South African Press Association - November 20, 2009
A thermal massage bed, said to cure Aids patients after a 40-minute session, is under investigation by the Health Ministry, the Sowetan reported on Friday. The Ceragem Clinic, where about 20 miracle beds are based, is owned by Morokane Choma, reported the daily. People queue from as early as 2am to have their 40 minute
South African Press Association - November 17, 2009
Gauteng s budget will be adjusted upwards by R3.3 billion, including R1.4bn for health and education, finance MEC Mandla Nkomfe said in Johannesburg. The provincial budget is adjusted upward by R1.4bn to cater for the personnel costs in relation to improve conditions of service, Nkomfe said in presenting the 2009 Mediu
South African Press Association - November 16, 2009
When Robin Webb lived in New York City, he was treated by HIV specialists and had access to counseling and nutritional programmes. Now he lives in Mississippi, where few of those services exist. Mississippi is just one of several mostly rural states across the South of the United States with a dearth of resources f
South African Press Association - November 11, 2009
The South African Medical Association (Sama) is gravely concerned about HIV/Aids statistics, which show a huge Aids-related leap in South Africa s death rate. We have always been concerned on whether it is correct to wait with treatment until a person s CD4 count has dropped to 200 [cells per microlitre]. We believe it
South African Press Association - November 10, 2009
-- Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi unveiled what he himself described as shocking figures showing a huge Aids-related leap in South Africa s death rate. In 11 years [from 1997 to 2008], the rate of death has doubled in South Africa. That is obviously something that cannot but worry a person, he told a media briefing a
South African Press Association - November 7, 2009
-- Mineworkers from Anglo Coal s Mpumalanga operations marched to the company headquarters in Johannesburg to voice their grievances, the National Union of Mineworkers said. Among demands listed on a memorandum handed over to company CEO Ben Magara, were salary adjustments and the immediate stop to the victimisation of
South African Press Association - November 6, 2009
The fight against HIV/Aids needs to be intensified, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said on Friday. Reports from the Lancet Medical Journal says South Africa forms 0,7% of the global population, yet carries 17 % of the HIV burden, he said. We need to come out with guns blazing fight this scourge. Motsoaledi was a
South African Press Association - October 30, 2009
-- The health ministry is doing cost studies on extending its antiretroviral therapy programme to HIV carriers with a higher CD4 count, deputy director general Kamy Chetty said. Chetty confirmed to Sapa that this was possibly linked to a policy announcement President Jacob Zuma has said Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi
South African Press Association - October 28, 2009
A South African doctor has won the Royal Society Award for HIV and TB co-infection research, the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre said today. Dr Linda-Gail Bekker received the award in London on Tuesday night for her work on the host response to TB, both with and in the absence of HIV co-infection, spokeswoman Lavinia Crawford-
HIV prevalence among pregnant women has stabilised at about 29%, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said on Monday. The prevalence among women aged 25 and above has stabilised at high and unacceptable levels, Motsoaledi said in Pretoria, releasing the 2008 results of a survey of antenatal HIV. He said the report was a us
South African Press Association - September 11, 2009
South Africa is lagging behind the rest of Africa with its HIV/Aids campaigns because it talks too much and acts too slowly, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said on Friday. It s not a secret that we didn t do well, he told a South African National Aids Council (Sanac) meeting in Johannesburg. If the scourge of
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi on Wednesday called on the generic medicine industry to invest more in researching the long-term effects of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs. He said HIV/Aids was a syndrome that in some cases required people to already start taking medication in their 20s. That meant some patients could end
HIV/Aids infection rates may increase during the Soccer World Cup, the South African National Aids Council said on Friday. 2010 is going to come with good things but it may also come with dangerous things, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said after a Sanac plenary meeting. Of course the concern is: what will be the ef
The government was looking into whether it would run out of funding for HIV/Aids drugs in this financial year, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said on Friday. We are reviewing whether there is a possibility of some provinces running out of funds ... after getting a report we will find out if it s true that there is a
The first clinical trial of an HIV/Aids vaccine designed and developed in South Africa was launched in Cape Town today. Anthony MBewu, president of the Medical Research Council said the development of the vaccines were a giant leap for science and technology in South Africa. We have had many clinical trials of HIV v
The high cost of drugs needed to treat Aids patients is putting the lives of thousands at risk, medical humanitarian organisation Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) said on Monday. Patients needing new drug regimens will return to Aids death row, it warned in a statement released at the 2009 International Aids Society conf
The prevalence of HIV in children and teenagers has dropped, a national survey has found. The study showed that HIV prevalence in children aged between two and 14 had declined from 5.6 percent in 2002 to 2.5 percent in 2008, said Human Sciences Research Council chief executive officer Dr Olive Shisana. The good news is
A Swaziland member of Parliament who drew international criticism for his remarks on HIV/Aids, apologised repeatedly in Johannesburg on Thursday. I m very sorry. If you need me to show a sign of how sorry I am, I m ready to show, Swaziland MP Timothy Myeni told a media briefing. Myeni, who is also a pastor and a me
SWAZIS were asked yesterday to debate a politician s call for HIV-positive citizens to be branded on the buttocks, which has sparked an uproar in the kingdom. The Times of Swaziland asked for feedback on the best ways to combat HIV and rights to freedom of speech after MP Timothy Myeni said all Swazis should be tested
Saudi Arabia will not bar pilgrims from countries that have reported cases of swine flu in the coming Umrah, or minor pilgrimage season, its aviation authority said on Tuesday. Instead, the aviation authority said in a statement posted on its website, it would screen all would-be pilgrims for HIV infection.
Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Helen Zille declined to comment on a vitriolic personal attack by the African National Congress (ANC) Youth League (ANCYL) on Tuesday after she accused President Jacob Zuma of potentially exposing his wives to HIV. We will not dignify that with a response, her spokesperson Fritz de Klerk
The African National Congress (ANC) and its allies reacted with outrage on Tuesday after Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Helen Zille accused President Jacob Zuma of potentially exposing his wives to HIV. The ANC said her remark was offensive, and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) called it disgraceful
Male circumcision definitely reduces the risk of HIV infection, researchers at the South African Cochrane Centre announced on Wednesday. The centre had previously held that there was not enough evidence to recommend circumcision as an intervention. Research on the effectiveness of male circumcision for preventing HIV i
Hundreds of Mozambicans suffering with HIV/AIDS protested in front of the country s major hospital against the closure of their special care units, saying they fear loss of privacy with the move. The protests at the Hospital Central de Maputo (HCM) followed the recent announcement by Mozambican Health Minister Ivo Garr
Many councillors believe it would be political suicide to publicly disclose their HIV status, according to an Idasa (Institute for Democracy in South Africa ) study on the effects of the disease on local government. Lead author Kondwani Chirambo said on Tuesday he was aware of only one local councillor, a woman from th
Correctional Services Minister Ngconde Balfour is disappointed that a court bid to block the release of a report on the death of an HIV-positive prisoner was dismissed on Friday. We respect the decision of the court today. However, we obviously feel disappointed with the outcome, he said in a statement. On Friday morni
Fifteen percent of South African school children between the ages of 12 and 17 years would knowingly spread HIV, the SABC reported on Wednesday. This was revealed in a study of more than 15 000 school children by an international group of epidemiologists based in Canada . The organisation s Nobantu Marokane said that m
South African Press Association - January 30, 2009
Correctional Services Minister Ngconde Balfour was on Friday ordered to furnish a report about the death of an inmate to the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC). Briefly handing down judgement in an access to information matter at the Palace of Justice, Judge Brian Southwood ordered the minister to hand over unedited, elec
South African Press Association - January 25, 2009
South Africa is a country at war with itself, with corrupt leaders who fail to address the problem of crime, Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi said today. He was addressing supporters at the launch of his party s election manifesto at the Safa-Simba stadium in Pimville, Soweto. Crime is a clear e
South African Press Association - January 25, 2009
Health minister, Barbara Hogan, is optimistic that the rate of new HIV/Aids infections can be halved within the next two years through the One Love campaign, which was launched in Orlando, Soweto yesterday. The campaign seeks to educate people about having no more than one sexual partner. Hogan said that poverty was dr
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