Eastern Cape – Health Care Crisis
Huge staff shortages and weak primary care are the two most pressing problems in the Eastern Cape health system, but there are signs of improvement in provincial management.
Women’s Health
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North-West Province ‘ Distance and Delivery
With serious staff shortages and a rural population of up to 65 percent, bringing health to the people of the North West Province is no easy job.
Rape survivors’ pressured to drop charges
South Africa has one of the highest incidences of rape in the world. In many cases, rape survivors do not press charges because of pressure from friends and family. This is the story of 19-year old Zoë who was attacked and raped by her ex-boyfriend last year in December in Uitenhage.
ARVs bring hope to Pondoland
An unconventional approach to health provision at the Medicins Sans Frontieres first rural HIV/AIDS programme in Lusikisiki has yielded impressive results.
Worrying trend of child rapists
There appears to be an increase in child rape including cases involving
children raping other children.
The cruellest cut
Contrary to popular belief, female genital mutilation is taking place in South Africa. At the National Conference on Gender Based violence in November, Magistrate Tshifiwa Maumela of Mutale District in Limpopo Province said that the practice was no longer something that took place only north of our borders.
Teen mothers often forced into sex
One in five teenage fathers admitted to forcing girls to have sex with them, and 30% of these forced sexual encounters resulted in the girls becoming pregnant.
High Risk
While there are no formal surveys, guesstimates are that about 22 percent of South African university undergraduate students are HIV positive. In this special report we investigate how tertiary institutions are dealing with the epidemic.
And on the seventh day they walked
Experts told him it was impossible do hip replacements in rural KwaZulu-Natal. But 'Rural Doctor of the Year' Victor Fredlund doesn't understand 'impossible'
Abortion ‘ six years later
Over a quarter of a million women have accessed safe, legal abortions since the implementation of the Termination of Pregnancy Act in South Africa six years ago. But many are still not aware that services are legal or even exist.
Risky sex for material girls
Young girls are increasingly using sex to bargain for non-essentials such as fashion items and make-up studies have found.
What’s wrong with South African men?
Gender inequality contributes to South Africa's high levels of violence, hampers economic development, places strain on our health care system and is fuelling the AIDS crisis.
Diaries of my womanhood
Cervical cancer or cancer of the womb is the second most common cancer in South Africa affecting one in every 41 women, according to the Cape Provincial Department of Health. Each year about 5000 new cases are detected and 1500 women die from cervical cancer. The good news is that this type of cancer is entirely curable if discovered in time. A simple pap smear can determine whether abnormal cells that may later become cancerous are present in the cervix. Thandeka Teyise went to Khayelitsha to watch a stage play, Diaries of my Womanhood, which aims to create awareness around cervical cancer and how men should get involved in their partner's health. She spoke to the director and the writer Itumeleng Wa-lehurele.
Depression and motherhood
About 34 percent of women who participated in a Khayelitsha study on mother and infant relationships showed signs of depression. The study titled 'Thula Sana' (a Xhosa lullaby) involved about 147 mothers and was conducted by the University of Cape Town Child Guidance clinic over a period of four years. Dr Mark Tomlinson, a senior researcher at the clinic, said a lack of spousal support was one of the leading factors in Post Natal Depression but that this was not the only cause. Added pressures are unemployment, poverty and single parenting. Dr Tomlinson also found that mood swings after women had given birth could impact adversely on the growth of the infant. Thandeka Teyise of Health-e News spoke to Dr Tomlinson about his research and future plans.
What kills women
Up to 150 women out of 100 000 die annually whilst still pregnant, during labour or shortly after giving birth in South Africa. That is the finding of a report published recently by the national Department of Health and that follows three years of monitoring and collecting data on the patterns of maternal deaths. Khopotso Bodibe reports.