
Mentor mums for pregnant HIV+ women
In a first for South Africa, a national PMTCT (Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission) hotline, manned by HIV positive women who are part of the mothers2mothers (m2m) organization, has been launched.

In a first for South Africa, a national PMTCT (Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission) hotline, manned by HIV positive women who are part of the mothers2mothers (m2m) organization, has been launched.
Marie Stopes has been a granted an interim order allowing it to continue offering termination of pregnancy services in the Western Cape until a dispute with the Western Cape health department comes before the court in February next year.

The Cape High Court will today hear an urgent application by Marie Stopes clinics alleging that the actions of the Western Cape Provincial Department of Health have put women's right to access terminations of pregnancy under threat.
Although pregnancy is a good thing to most women, delivering the baby, which most women do at public hospitals, could be the most unpleasant experience, according to allegations of ill-treatment that they endure at the hands of nurses in public sector hospitals.
Government has claimed first evidence of a decline in South Africa's HIV/AIDS epidemic after its annual survey among pregnant women showed a 'statistically significant reduction' of HIV prevalence between 2005 and 2006.
Rape survivors are not getting the healthcare they need.
A unique programme investigating whether access to money can reduce rural women's vulnerability to HIV, shows that with economic power comes a sense of optimism. Researchers reckon that this leads to better health decisions, reduced health risks and improved gender relations.
Mention the Peri-natal HIV Research Unit to anyone working in the scientific and medical fields of AIDS, and the names Glenda Gray and James McIntyre will pop into mind. For many women, the two are the angels that have saved their babies' lives.
Women's rights to access abortion services are not under threat.
Densely populated, crime ridden; filthy and full of brothels is how Hillbrow is usually described. Sex workers thrive. The rate of sexually transmitted infections is high in such areas. Yet an HIV Voluntary Counselling and Testing programme introduced a few years ago is showing positive results. And a number of women in this area celebrate Women's Day with vigour ' knowing that they have a clean bill of health.
Social conditions such as poverty and gender inequalities play a major role in driving the AIDS epidemic in South Africa. Often, it is women who are at the mercy of such conditions. A unique pilot project in the remote villages of Limpopo and Mpumalanga is using micro-finance to intervene.
HIV-positive pregnant women are more likely to experience pregnancy-related complications than HIV-negative pregnant women. This is according to a study by Wits University's Department of Nursing Education.
In the aftermath of the Zuma trial, two prominent male gender activists reflect on the lessons they have learnt.
Thousands of women in South Africa and elsewhere have volunteered for the world's largest clinical trials to test the efficacy of a range of microbicides, that, if successful, could prevent at least 2,5 million new infections in the developing world, over the next five years.
Guns are the weapon of choice for South African men who kill their partners, yet authorities seldom remove firearms from men who have a history of domestic violence.