South Africa , faced with one of the most severe HIV/Aids epidemics in the world, grapples daily with the challenges around education, prevention and management of the pandemic. A UNAids report estimates that in 2005 1,2-million South African children were left orphaned by HIV/Aids, double the number in 2003. It was
Aids-related deaths in SA: 2 326 100 at noon on December 5 2007. Suhail Abu al-Sameed looked calm, yet he was shaking inside. He was seated before a row of ulama, distinguished Islamic scholars, from Afghanistan to Yemen , at the International Consultation on Islam and HIV/Aids, organised by the charity, Islamic Relief
As families disintegrate in the face of Aids and rural poverty bites deeper, a steady stream of jobseekers arrives in Johannesburg. After my parents died I lived with my aunt. At 13 she forced me to marry a man as old as my grandfather so I could live a comfortable life. I could not stand that man so I took a friend
A report by the Institute for Security Studies and Transparency International Zimbabwe claims that corruption and poor management are hampering the fight against HIV/Aids. The report, which will be launched on December 12, explores why the massive increase in South Africa s HIV/Aids funding on a national level has had
by providing only a single drug, nevirapine , to mother and child shortly before and after birth. A panel of experts has advised the department of health and Sanac that the minimum should be two antiretrovirals to ensure the mother is protected from drug resistance. The panel also recommended that pregnant women be
Scottish singer and one-time Eurythmics member Annie Lennox is launching a new charity single titled Sing on Saturday, World Aids Day. The singer -- who is a global ambassador for charity Oxfam -- will be performing at former president Nelson Mandela s 46664 Aids-campaign concert in Johannesburg on Saturday. She was al
South Africa officially has the highest prevalence of HIV/Aids in the world, according to the annual United Nations report on the pandemic released last week. Critics say this does not come as a surprise, considering the government s controversial HIV/Aids policy. The past year recorded South Africa s lowest moments
Bombarded by HIV/Aids campaigns, South Africans have grown almost immune to the messages so crucial in the fight against the pandemic. For many it is a case of we ve heard it all before . This is why many organisations have put on their creative shoes to find unique ways to reach affected people and help them cope. I
Africa needs to realise that without dealing with the issue of women, there will be no progress in turning HIV/Aids around, says the United Nations special envoy for HIV/Aids in Africa, Elizabeth Mataka. Unless we empower women we will remain with limited success, she says. We need to build capacity and women s leader
Reports that HIV-positive prisoners at Durban s Westville Correctional Centre are receiving inadequate HIV/Aids therapy have caused a stir. The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) and the South African Human Rights Commission (HRC) disclosed last week that they had received reports from prison inmates detailing their pligh
Aids-related deaths in South Africa : 2 312 761 at noon on November 21 2007. On the rise: China s capital has registered 973 new HIV/Aids cases so far this year, a jump of more than 50% from 2006, state media reported on Wednesday. Incidents of the disease are still on the rise in Beijing and it is spreading from the h
Because of the effect of HIV/Aids on a company s workforce, corporate social responsibility programmes benefit not only local communities, but also the company s bottom line. The SA Business Coalition against HIV/Aids, or Sabcoha, says that more than 90% of people with HIV/Aids are workers, managers or employers. Sabco
Winner - Most Innovative Award: Themba Interactive Theatre The audience is riveted as the story on the stage takes shape. Some members silently curse the evil spirit that is slowly draining the lives of the main characters. But, all is not lost, you can fight back against the evil demon, better known as HIV/Aids. This
Winner -- Investing in Life: Metropolitan Holdings Limited: Live the Future Taking inspiration from the seasons, Metropolitan Holdings has developed an innovative strategy to battle HIV/Aids at grassroots level. Using the Doyle model -- an actuarial tool developed by MD Peter Doyle to project the demographic effect of
Winner -- Investing in Life (Internal Workplace Policy): New Clicks As HIV/Aids makes inroads into South Africa s skills base, more companies are waking up to the idea of investing in employees through an innovative and comprehensive workplace programme. The New Clicks Group launched its Employee Wellness Programme (EW
Merit Award -- Investing in the Future Corporate Award: First National Bank Fund and the Hospice and Palliative Care Association (HPCA) HIV/Aids has forced all sectors of society to respond to the ravages of the epidemic -- from businesses and health insurers to educational institutions. It has forced those who care fo
Brenda has a dragon in her blood by Hijltje Vink (Garamond; distributed by Biblionef SA) R35 Existing literature and learning materials on HIV/Aids are targeted mainly at adults, therefore it is timely and fitting to have books that cater for children. Bringing children into the equation could help demystify the pandem
The measure of devastation wrought by HIV/Aids may be impossible to quantify in human and financial terms but, using tools such as the Household Vulnerability Index, it is possible to begin measuring the effects of the epidemic on households and communities. Developed by the Food, Agriculture and Policy Analysis Networ
Aids-related deaths in South Africa : 2 279 558 at noon on October 17 2007. High fall-out rate: More than a third of patients on HIV medication in sub-Saharan Africa die or discontinue their treatment within two years of starting it, a survey shows. The study found that many start taking antiretrovirals (ARVs) too late
The Africa Centre for Health and Population Studies based in Mtubatuba, KwaZulu-Natal, has received a major funding boost of £15-million over a five-year period from the Wellcome Trust in the United Kingdom to undertake cutting-edge research in HIV/Aids. The Africa Centre is a joint initiative of the University of KwaZ
Aids-related deaths in South Africa : 2 259 638 at noon on September 26, 2007 Broken promises: The British government stands accused of breaking its G8 pledge to help defeat Aids after it revealed it would only marginally increase its contribution to the Global Fund for Aids, Malaria and Tuberculosis. The Internati
Aids-related deaths in South Africa : 2 253 001 at noon, September 19, 2007 Unpopular contraceptive: The female condom has failed to take off in Kenya , depriving women of one of the few means over which they have control of protecting themselves against HIV infection in male-dominated societies. The introduction
In 1999 global pharmaceutical and healthcare company Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) and the BMS Foundation made what to this day is the largest corporate commitment to fight HIV/Aids in Africa. This came through the launch of Secure the Future (STF): Care and Support for Women and Children with HIV/Aids. The programme is a
Responding effectively to the HIV/Aids and tuberculosis epidemics is a challenge for companies such as gold producer AngloGold Ashanti for business and moral reasons. The burden of both diseases in the local mining industry is high. Similarly, the high incidence of malaria in the company s Africa operations calls for e
Since doctors diagnosed the first case of Aids in Botswana in 1985, the disease has spread through the population of 1,7 million at a staggering rate. Today, 25% of adults aged 15 to 49 are infected with HIV. Life expectancy in this small sub-Saharan country has plunged from over 65 to about the age of 52. The Merck Sh
South Africa s presidency presented a challenge to Stellenbosch University towards the end of 2000 -- to develop a programme that addresses the HIV/Aids pandemic. So was born the postgraduate diploma in the management of HIV/Aids, which has now been accepted as a model for the African continent. The diploma has achieve
Obituary Professor Ruben Sher, the man who predicted 20 years ago that HIV/Aids would become a biological holocaust in South Africa , has died at the age of 78. Under apartheid, and at a time when the disease was seen as a problem of white homosexuals, he was the stubborn, forthright and vocal prophet warning of the lo
Embattled Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang has once again tried to put a spanner in the works of the South African National Aids Council, but has failed to secure the support she was hoping for. The Mail & Guardian learnt that civil society supporters of Tshabalala-Msimang were lobbying for a new positio
Aids-related deaths in South Africa : 2 246 361 at noon on September 12, 2007 Volunteers help fight against Aids: Although scientists hope that a vaccine will eventually offer the best protection against HIV infection, the complex biology of the virus has posed constant challenges and even a partially effective vaccine
You saw Tina*? She got fucked up here this morning: Candice* banged [hit] her and left her. You saw her? asks Karen*, a teen prostitute, as her friend Denise* approaches. Even at midday on a Wednesday the space on the kerb of Silverglen Drive near the Sol Namara Hotel in Chatsworth appears to be at a premium. And it s
Estimated worldwide HIV infections: 2 226 442 at noon on August 22, 2007 Laying down the law:The HIV-prevalence rate in Madagascar may be lower than that in Southern Africa countries, but the levels of stigma and discrimination are just as high. Activists and government officials are hoping that a recently introduced l
Researchers have called for a debate on mandatory HIV testing for pregnant women and newborn children in South Africa to protect both the mothers and their infants from the ravages of the virus. In an article in the American Journal of Public Health, two former University of the Witwatersrand bioethicists say that betw
The highly regarded head of the government s Aids unit, Nomonde Xundu, resigned but withdrew her notice pending negotiations with the health department s director-general Thami Mseleku. Four sources within government and civil society confirmed independently that Xundu was on her way out. Contacted this week, Xundu did
President Thabo Mbeki is not about to intervene in the rapidly deteriorating relationship between Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang and her deputy, Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge -- despite their clash over conditions at the Mount Frere Hospital in the Eastern Cape. Madlala-Routledge described conditions at the hospi
The promulgation of certain sections of the new Children s Act on July 1 has caught the attention of the public and media. Some have applauded, others have said it is controversial and they are up in arms about it. Those in favour say the Act deals effectively with the pragmatic concerns of our time -- HIV/Aids, burgeo
South Africa has regained its number-one spot as the country with the greatest number of HIV-positive people, after the official estimate of India s HIV-positive population was more than halved. It is now estimated that 2,47-million people out of India s more than 1,1-billion population have HIV, down from 5,7-millio
Estimated worldwide HIV infections: 2 186 609 at noon on July 11, 2007 Thousands of pregnant women have been tested for HIV since Liberia introduced a programme to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmissions eight months ago, according to the National Aids Control Programme (NACP). The turnout of pregnant women at hospi
Since the other people in my village found out I was infected with HIV, many of them stopped talking to me. Others refuse to shake my hand. They are scared to buy my products or drink my husband s joala [traditional brewed beer], says Maithabeleng Maneela (36). While dark, ominous clouds gather above the hills in the
Aids-related deaths in South Africa : 2 180 024 at noon on July 4, 2007 Assumptions that war and refugee crises fuel HIV/Aids epidemics have been disproved by a study of seven sub-Saharan African countries, which found no evidence that higher HIV infection rates accompany conflict. A study published in The Lancet f
Is mandatory HIV testing for all what South Africa needs to fight the epidemic? Statistics show that there are about 1 500 new HIV infections a day. The call for mandatory testing, which is now finding greater space in the public discourse, took me back a few years, when a close friend died of Aids. He died despite hav
Aids-related deaths in SA: 2 166 687 at noon on June 20, 2007 Zambian scare: Contamination of the Aids drug Viracept created panic among HIV-positive Zambians on antiretroviral therapy. Roche, the Swiss manufacturers, announced that some batches of Viracept had been accidentally contaminated with mesylate, prompting a
Deaths in South Africa are rising, largely as a result of three illnesses linked to HIV and Aids, Statistics SA has disclosed. A Stats SA report, Mortality and Causes, released on Thursday found that between 2004 and 2005 the number of recorded deaths increased by 3,3%. The first three leading underlying natural causes
Schools may well be feeling helpless in the face of the spiralling rate of HIV infections, especially in the 14- to 25-year-old age group. Learners resist the information that is officially on offer and we don t seem to be hitting the mark. But a recent survey (August to December 2006) -- conducted by The Kaiser Family
Aids-related deaths in South Africa : 2 133 490 at noon on May 16, 2007 Spotlight on Malawi : Small Aids organisations in Malawi are being monitored after a recent move by the National Aids Commission (NAC) to suspend financial aid to them because many cannot account for funds allocated to them. But community-based
Satirist Pieter-Dirk Uys has entered the controversy surrounding stadiums for the Soccer World Cup in 2010, suggesting just one fewer stadium would allow for the perfection of the female condom, so billions of women around the world have the capacity to protect themselves . That was just the start of the stabs he took
Aids-related deaths in South Africa : 2 120 225 at noon on May 2, 2007 Walk the talk: Urgent action by African leaders is needed if they are to make good on commitments to roll back the Aids pandemic. Speakers at this week s Social Aspects of HIV/Aids and Health Research Alliance (Sahara) conference, Innovations in Ac
Aids-related deaths in South Africa : 2 113 571 at noon on Wednesday April 25, 2007 Slander: Libyan Judge Salem Hamrouni last Sunday postponed a hearing in the slander trial brought against six medical workers sentenced to death for allegedly intentionally infecting hundreds of Libyan children with HIV. The judge p
There has been a lot of noise about the so-called victory over insurance companies for people living with HIV/Aids. The new approach means that a family member or any other nominated beneficiary will be paid out the insurance money when an existing policyholder dies of an Aids-related illness. Families will no longer h
Estimated HIV deaths in South Africa : 2 106 935 as at April 18, 2007 HIV-negative please: Young Ugandans living with HIV prefer to date partners who are not HIV-positive. This was revealed in a study among adolescents living with HIV at the Paediatric Infectious Diseases Clinic (PIDC) in Mulago, Kampala. Presentin
There is a veil of secrecy over the Lacey Road informal settlement in Sydenham, Durban: a purdah stitched with denialism and stigma, which home-based care-giver Bongi Hlongwa (24) believes is hampering the fight against HIV/Aids in this community of more than 500 people. I m caring for 10 people, of which only one has
Two and a half decades of research have produced increasing returns in combating the HIV/Aids epidemic, with dramatic improvements in treatment and greater awareness of potential ways to stop the spread of the virus. What has not kept pace is the ability to get these medical interventions to people in need. No matter h
In May last year the South African National Aids Council (Sanac) mandated the department of health to begin drafting a new five-year National Strategic Plan for HIV/Aids, following the end of the term of the previous five-year plan. What began as a fairly low-key process in the bureaucratic realm, however, was rapidly
Working with people dying of HIV/Aids is not a pleasant task, but every day thousands of carers around South Africa travel from home to home, offering help and compassion to people in their final hours. Volunteers are the silent heroes in this fight, says palliative paediatrician Michelle Meiring, who works at the new
Government concedes that the aim of halving the rate of HIV infections in the next five years is ambitious, but says it is an inspirational target. The other main target of the new plan is to provide care and treatment to 80% of those who are HIV positive. Last month government and civil society agreed on the National
Babies of HIV-positive mothers are twice as likely to become infected by the virus if they are given formula milk in addition to breast milk, and the risk rises eleven-fold if they are given solid foods, South African researchers have found. Exactly why mixing breastfeeding with other foods increases the risk of HIV in
Aids-related deaths in South Africa : 2 087 010 at noon on March 28, 2007 TB infections: Tuberculosis cases are rising rapidly in the Mozambican coastal town of Beira, according to local doctors. The city of half a million, which is the capital of the country s most HIV/Aids-affected province, logged 2 736 new TB cases
They were talking about a revolution in Benoni this week -- a revolution in health and social care that may finally stem the tide of HIV/Aids in South Africa , reduce the human pain and even regain some of the ground that has been lost to the epidemic. This week, the national consultation conference on the draft HIV an
Number of Aids-related deaths in South Africa : 2 073 735 at noon on Wednesday March 14, 2007 Longer life: Far more African babies infected with HIV by their mothers may survive to puberty than previously thought -- but the health services are ill-equipped to deal with HIV-positive teens who need special care. The
South Africa s healthcare inflation is far higher than that of industrialised countries, and excessive pricing is rife in the private healthcare industry, according to a new report released this week that says in just five years, private hospital costs have risen more than 45%. This is according to a report by the Coun
Aids-related deaths in South Africa : 2 067 095 at noon on Wednesday March 7, 2007 Targeting business: The Namibian government has called on Namibian companies to include HIV and Aids activities in their annual budgets. At a meeting to discuss the impact of HIV/Aids on the transport sector, Works Deputy Minister Steve
The Mail & Guardian is reliably informed that at least three times a week hundreds of prisoners are bused to commercial farms owned by politicians and the army s top brass in Mashonaland East and Central, Bulawayo and Harare provinces. We received information during our tour of prisons that politicians were using t
Children are leaving their homes in increasing numbers in a desperate quest for survival. Some leave after being orphaned by Aids, others migrate to the cities to seek jobs and escape the food shortages caused by cycles of drought and flood. Many flee in the wake of political upheavals. Cities such as Johannesburg are
Finance Minister Trevor Manuel highlighted under-capacity in the struggling healthcare system in this week s budget. His department is expecting the number of people who will receive HIV/Aids treatment through the state system merely to double in the next three years, an estimate that Aids experts say could mean that f
The people of the kingdom of Lesotho will go to the polls on Saturday to elect a new national assembly of 120 members after Head of state King Letsie III surprised the nation when he announced that the date of election would be brought forward to February from May this year. During the entire 90-day election campaign p
Estimated Aids in South Africa : 2 047 175 at noon on February 14, 2007 Island awareness: HIV prevalence on the semi-autonomous Tanzanian island of Zanzibar is on the rise, prompting officials to call for a more targeted response to HIV/Aids. According to government estimates, HIV figures have increased from 0,6% in 20
Teaching in South Africa has become one of the more challenging professions. Teachers do not only have to deal with a complex curriculum but also with a host of non-academic problems, including hungry, abused, sick, ill-disciplined, orphaned and abandoned learners. This results in fatigued, demoralised and frustrated t
Aids-related deaths in South Africa : 2 040 533 at noon on Wednesday February 7, 2007 Zim healthcare strike: As Zimbabwe s disgruntled doctors and nurses continue their strike over low salaries and poor working conditions, concern is growing about how the prolonged stayaway is affecting HIV-positive patients. Docto
South Africans have been denied the biggest advance in antiretroviral therapy over the last few years because of a lack of urgency in the drug registration process in South Africa, according to the Treatment Action Campaign. The TAC is calling for the urgent registration of Tenofovir , which
The signs are there. We are in a new age of denial. In 1999, President Thabo Mbeki, fresh in office and faced with the spectre of a new struggle, this time against HIV and Aids, turned his face away. He dabbled with fringe science, establishing a panel to attempt to refute that which was accepted by the world: that HIV
A week before President Thabo Mbeki s State of the Nation address, his age of hope , trumpeted in last year s speech, is at risk. Despite 96 straight months of economic growth his recent dismissal of concerns about of two of South Africa s most pernicious social ills -- crime and corruption -- have undercut public conf
Aids related deaths in South Africa : 2 033 893 at noon on January 31, 2007 ARVs for refugees: The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, has launched a new policy to ensure that HIV-positive refugees around the world have access to life-prolonging antiretroviral (ARV) medication. In line with refugee law, the new p
Aids-related deaths in South Africa : 2 027 253 at noon on January 24, 2007 Debate has been raging for some time about whether people with HIV should start treatment when their CD4 count drops to 350 or 200. A new study shows better results for patients who get an early start. Patients who start antiretroviral (ARV)
Aids-related deaths in South Africa at noon on Wednesday January 17 2007: 2 020 673 Syphilis epidemic: China is suffering its biggest wave of syphilis in more than 50 years as a cocktail of changing sexual mores and weakening public healthcare takes its toll on the world s most populous nation. The incidence rate o
Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the mother of all pathogens , able to create all its essential nutrients, eat its own cell wall without dying, and hide within the cells sent to kill it for decades. Under various names, including the white plague and consumption, TB has been around for thousands of years, with Egyptian mu
A Cape Town-based NGO, Gold Peer Education Development Agency, has designed a programme for the youth to educate their peers on how to prevent further spreading of HIV/Aids. This saw the agency winning the first prize of the inaugural Commonwealth Good Practice Awards -- held in Cape Town late last year during the conf
Mail & Guardian Online and Sapa - January 12, 2007
The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) reacted harshly on Friday to a charge of genocide laid against its head, Zackie Achmat, at the International Criminal Court earlier this week. In the 59-page criminal complaint in the court in The Hague in The Netherlands , Achmat is accused of promoting the provision and use of anti
Prediction is very difficult, especially of the future, said Nobel Prize-winning physicist Niels Bohr. His quote is particularly appropriate looking at the future impact of HIV/Aids in South Africa because the country faces a situation as yet unknown in human history. Historical, social and biological factors have cons
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