK experience
Malaria
Doctors forced to commit fraud
The commuted overtime system in Western Cape hospitals is so out of touch with reality that it cannot be implemented without resorting to widespread fraud. Dr Louis Reynolds, Senior Specialist at Red Cross Children's Hospital shares his personal views in this month's edition of Critical Health Perspectives.
Read More » Doctors forced to commit fraudFunding will determine scope of ARV roll out
Preparation for the roll-out of a state-funded antiretroviral treatment programme requires not only careful co-ordination, but a rigorous debate on how much money should be spent on the programme and where it will come from. by Dr. Nicoli Nattrass
Read More » Funding will determine scope of ARV roll out
Speech by Stephen Lewis, UN Special Envoy on HIV/AIDS in Africa
I've been in this Envoy role for just over two years. The issues related to the pandemic ebb and flow, but remain much the same --- care, prevention, treatment, stigma, discrimination, gender, orphans, leadership --- they all continue to reverberate, unceasingly, as we struggle to overcome HIV/AIDS.
Read More » Speech by Stephen Lewis, UN Special Envoy on HIV/AIDS in AfricaFull text of the Minister of Health’s Budget Speech
Read the full text of the Minster of Health's budget speech presented to parliament on May 13.
Read More » Full text of the Minister of Health’s Budget SpeechYouth bear brunt of impact – new report
A report released at the Barcelona International AIDS conference says that if current trends continue, the number of young people living with HIV/AIDS could rise from the present estimate of 12,4 million to 21,5 million by the end of this decade. This has particular implications for sub-Saharan Africa where large proportions of many country's populations are under 18 years of age.
Read More » Youth bear brunt of impact – new reportWhatever skin you’re in, cover up
Skin cancer is not a disease that threatens only fair-skinned South Africans. Darker skins are at risk too and everyone should take protection against the dangers of melanoma. by Tim Dodd
Read More » Whatever skin you’re in, cover up‘Slip, Slop, Slap’ – lessons from Australia
Despite similar incidence of skin cancer in Australia and South Africa, the authorities "down under" have acted far more decisively to ensure that the public understands the dangers of over-exposure to the sun's harmful rays. South Africa needs to get beyond the misperception that skin cancer is something that affects only a pale minority. by Tim Dodd
Read More » ‘Slip, Slop, Slap’ – lessons from AustraliaHealth summit must plan for antiretroviral therapy – TAC
The Treatment Action Campaign says the benefits of antiretroviral therapy far outweigh the risks and has called on delegates at the National Health Summit to begin to examine how such therapy can be made available to South Africans with AIDS through the public health service. by Tim Dodd
Read More » Health summit must plan for antiretroviral therapy – TACWeighing up anti-malaria drugs
For South Africans living in malaria areas, DDT and bednets are among the means of combating malaria mosquitoes on a seasonal basis. For travellers to these parts, the side-effects of certain anti-malaria tablets are so severe that some are opting for sensible clothing and insect repellent as their prophylaxis of choice. by Tim Dodd
Read More » Weighing up anti-malaria drugsHope for the future: Ugandan youth turn back the HIV tide
"If you have a very big elephant and you want to eat it up, you start from all corners. That way you'll finish it up." So says Edith Mukisa, the founder of Uganda's Teenage HIV/AIDS Clinic in Naguru, just outside the capital Kampala.This is the philosophy that lies at the core of Uganda's multi-sectoral response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. And it's paying dividends. by Carolyn Dempster
Read More » Hope for the future: Ugandan youth turn back the HIV tide
Worst malaria season in decades
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.
Read More » Worst malaria season in decades