South African Press Association - December 18, 2006
A state of emergency must be declared over the Aids pandemic sweeping South Africa and the country s teachers and the defence force mobilised to tackle the problem, the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) said on Monday. Briefing the media in Cape Town, PAC secretary general Achmad Cassiem said money to fund this could come
South African Press Association - December 15, 2006
President Thabo Mbeki should indeed go for a public HIV test, Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) leader Zackie Achmat said on Friday. Every business leader, every political leader, every trade union leader, should test publicly, Achmat said. Every church leader should. And our president. Including our president. His
South African Press Association - December 14, 2006
The world spent $17-billion battling disasters in 2005 but this was unevenly distributed, leaving many without help, the Red Cross Society said in Johannesburg on Thursday. A large chunk of this aid was spread unevenly, said the chairperson of the national standing committee for disaster management of the South African
South African Press Association - December 12, 2006
Deputy Health Minister Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge says she has not called on President Thabo Mbeki to set a leadership example and take an Aids test. Although I encourage people to test so that they know their HIV status, I did not, as a matter of fact, call upon the president to conduct a public test as claimed by the
South African Press Association - December 8, 2006
A recent judgement on the pricing of antiretroviral drugs will not affect an agreement between the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) and two major drug companies, the Aids Law Project said on Friday. On Wednesday, the Competition Commission was found to have acted beyond its power by agreeing not to refer a complaint abo
South African Press Association - December 6, 2006
The government s accelerated effort to contain the impact of HIV and Aids will move South Africa from a confrontational platform of reactive crisis management to a win-win platform of comprehensive response, the United Nations Children Fund (Unicef) said on Wednesday. Its comment comes after Deputy President Phumzile M
South African Press Association - December 5, 2006
At least 24 bids have been received for a multimillion-rand HIV/Aids communication tender, the Health Department said on Tuesday. The tender for the government HIV/Aids communication programme, Khomanani, closed on Friday, said spokesperson Sibani Mngadi. The winning service providers will provide communication support
South African Press Association - December 5, 2006
Good governance in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) was the key to dealing with HIV/Aids, Judge Edwin Cameron said on Monday. Where there are human rights abuse, we cannot deal properly with Aids, Cameron said in Johannesburg at the launch of the Aids Rights Alliance for Southern Africa s (Arasa s) rep
South African Press Association - December 1, 2006
Celean Jacobson
Vernon Gibbs and Tony Halls got married on Friday in South Africa s first gay wedding, a day after the government made same-sex marriages legal. The couple, who run a guest lodge and animal-rehabilitation centre on the south-western coast, donned their game-ranger outfits and went down to the local home affairs office
South African Press Association - November 17, 2006
Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang has urged South Africans to rise above their sectarian interests and unite in the fight against HIV and Aids. In an article on the African National Congress s (ANC) website on Friday, she called for the country s citizens to use World Aids Day on December 1 to join hands against
South African Press Association - November 16, 2006
Significant progress has been made implementing an anti-Aids drug programme in the Free State, the provincial health department said on Tuesday. Spokesperson Geralda Winkler said officials in the programme have been undergoing extensive training by the department s skills development unit. Training consists of issues o
South African Press Association - November 6, 2006
At an informal, unlicensed bar at a house in a remote corner of Soweto, men and women sip lukewarm beer, mingle, flirt and sometimes dance to driving and monotonous kwaito rhythms. They share a secret. The bar, called a shebeen in the townships, is one of the places where young, black gay people don t have to hide who
South African Press Association - November 6, 2006
The Department of Health is still key in the deliberations and implementation of all programmes related to HIV/Aids, the Presidency said in a statement on Monday. Government wishes to clearly state that the work of the Ministry and the Department of Health has not been altered or taken over, said spokesperson Thabang C
South African Press Association - November 6, 2006
Thomas Hartleb
A survey has revealed that 14 television and radio programmes and four print media campaigns to raise Aids awareness have had a very profound effect on people s attitude and behaviour. The survey shows that communication programmes have made a significant impact on key areas such as increasing condom use and HIV testin
South African Press Association - November 6, 2006
Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka has denied seeking to seize control of the country s HIV/Aids programme while the health minister is recovering from an illness. The Star newspaper on Monday reported her as saying that she had no idea where the story came from. A weekend report said Mlambo-Ngcuka and Deputy Heal
South African Press Association - November 3, 2006
Aids deaths in South Africa could be cut dramatically, reducing the epidemic to the level of a chronic illness and saving billions of dollars if the country adopted treatment practices followed in the United States , a study has found. It would take 38 years, but deaths would drop by 400 000, the number of those infect
South African Press Association - October 31, 2006
The South African National Aids Council is to be restructured to give it more decision-making powers, it said in a statement on Tuesday. The council, chaired by Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, met in Midrand to look at ways to restructure itself. It was agreed that governmental and non-governmental organisatio
South African Press Association - October 30, 2006
Researchers have suggested that treatment of patients with HIV infections in South Africa should start at higher CD4 cell counts. After studying untreated patients in the Cape Town area, they have identified a greater short-term risk of progression to Aids or death in South African patients with CD4 cell counts of 200-
South African Press Association - October 27, 2006
Those involved in the fight against HIV and Aids have to work together, Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka said on Friday. We have to make sure that our energy is dedicated to the fight against HIV and Aids and not against each other, she told a civil society Aids congress in Johannesburg. She also called for the
South African Press Association - October 26, 2006
Cape Town, South Africa - Much progress is being made in revamping the South African National Aids Council (Sanac) and boosting the fight against HIV/Aids, government communications (GCIS) head Themba Maseko said on Thursday. The revised comprehensive plan to combat and manage HIV/Aids is now being finalised, he told j
South African Press Association - October 25, 2006
Botswana has rolled out a programme to test six-month-old infants for HIV. A ceremony in Francistown was attended by Mark Dybul, the US ambassador and the global co-ordinator for the US Presidential Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar), the US embassy said in a statement today. Botswana is a Pepfar focus coun
South African Press Association - October 25, 2006
Cape Town, South Africa - The government will be spending close to R2,3-billion on its HIV/Aids programme by 2010, according to the mini-Budget tabled in Parliament on Wednesday. The figure was contained in the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement, which gave no breakdown of how the amount was arrived at. The bulk o
South African Press Association - October 18, 2006
Extreme drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) has been found across South Africa , the Medical Research Council (MRC) said on Tuesday. The national health laboratory services have analysed the laboratory data for the past 18 months and have shown that these cases are present in every province, the MRC s Dr Karin Weyer
South African Press Association - October 17, 2006
Without special efforts to test multi-drug resistant (MDR) patients for resistance to other drugs, government will be unaware of the presence of extreme drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) among TB patients, the director general of health said on Tuesday. Thami Mseleku was speaking at a TB workshop in Pretoria attende
South African Press Association - October 16, 2006
The number of patients awaiting antiretroviral (ARV) treatment is significantly lower than speculated, the Department of Health said on Monday. About 178 635 people had been initiated on antiretroviral therapy in the 262 accredited facilities in the country by June this year, said spokesperson Charity Bengu. She said 3
South African Press Association - October 13, 2006
The Gauteng Aids Conference concluded on Friday in Boksburg on the East Rand with delegates affirming the need to stop talking and take action. I have come to this conference for the last four years and heard the same thing; it s time to take some action, declared one delegate. We need tangible recommendations on the i
South African Press Association - October 13, 2006
Female deaths due to HIV/Aids quadrupled from 1997 to 2004, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) said on Friday. Speaking at the Gauteng Aids summit in Boksburg, Dr Hester Phillips of Stats SA said the very sharp increase in death rate due to HIV and related diseases is of great concern. There is also a huge increas
A nurse from Bushbuckridge in Mpumalanga has been found guilty of infecting her stepson with HIV after giving him an injection with contaminated blood, South African Broadcasting Corporation news reported on Thursday. Pinky Mabuza (33) stood trial in the magistrate s court at Mkuhlu near Hazyview. Victor Mathebula, the
There is an urgent need for civil society in South Africa to join the fight against HIV/Aids, the South African Council of Churches said on Tuesday. This pandemic is destroying lives. We want to save lives, but we can t do it on our own, the Reverend Desmond Lesejane said. He was addressing the media and representati
Voluntary testing among prison inmates and correctional services employees was encouraged at the launch of the Department of Correctional Services HIV/syphilis-prevalence survey in Pretoria on Monday. Offenders and officials need to know their status because the current 5% of known HIV cases among inmates is most proba
The mining, manufacturing, transport and finance industries were hardest hit by HIV/Aids, the South African Business Coalition of HIV/Aids (SABCOHA) said on Monday. These four industries are the most impacted. Businesses that are both capital and labour intensive at the same time are the most affected by HIV/Aids in th
South African Press Association - September 27, 2006
KwaZulu-Natal s chief health officer on Tuesday rejected media reports that deaths related to multi-drug resistant (MDR) tuberculosis (TB) had risen sharply. Dr Sibongile Zundu said the 182 people who had died from MDR tuberculosis was the total number of deaths since January 2005 up until September 19 this year. Sh
South African Press Association - September 26, 2006
Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang denied on Tuesday ever claiming that the use of certain fruits and vegetables by HIV/Aids patients could be an alternative to medical treatment. I challenge you to read all my statements and show me where this minister ever said it was an alternative. It is not, Tshabalala-Ms
South African Press Association - September 20, 2006
Government decision-makers are to be included on the South African National Aids Council (Sanac), it was announced on Wednesday. Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka briefed Cabinet on Wednesday on progress the recently established inter-ministerial committee (IMC) was making in resuscitating Sanac and managing gove
South African Press Association - September 19, 2006
Aids activists will on Tuesday set up hundreds of chairs outside Parliament, hoping to lure MPs to engage with civil society on challenges the country faces in fighting the pandemic. In front of Parliament we will have 450 chairs, one for each member of Parliament, to come meet with the public on the issue of HIV. We h
South African Press Association - September 19, 2006
Wendell Roelf
Veteran African National Congress (ANC) MP Ben Turok cut a lonely figure outside Parliament on Tuesday as opposition MPs seized on an invitation by HIV/Aids activists to participate in a people s parliament convened by the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC). I am here because I want to listen to the TAC. They are an inter
South African Press Association - September 18, 2006
The Treatment Action Campaign was eager to meet the newly created inter-ministerial committee on HIV and Aids, TAC spokesperson Nathan Geffen said on Monday. We very much want to meet the inter-ministerial committee and the deputy president [Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, who is leading the committee], Geffen said. He said th
South African Press Association - September 14, 2006
The Johannesburg woman diagnosed with extreme drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) has agreed to hospital treatment, the Gauteng health department said on Thursday. We are busy conducting more tests to establish what drugs she could respond to, said spokesperson Zanele Zungu. The woman was re-admitted to hospital on We
South African Press Association - September 12, 2006
Wendell Roelf
One in five pregnant women are testing HIV positive in the Western Cape s public health antenatal clinics, according to a survey released by the department provincial health on Tuesday. The HIV prevalence is highest in women aged 25 to 29 years, with an infection rate of 20,1% of the 8 656 people examined at 400 facili
South African Press Association - September 11, 2006
Zimbabwe s infant mortality rate has declined since 1999, owing to measures to fight HIV, Harare s Herald newspaper reported on Monday. Its website said the rate dropped from 102 to 82 deaths for every 1 000 births. This comes at a time when the country has reduced its HIV prevalence rate from 20,1% to 18,1% in the age
South African Press Association - September 11, 2006
Extreme drug resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) has become endemic in KwaZulu-Natal, the Mercury reported on Monday. Dr Tony Moll, principal medical officer at the Church of Scotland hospital in Tugela Ferry, said doctors in his area had been identifying new XDR-TB patients every month since January last year. Since March
South African Press Association - September 10, 2006
Health minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang has dismissed reports that she has been sidelined by the Cabinet, South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) news reported on Sunday. This comes after the inter-ministerial committee (IMC) on HIV/Aids was enlarged and Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka appointed as spoke
South African Press Association - September 9, 2006
Giordano Stolley
Three HIV-positive prisoners are known to have died in Durban s Westville Prison since the Department of Correctional Services was challenged in the courts over its antiretroviral (ARV) treatment programme, the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) said on Friday. TAC secretary general Sipho Mthathi said one of the prisoners
South African Press Association - September 9, 2006
Giordano Stolley
Durban, South Africa - Three HIV-positive prisoners are known to have died in Durban s Westville Prison since the Department of Correctional Services was challenged in the courts over its antiretroviral (ARV) treatment programme, the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) said on Friday. TAC secretary general Sipho Mthath
South African Press Association - September 8, 2006
Louise Flanagan
Substantially more young women and men in their prime are dying and it s probably due to HIV infection, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) said on Thursday. For some sex-age groups and some causes of death the increase in death rates between 1997 and 2004 has been truly astounding, said Stats SA in its 200-page report
South African Press Association - September 8, 2006
Johannesburg, South Africa - The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) will demand an intensification of the government s national mobilisation plan against HIV/Aids at its coming national congress. Cosatu has over and over again expressed concern at the lack of clear leadership from the president and [health
South African Press Association - September 8, 2006
Giordano Stolley
Durban, South Africa - The Department of Correctional Services filed an affidavit in the Durban High Court on Friday, detailing how it plans to speed up providing anti-retroviral (ARV) treatment at Durban s Westville prison. The department was criticised on August 31 by Judge Chris Nicholson, who said the government s
South African Press Association - September 7, 2006
Louise Flanagan
The extreme drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) in KwaZulu-Natal must be dealt with urgently, international health experts said in Johannesburg on Thursday. There is no time to wait before we embark on decisive action, said the World Health Organisation s Dr Ernesto Jaramillo, explaining that an epidemic could have a
South African Press Association - September 7, 2006
Johannesburg, South Africa - President Thabo Mbeki has not yet reacted to a letter from 81 scientists calling for the immediate removal of Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, his office confirmed on Thursday. It was not even certain whether he had seen the letter yet, according to presidential spokesperson Muk
South African Press Association - September 6, 2006
A move by the Department of Health to gag its top provincial officials from commenting on HIV/Aids is an unreasonable limitation on their right to freedom of expression, two rights-monitoring groups said on Wednesday. If allowed to go unchallenged, the move will set an extremely negative precedent for freedom of expres
South African Press Association - September 6, 2006
Fran Blandy
More than 60 HIV scientists, including a Nobel Peace Prize winner and leading academics, have called for the immediate removal of Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, the Treatment Action Campaign said on Wednesday. In a letter to President Thabo Mbeki, a total of 81 signatories said the minister s health policies
South African Press Association - September 5, 2006
A critically ill awaiting-trial prisoner at Durban s Westville prison has been denied anti-retrovirals (ARVs) because he does not have an identity document, a prisoners rights group said on Tuesday. Upon our visit to the prison this morning [Tuesday], we were dismayed to learn that the man could not access ARVs because
South African Press Association - September 5, 2006
An instruction by national health director-general Thami Mseleku to top provincial health officials not to comment on HIV/Aids is unconstitutional, the Public Service Accountability Monitor (PSAM) said. In terms of section 32(1) of the Constitution everyone has the right of access to any information held by the state .
South African Press Association - September 3, 2006
Phumza Sokana, Johannesburg, South Africa
A large group of South African women infected with HIV are among 150 delegates of last month s International Aids Conference seeking refugee status in Canada , the Toronto Sun s website reported. The Canadian paper reported that the women did not return home after attending the Aids conference in Toronto last month. Th
South African Press Association - September 1, 2006
A new, deadly strain of tuberculosis (TB) has killed 52 of 53 people infected in the last year in South Africa , the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Friday, calling for improved measures to treat and diagnose the virus. The strain was discovered in South Africa s KwaZulu-Natal province, and is classified as ext
Three African National Congress (ANC) councillors face possible disciplinary action after trying to force their way into a council meeting, injuring a security official, Cape Town mayor Helen Zille said on Thursday. Zille said the ANC councillors tried to storm the meeting on Wednesday after the speaker, Dirk Smit, had
Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) chairperson Zackie Achmat on Wednesday appealed directly to his African National Congress (ANC) comrades to support the TAC s call for the minister of health to be sacked. Achmat made the call during a special address to the Cape Town city council at the invitation of mayor Helen Zille.
Some parts are used as decorative bangles in certain countries and, at times, it is derisively referred to as a fish bag , but usage of the female condom seems to be rising in South Africa , its second-largest market in the world. The female condom has been around for nearly a decade, and in South Africa -- which globa
New Zealand will offer permanent residence to Zimbabweans in the country who are HIV-positive, making an exception to its policy of barring infected applicants, Health Minister Pete Hodgson said on Wednesday. About 1 300 Zimbabweans have entered New Zealand as a result of the political and economic crisis in Zimbabwe
The Department of Correctional Services on Wednesday rejected a Durban High Court judge s assertion that it is responsible for a potentially grave constitutional crisis . The department does not agree that the decision to appeal against the orders of the Durban High Court was intended to create a constitutional crisis,
Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang is breaking the law by making unproven claims about the effectiveness of alternative treatments for Aids, according to the South African Medical Association. In a statement on behalf of the association, Sama chairperson Dr Kgosi Letlape said any claims of therapeutic effectiv
South Africa could face a grave constitutional crisis that could leave judges considering whether they should continue on the bench , the Durban High Court said on Monday. Dismissing an appeal by the Department of Correctional Services against an execution order expediting anti-retroviral (ARV) treatment at Durban s
A government decision to appeal a Durban High Court ruling forcing it to provide anti-retroviral treatment to prisoners infected with HIV/Aids is a matter of principle , the health department said on Friday. It is not about [government] refusing to give people treatment, said director-general of the health department T
The ongoing spat over South Africa s response under Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang to HIV and Aids undermines the common struggle against the epidemic, the African National Congress said on Friday. Whatever criticisms anyone may have of South Africa s policies on HIV/Aids, whether valid or not, the current
Six opposition parties urged President Thabo Mbeki on Thursday to sack Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, while her ministry said she had no plans to quit. The ministry of health reiterates its position that the minister of health will not resign, read a statement issued in the afternoon by her spokesperson, Sib
Members of the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) staged protests outside provincial government offices around the country on Thursday. The action has been very successful nationwide and we are optimistic that government is getting our message, said national TAC spokesperson Ralph Berold. The illegal protest was part of w
Police used pepper spray to evict a group of Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) protesters from a Department of Correctional Services building in central Cape Town on Thursday. The protest was part of the TAC s day of action to pressure President Thabo Mbeki to sack Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang. The TAC is als
The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) had decided to deliberately stage illegal protests because it was tired of the government s failure to act on HIV/Aids, it said on Thursday. We deliberately did not apply for permission to protest and we don t apologise for that because we are tired of government s inactivity in the
The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) is remaining tight-lipped hours ahead of a planned international day of action on Thursday. It is a secret, said Rukia Cornelius, the campaign s national manager, on Wednesday. The TAC hopes its global day of action -- which will see protests at South African embassies and government
The call by the Independent Democrats (ID) for Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang s dismissal is about saving lives, not egos, said ID leader Patricia de Lille on Tuesday. De Lille was responding to the ministry of health s swipe at her on Monday for urging Tshabalala-Msimang s sacking. I am humbled by the dea
Three Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) members who went to the Durban Westville prison on Tuesday to screen prisoners CD4 counts were threatened with guns and dogs by warders, they said. They are removing us forcefully, pointing [at] us with guns and they don t want to let us through, the TAC s treatment project coordin
While the health ministry attacked Independent Democrats leader Patricia de Lille for urging Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang s dismissal, others backed the call for the minister s head on Monday. The ministry said in a statement it was disappointed by the level of ignorance demonstrated by De Lille during a ra
Forty-four Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) members who occupied provincial government offices in Cape Town on Friday to call for the arrest of Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang were themselves arrested. The protesters, who included TAC chairperson Zackie Achmat, were charged with trespassing and warned to app
If the South African government had rolled out anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs as fast as it could have, 75 000 lives could have been saved in 2005 alone, the International Aids Conference in Toronto, Canada , heard on Thursday. The country has the largest ARV programme in the world, yet the roll-out was not as good as it
With people dying of Aids in far greater numbers than those who have access to treatment and prevention, male circumcision could be a promising tool in the prevention of transmitting HIV, scientists told the International Aids Conference in Toronto, Canada , on Thursday. Others cautioned that the procedure could give m
Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang has condemned the vandalising of the garlic-, lemon- and beetroot-stocked South African exhibit at the International Aids Conference in Toronto, Canada . A group of Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) activists occupied the stall, with some lying on the ground to symbolise the de
South African Aids activists have slammed the International Aids Conference for being a show of celebrities and philanthropists, instead of people living with HIV/Aids who could raise the real issues they face. We want to ask the International Aids Society that the conference should justify its theme, Time to Deliver,
For the first time the number of people in sub-Saharan Africa receiving anti-retroviral (ARV) therapy has passed the one-million mark, the International Aids Conference heard in Toronto on Wednesday. The 1,6-million people currently on treatment is a 24% increase over the 1,3-million on treatment in 2005, Kevin de Cock
Pre-HIV test counselling may be a luxury South Africa can no longer afford given the scale of the pandemic, according to Judge Edwin Cameron. Cameron, himself HIV positive, said in an article in the latest newsletter of the South African HIV Clinicians Society that Aids is now a medically manageable disease, and no lon
Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang should resign over her lack of leadership on HIV/Aids, the Aids Law Project told a conference in Toronto, Canada , on Thursday. I believe our minister of health should resign, head of the project Mark Heywood said to shouts of approval from a packed session room at the Intern
Detailing the suffering of a late Durban Westville prisoner, Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) chairperson Zackie Achmat on Wednesday called for homicide charges to be instituted against two Cabinet ministers. Achmat, supported by a group of TAC activists, made the call after occupying the offices of the South African Hu
The safety and security of the country could be at risk if HIV/Aids among police in South Africa is not addressed and large numbers of them start dying, the International Aids Conference heard in Toronto on Tuesday. A preliminary report released during a poster discussion shows that while police work in an environment
Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang on Tuesday night lashed out at the media for distortion in reporting on South Africa s exhibition of garlic, lemon and beetroot at the International Aids Conference in Toronto. People say, Your stall is great. I don t know what they are reporting on at home. We haven t shocke
Studies showing that people in the poorest African villages take their medicines at a stunningly high percentage are evidence that the poor will live if you give them the tools to live , former United States president Bill Clinton said in Toronto on Monday. Clinton and Microsoft head Bill Gates came together to discuss
There are 12-million children in sub-Saharan Africa who have lost one or both parents to Aids, and this number could grow to more than 16-million by 2010, according to a report released in Toronto, Canada , on Monday. When it comes to children the world has failed dismally, Michael Sidibe, director of country and regio
New technologies for HIV prevention could have a huge impact on the epidemic, possibly averting millions of new infections in the coming years, the International Aids Conference in Toronto heard on Tuesday. Gita Ramjee, of the HIV prevention research unit in South Africa , said there is a range of new and promising pre
Toronto, Canada - Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang opened the South African Aids exhibition to a background of brightly coloured displays at the International Aids Conference in Toronto, Canada, on Sunday. The exhibition showcases garlic, lemon and beetroot. Two bottles of anti-retroviral drugs, as well as m
Gender inequities and labour migration in Southern Africa have been pinpointed as factors contributing to the spread of HIV/Aids in the region by an epidemiologist at the International Aids Conference in Toronto, Canada , on Monday. Chris Beyrer told the opening plenary session that migrant men were 26,3 times more lik
Johannesburg, South Africa - We are going to pray and extract biblical principles on how to counsel the society when dealing with the HIV/Aids pandemic, institute spokesperson Timothy Olusegun told the South African Press Association. As Christians, we cannot keep quiet as thousands of South Africans, young and old con
Good nutrition could be the only available life-prolonging alternative to people living with HIV/Aids in rural areas, a senior officer for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation said on Thursday. Sick people can t farm, they can t work. Hungry people can t eat Aids messages, said HIV/Aids and food securit
Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang urged business leaders on Friday to join the government in the fight against tuberculosis (TB) in the workplace. Many workers are vulnerable to TB both in their communities and the workplace. This has serious implications for any business. Most people within the business sect
The Durban High Court on Tuesday granted Westville prison authorities leave to appeal against an order to speed up the provision of antiretrovirals (ARVs) to prisoners. The court simultaneously ordered prison authorities to provide the service pending the appeal. Judge Thumba Pillay granted the six respondents -- the g
The emotional, psychiatric and neurological effects of HIV/Aids should be made public and addressed, the South African Society of Psychiatrists (Sasop) said on Monday. Both the public and people treating HIV infection should be aware of the mental manifestations of HIV infection. These range from minor intellectual dif
Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) providing hospice and home care for HIV/Aids patients in Gauteng are struggling because of late payment by the Department of Health, the Democratic Alliance said on Monday. Some of these NGOs have not been paid for almost four months, said spokesperson Jack Bloom. He said the organ
The Department of Education is not responding to children orphaned by HIV/Aids as well as it could, Minister of Education Naledi Pandor said in Johannesburg on Wednesday. My own anecdotal evidence is that we are not responding to orphans as well as we could, she said. She was speaking at the launch of the Education Sec
South Africa is not doing enough to address the Aids pandemic, the South African Institute of Race Relations (SAIRR) said on Tuesday. It is very disturbing that other countries in sub-Saharan Africa have managed to reduce their Aids statistics while South Africa continues to have the highest HIV infection rate, SAIR
Much work must still be done to ensure optimal implementation of HIV and Aids policy in both primary and high schools, a conference heard on Thursday. Annemarie Mostert, of the Sacred Heart College research and development unit, said although the majority of schools have guidelines on the Department of Education s HIV
Technology can be used to empower individuals, promote economic growth and reduce inequality, former United States president Bill Clinton told a conference in Cape Town on Tuesday. And also to increase the citizen s ability to ... hold accountable their governments, he said on the final day of deliberations at the Gove
The South African Medical Association (Sama) has withdrawn a statement urging a probe into the alleged involvement of Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang and Director General of Health Thami Mseleku in the release of a consignment of Rath Foundation anti-Aids food supplements. Sama wishes to unconditionally wit
A University of Cape Town academic has been temporarily suspended from his research duties and his laboratory closed after an international journal associated him with a herbal tonic touted as an HIV/Aids treatment. The University of Cape Town is aware of the report published in Nature Medicine. We regard the allegatio
Some HIV/Aids and tuberculosis (TB) patients in the Eastern Cape are refusing treatment because they fear losing their disability grants, the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) in the province said on Thursday. TAC coordinator Philip Mokoena said the number of people refusing treatment is growing, especially in the deep r
Another youth has died at an illegal initiation school and two have been taken to hospital in critical conditions -- one from a registered facility, an Eastern Cape health official said on Wednesday. The death was the eighth since the start of the initiation season, said health department spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo.
President Thabo Mbeki should take over leadership of South Africa s National Aids Council (Sanac) in the face of soaring HIV/Aids mortality figures, Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) chairperson Zackie Achmat said on Wednesday. He was commenting at the end of a three-day workshop attended by health activists from 22 Afri
The Alan Paton Award for 2006 was jointly won by Adam Levin for his book AidSafari and Judge Edwin Cameron s Witness to Aids, Sunday Times Awards convenor, Michele Magwood said on Saturday. In a nod to both the new and the brave in contemporary English South African writing, two books confronting the Aids scourge joint
The anti-Aids ABC message -- abstain, be faithful and use condoms -- has left many of the continent s youth confused, an Aids conference in Durban heard on Wednesday. In a survey of 1 766 pupils conducted in the Valley of a Thousand Hills near Durban, only one schoolgirl said abstinence is not having sex until one is m
More safe blood is needed in Africa, said the World Health Organisation (WHO) on World Blood Day on Wednesday. The need to collect enough blood and to make it available for patients is more acute in developing countries, and particularly in Africa, said Dr Luis Gomes Sambo, the regional director of the WHO regional off
Aids-treatment programmes need to expand dramatically in Africa, an expert said on Tuesday, suggesting nurses do some of the work of doctors and more people be trained as counsellors in order to meet the enormous need. We need to expand four- or fivefold from where we are now to reach all those who need antiretroviral
The South African government on Monday demanded a greater say over the way millions in United States HIV/Aids funding is spent in the country, arguing that giving the money directly to local programmes created a coordination problem. Our view is that external funding must be coordinated through government structures to
The traditional-medicines sector will soon be recognised in the department of health s budget, Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang said on Friday. Speaking at a traditional-medicine workshop in Benoni, Tshabalala-Msimang said her department will also speed up the process of establishing an interim traditional-h
The head of the Medical Research Council (MRC), Professor Anthony Mbewu, on Wednesday dismissed as incorrect a set of minutes recording that he agreed to be a medical investigator in Matthias Rath s South African vitamin campaign. The minutes, compiled by Rath aides, are part of a set of documents recording contact bet
Gauteng s budget for HIV and Aids was increased by 47,8% to R515,4-million for the coming financial year, provincial minister of health Brian Hlongwa said on Monday. This confirms our unwavering commitment to ensure that we bring this epidemic under control, he said. Hlongwa tabled the provincial health budget of R10,4
The Health Ministry on Wednesday commended the deputy chairperson of the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) for her address to the United Nations General Assembly about the work being done in South Africa to provide HIV/Aids treatment. Ministry spokesperson Sibani Mngadi said Khensani Mavasa, who is living with HIV, highl
The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) marched in Pretoria on Tuesday, saying it could not support the lies the government was telling the United Nations about its treatment programme. We as the TAC cannot support the lies that government is telling the UN. The first lie is that we have the biggest [treatment] programme i
The death of Aids-infected Nozipho Bhengu was unnecessary and premature, the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) said on Wednesday. She had the means to afford the best medicine, care and nutrition, the TAC said in a statement. It is highly likely that she would still be alive and well today if she had chosen to take anti-
South Africa faces a massive task in reaching the Millennium Development Goals for child survival in 2015, with trends showing that the mortality rates of infants and children under the age of five were increasing rather than decreasing. Currently, the prospect of having to reduce the child-death figures ... by two-t
The Department of Correctional Services is to introduce compulsory rehabilitation programmes soon, Minister of Correctional Services Ngconde Balfour said on Tuesday. The days of voluntary engagement in rehabilitation programmes are numbered, as in due course we will finalise a policy to introduce compulsory rehabilitat
Poor nations should highlight to the United Nations the problems that make them more vulnerable to HIV/Aids than developed countries, Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang said on Thursday. There needs to be an understanding of the factors that make people in Africa more vulnerable to the spread of HIV infection
Evidence in court should not be seen as a policy statement, particularly on Aids, the African National Congress and its alliance partners said on Friday in welcoming Jacob Zuma s acquittal on a rape charge. The media and other commentators should respect the court and due process of law, and not proceed from a position
Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang and her director general Thami Mseleku have accused the media of sowing confusion in the wake of former deputy president Jacob Zuma s statement about showering after sleeping with an HIV-positive woman. Zuma told the Johannesburg High Court during his recent rape trial that he t
Jacob Zuma s return to his duties as African National Congress deputy president was not a mere formality, secretary general Kgalema Motlanthe said on Wednesday. The national executive committee [NEC] has to consider and pronounce itself on it, Motlanthe said. He told SAfm the NEC would meet in Zuma s absence on Sunday
The Constitutional Court on Tuesday reserved judgment in the application of three HIV-positive women for leave to appeal against a judgment of the Johannesburg High Court. The high court found last year that the women s right to privacy, dignity and psychological integrity were not infringed by the publication of their
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) has welcomed Jacob Zuma s apology for having unprotected sex with an HIV-positive woman. The trade-union federation said it agreed with Judge Willem van der Merwe that it is totally unacceptable that a man should have unprotected sex with a person other than his regul
Rising rodent numbers in Africa are raising the chance of an outbreak of diseases such bubonic plague, a conference in South Africa heard on Thursday. The Rats and Human Health in Africa conference, attended by scientists and doctors from 20 countries, found rodent numbers in Africa are thriving as municipalities with
HIV/Aids in Southern Africa is under-reported, the voices of those most affected are least heard and the gender dimensions of the pandemic are not well reflected. This is according to a study released by the Media Monitoring Project and Gender Links in Johannesburg on Wednesday -- which is also World Press Freedom Day
Judgement in the Jacob Zuma trial will start in the Johannesburg High Court on Monday May 8. The court will now adjourn and judgement will be delivered 9am, Monday the 8th, Judge Willem van der Merwe said on Tuesday. It will be broadcast live on television and radio. Van der Merwe said he did not know at this stage how
President Thabo Mbeki was silent on HIV/Aids as a call was made in his presence on Monday for presidential leadership on the topic. Representatives of the South African Communist Party (SACP) and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) highlighted HIV/Aids as a key challenge when they addressed a May Day ra
The state completed its closing arguments in the Jacob Zuma rape trial on Friday, asking the Johannesburg High Court to find him guilty. Prosecutor Charin de Beer told Judge Willem van der Merwe that Zuma s version of events should not be considered the truth. Zuma is accused of raping a 31-year-old HIV-positive woman
There is a turf war for human subjects as pharmaceutical clinical trials increased 16 times in low-income settings such as Africa, the Microbicides 2006 conference in Cape Town heard on Wednesday. This is according to Professor Ames Dhai, head of Bioethics at the University of the Witwatersrand Medical School. Scient
One in 10 people who take anti-retrovirals will experience difficulties with the medication or their bodies will reject it completely. This was heard in Cape Town on Tuesday at Microbicides 2006, the first international conference held in Africa into research into gels that could prevent HIV transmission in women.
Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang on Monday voiced concern about the ethics of current clinical trials on microbicides. The recruitment and compensation of candidates who suffer complications from clinical trials in developing countries needed further discussion, the minister said at the start of a three-day int
HIV/Aids is increasingly regarded as a disease of the poor, blunting the enthusiasm of the rich and powerful to develop tools such as a virus-killing gel that could save millions of lives, delegates at an international conference said on Monday. Speakers at the conference said development of a microbicide gel that coul
A report on progress towards the Millennium Development Goals shows that the sub-Sahara is not fairing well in overall reduced child mortality, increased school enrolment and lower poverty levels. Reduced child deaths, rapid gains in primary school enrolment, and reduced HIV/Aids infection rates in several countries su
The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) has turned down an invitation to be part of the South African delegation at next month s special United Nations session on HIV/Aids. In a letter to Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, released to the media on Thursday, TAC general secretary Sipho Mthathi said the process of
Forcing the Department of Correctional Services to provide anti-retrovirals to Aids-infected inmates was highly opportunistic, Minister of Correctional Services Ngconde Balfour s office said on Wednesday. Fifteen prisoners whose health has been deteriorating have lodged an urgent high court application to compel the go
The United Nations Children s Fund (Unicef) is embarking on an ambitious programme to improve the care, health, education and nutrition of vulnerable children in Zimbabwe , where one child dies of HIV/Aids and another is orphaned every 20 minutes. Unicef said it had received a British donation of £22-million ($38,4-mil
The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) does not know how rife HIV/Aids is in South Africa s 240 prisons, but will shortly undertake a national HIV prevalence survey in a bid to allay speculation . In order to allay the speculations on the HIV prevalence rate in correctional facilities, the minister of correction
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) has called on the government to reverse its decision to exclude Aids pressure groups from participating in the United Nations General Assembly s special session on Aids later this year. The government has barred the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), the Aids Law Projec
Jacob Zuma was told by a lawyer not to say in a statement to police he had sex with the woman who accuses him of rape, the Johannesburg High Court heard on Monday. He testified that his lawyer Michael Hulley had told him instead to write in the statement after we shared each other s company privately . Zuma gave the wr
Vitamin salesman Matthias Rath has dropped his defamation claims against the South African Press Association (Sapa) and other media organisations. However, he was still suing the Democratic Alliance, its leader Tony Leon, its health spokesperson Diane Kohler-Barnard, and African National Congress MP Kader Asmal, said h
Jacob Zuma s rape trial discharge application resumed on Tuesday with his lawyer questioning why his accuser ignored a number of what his defence team regard to be sexual messages. A 31-year-old close family friend has alleged that the former deputy president raped her at his home on November 2. Zuma has denied this, c
A decision not to prosecute the maker of a herbal medication said to cure Aids will be referred to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in KwaZulu-Natal, the Democratic Alliance said on Tuesday. DA spokesperson on health Dianne Kohler-Barnard said in a statement that she will refer the matter to the provincial head
Research on a traditional medicine claimed to treat HIV/Aids at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) has not found any benefit for Aids patients, the university said on Saturday. The university has not conducted any clinical trial research on patients with Ubhejane and refutes claims that research at the university h
A tele-recruiter of the South African National Blood Service (SANBS) has been suspended after telling a blood donor she was HIV-positive as a joke, The Witness reported on Thursday. Its website said the culprit said he did this to test her reaction . The donor, a 19-year-old student, said: It was a very cruel joke. HIV
The state will use a one-week adjournment to mull over developments in axed deputy president Jacob Zuma s rape trial and decide how to proceed. The trial to determine whether Zuma is guilty of raping a 31-year-old HIV-positive family friend on November 2 entered its ninth day in the Johannesburg High Court on Thursday.
Vitamin salesman Matthias Rath on Wednesday renewed his offensive against Aids lobby group the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), saying it should be banned. The attack, in a statement issued by the Dr Rath Health Foundation, comes less than a week after a full bench of the Cape High Court granted the TAC an interim inte
The woman at the centre of the Jacob Zuma rape trial has told the Johannesburg High Court about her ordeal. The complainant in the state vs Zuma said she was already asleep when the former deputy president entered her room. It is against the law to name a rape victim, unless she gives consent. He offered to tuck her in
The hidden hand of the government was apparent in the work of vitamin salesman Dr Matthias Rath, the Treatment Action Campaign s (TAC) Zackie Achmat claimed on Friday. There is no question in our mind ... there has been support for Rath and ... his actions against the TAC ... from the health minister, but also from oth
The Cape High Court on Friday ruled for the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) in its application for an interdict against vitamin entrepreneur Matthias Rath. The HIV/Aids lobby group was seeking to stop Rath and his Dr Rath Foundation from claiming the TAC was acting as a front for the multinational pharmaceutical indust
Overall HIV prevalence is no longer increasing as significantly as it was in the early 1990s, Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang said on Thursday. Particularly encouraging is that the prevention messages regarding abstinence, faithfulness and condom use are being taken to heart, especially by the young, she sa
South African Press Association - February 24, 2006
Chriselda Lewis
Just a few days ago, one of South Africa s most prominent soccer bosses, Irvin Khoza, chairperson of Orlando Pirates, buried his 30-year-old daughter Zodwa after losing her to HIV/Aids. The Iron Lady was believed to have been infected by her husband and former Jomo Cosmos star Sizwe Motaung, who died in 2001, at 31.
South African Press Association - February 17, 2006
The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) has singled out President Thabo Mbeki and Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang for criticism in a hard-hitting report to the African Peer Review Mechanism lashing the government s response to the Aids pandemic. While a number of important interventions have been implemented to
South African Press Association - February 16, 2006
Leon Engelbrecht
The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) has urged the public not to vote for local government election candidates who were inactive in the fight against HIV/Aids. If candidates do not support testing for HIV or Aids, don t vote for them. If candidates don t support the use of condoms, don t vote for them, said TAC chairper
South African Press Association - February 16, 2006
The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) has welcomed the life sentence handed down on Thursday to the man who raped and murdered HIV-positive TAC activist Lorna Mlofane. Cape High Court judge Dumisani Zondi sentenced Ncedile Ntumbukane to life in prison for the murder in December 2003, and a concurrent ten years for the ra
South African Press Association - February 14, 2006
Britain has agreed to provide the Rwandan government with nearly $800-million over the next 10 years because it has a proven track record in fighting poverty, a British official said on Tuesday. Britain s permanent secretary for the Department for International Development, (DFID) Luxembourg s minister of foreign affai
South African Press Association - February 14, 2006
The daughter of Orlando Pirates football club chairperson Irvin Khoza has died of Aids-related complications at a Pretoria hospital, a spokesperson said on Monday. Dominic Ntsele said Zodwa Khoza (30), who was also the club s brand manager, died of what doctors described as multiple organ failure at the Louis Pasteur h
South African Press Association - February 12, 2006
Adam Goldman
A scraggy Philip Esposito steps on an uptown train and begins telling his story: He s HIV positive, homeless and hungry. He needs a few dollars to get something to eat. Commuters lining the subway car have heard it all before. They ignore him, many assuming he s full of it. But Esposito (27) isn t lying. Among the stre
South African Press Association - February 10, 2006
Anglican teenagers in the Western Cape are almost as sexually active as their peers outside the church, according to a survey reported in the latest issue of the South African Medical Journal. The survey, in which 1 306 youngsters were questioned, was carried out by researchers from the Cape Town-based Fiklela Aids pro
South African Press Association - February 7, 2006
Opposition political parties have questioned President Thabo Mbeki s fleeting reference to HIV/Aids in his State of the Nation address on Friday. Government has to urgently do something to prevent predictions that 5,8-million South Africans will be infected [with] the Aids virus by 2010 ... African Christian Democratic
South African Press Association - February 3, 2006
Mariette le Roux
President Thabo Mbeki was criticised for glimpsing over Aids, Zimbabwe and corruption in his State of the Nation address on Friday, but praised for his focus on social upliftment based on economic growth. His announcement of a review of the government s willing-seller, willing-buyer approach to land reform also drew mi
South African Press Association - February 2, 2006
Alexandra Zavis
The United Nations food agency needs $63-million (î52-million) to feed up to 10-million people in Southern Africa, hit by successive years of drought and some of the world s highest HIV/Aids infection rates, a UN envoy said on Thursday. This is the place in the world where the issues are the most intense and the most p
South African Press Association - January 30, 2006
Laetitia Rispel, former head of the Gauteng health department, has been appointed as the head of the Human Sciences Research Council s (HSRC) HIV/Aids research programme. Rispel will take up her position as executive director of the social aspects of HIV/Aids and Health (SAHA) research programme on March 1, the HSRC sa
South African Press Association - January 29, 2006
Thomas Hartleb
The Democratic Alliance launched its election manifesto on Saturday promising to clean up the African National Congress service delivery mess and simplify local municipalities. Today local government is in a state of crisis. If we continue this way, South Africa will fail, DA leader Tony Leon told party leaders and sup
South African Press Association - January 27, 2006
Dan Perry
Rock star and activist Bono has launched a new push to fight HIV/Aids in Africa, unveiling a partnership with American Express and other companies to offer products under a brand called Red , proceeds of which will be funnelled to the cause. So, here we are, fat cats in the snow, and I say that as one, said the denim-j
South African Press Association - January 20, 2006
Gay men should not be excluded from donating blood on the basis of their identity or HIV status, the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) said on Friday, but rather on the basis of epidemiological data or research, which according to the SAHRC does not convincingly exist in South Africa , according to commissi
South African Press Association - January 19, 2006
Johannesburg, South Africa - It is better to take anti-retrovirals continually as regular breaks can cause further health problems, a United States study which included South Africans said this week. Announcing that enrolment into the international study would be halted, the US s National Institute for Allergy and Infe
South African Press Association - January 19, 2006
Harare, Zimbabwe - Ten HIV-infected demonstrators and a tuberculosis sufferer were refused food and medicine while in police cells, human rights groups said on Thursday in a report that accuses Zimbabwe of failing to meet minimum standards for the treatment of prisoners. The detainees were among 50 trade unionists and
South African Press Association - January 18, 2006
Deb Riechmann
Abuja, Nigeria - United States First Lady Laura Bush announced on Wednesday that Nigeria will receive $163-million in US assistance to fight Aids as she heard a young woman at a small Aids clinic tell how medications helped her avoid death from the disease. Bush, standing next to four cartons of anti-retroviral dru
South African Press Association - January 16, 2006
Jenni Evans
There was no clarity on Monday on whether a protest campaign by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance (GLA) against a ban on gay blood donors actually took place. The GLA claimed it had recruited more than 100 gay men to donate blood to the South African National Blood Service (SANBS) without disclosing their sexual activities.
South African Press Association - January 14, 2006
A gay man with full-blown Aids donated blood on Friday -- after lying about his sexual practices, the SA National Blood Transfusion Service (SANBTS) has been told. This, after the blood bank reiterated its refusal to accept donations from men who have had sex with men in the past five years. Reassuring the public that
South African Press Association - January 13, 2006
Doctors for Life (DFL) on Friday applauded Minister of Education Naledi Pandor s public condemnation of condom distribution at schools. Describing the practice as a reckless experiment with human life, DFL called on the minister to stop the distribution of condoms at schools, and to promote abstinence as the alternativ
South African Press Association - January 13, 2006
Department of Health and blood-bank data does not reflect the HIV/Aids status of South Africa s gay community, a Western Cape lobby group said on Friday. South Africa does not have valid information on the HIV infection rate in the gay community, said Triangle Project spokesperson Glen de Swardt. People point fingers a
South African Press Association - January 12, 2006
Sexually active gay men in South Africa have been excluded by the SA National Blood Service (SANBC) from donating blood. SANBC spokesperson Ianthe Exall said on Thursday: A man who has had sex with another man within the last five years, whether oral or anal sex, with or without a condom or other form of protection, is
When Botswana first offered free HIV/Aids treatment, health authorities in one of the world s most infected countries braced for a rush. It didn t come. Most people were still too afraid to get tested for the deadly scourge. The startling reluctance to seek help in one of the few African nations able to provide it prom
Doctors in Zimbabwe have hiked their fees by a staggering 100%, putting them well out of the reach of many, state radio reported on Wednesday. It will now cost around three million Zimbabwean dollars ($37) to visit a general practitioner, the report said. Most Zimbabweans earn less than five million Zimbabwean dollars
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