At the recent International AIDS Conference in Vienna, Austria, Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi appealed to donors to desist from cutting aid to support AIDS programmes in sub-Saharan Africa. The irony of his call, however, is that countries in Africa are not increasing their spending on health.
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Huge strides could be made towards reducing child deaths in South Africa by following the example of those who fought for the rights of people living with HIV.
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The Children’s Act which came into force on April 1 places the onus on doctors and other health professionals to seek consent from their young patients for certain medical conditions including HIV testing, surgery and contraception.
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Gauteng Department of Health and Social development is urging pregnant women, patients with chronic lung and heart diseases, diabetic, school going learners under the age of 20 as well as senior citizens over 65 years to immunize against H1N1 virus by Friday, 31 July 2010.
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Twenty-five percent of all women can develop some kind of vaginal infection. This is according to specialists, who say thrush and bacterial vaginosis are the most common. But, the majority of women are too ashamed to consult their doctors and would prefer to self-medicate, which may aggravate the infection.
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A gastro-intestinal infection killed six babies at the Charlotte Maxeke Hospital in May, according to findings of an investigation launched into the tragedy. The investigation also found that health care staff did all they could to save the babies. Hospital systems, however, were found to be lacking.
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More and more caregivers are consulting psychiatric institutions to have their children’s mental health assessed. Psychiatrists have attributed this to caregivers paying more attention to their children’s behavioural patterns than before.
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Global funding for AIDS efforts fell flat during last year’s economic meltdown, ending a six-year streak of annual donation increases, according to new analysis released this week.
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