Former President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, went to Zola Clinic to inspect the Bill and Melinda Gates supported programme, where he announced that he would defend the Gauteng Premier's decision to provide pregnant mothers with nevirapine. Madiba was accompanied by Former US President Jimmy Carter and William Gates senior along with their wives.
Equity in Health
South Africa: Jimmy Carter and William Gates accompany Madiba to Soweto clinic
south africa: KZN HIV/AIDS money still out in the cold
It is still not clear whether people living with HIV/AIDS in KwaZulu-Natal will ever see any of the $72-million granted to the province in April by the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria (GFATM). The Global Fund has indicated that from this week it will start to disburse money to projects approved in its first round of applications – but unless procedural problems surrounding the KZN grant are cleared up, this province’s money will not come through. Health Minister Dr Manto Tshabalala- Msimang wants the $72-million to be distributed to all nine provinces and says the Global Fund violated its own rules by awarding the money directly to the KZN consortium, the Enhancing Care Initiative, when the application should have gone through the SA National AIDS Council (SANAC).
South Africa: Majority of Sex Workers in Gold Mining Community are HIV Positive
Health education programmes and free condom distribution have not stopped South African commercial sex workers from having unprotected sex. A study conducted by the London School of Economics found that 69% of local commercial sex workers (CSWs) in the South African gold mining community of Carletonville are HIV-positive.
South Africa: Makgoba Squares Up to ANC On HIV/Aids
SCIENTISTS and health professionals are squaring up to do battle with government and the African National Congress (ANC) on HIV/AIDS policy. This follows the release last week by the ANC's national executive committee (NEC) of a 10page document setting out its views on HIV/AIDS and signalling a retreat from what was seen as a tentative move towards liberalising policy on antiretroviral drugs.
South Africa: Mandela attacks Mbeki's Aids policy
Nelson Mandela is wading into the increasingly bitter dispute over the South African government's Aids policies by meeting the ruling African National Congress leadership to press for an end to prevarication over a catastrophe he likened to a war.
South Africa: Mbeki's State of the Nation address barely touches the country's HIV/AIDS
What was hoped to be key in President Thabo Mbeki changing the face of his government's stance on HIV/AIDS was a dismal disappointment. Though Mbeki acknowledged the fact that HIV/AIDS is a problem in South Africa, he still insisted that his government would not change its policy on administering antiretroviral drugs to reduce mother to child transmission of HIV/AIDS. Mbeki's speech came a day after his predecessor Mandela had rebuked the Mbeki administration's HIV policy.
South Africa: Mtshali Unwilling to Back Down On Nevirapine Issue
KwaZulu-Natal premier Lionel Mtshali on Thursday remained resolute that the anti-retoriviral drug Nevirapine would be made available to HIV-positive pregnant mothers in the province's state hospitals.
South Africa: Nevirapine Probe to Go Ahead
THE Medicines Control Council says it is to go ahead with an investigation into the safety of nevirapine, the drug that prevents motherto-child transmission of HIV. The council's investigation comes a month after nevirapine's manufacturers, Boehringer Ingelheim, informed the council that it had withdrawn its application to register the drug with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV.
South Africa: No Deal Between UK Group And Victims
A LONDON lawyer representing SA's asbestosis victims said yesterday there was no settlement agreement between British group Cape plc and the victims. However, negotiations were proceeding "in a constructive manner" and at a fairly developed stage", said Richard Meeran, lawyer for the victims.
South Africa: Presidential Advisor Rejects MRC HIV/Aids Report
Professor Sam Mhlongo, a member of the Presidential Aids Advisory Council, has said the The Medical Research Council (MRC) report on HIV/Aids and adult mortality in South Africa, is "unacceptable" because it does not define what Aids is. Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala Msimang said the report was a "work in progress".