South Africa's transition to a democracy - characterized by a liberal constitution, a bill of rights, and attempts to pursue reconciliation rather than revenge - has been widely admired as a paradigm shift in human relationships from seemingly inevitable conflict to a negotiated peace. The challenge of narrowing racial disparities in health care is a formidable one for the new government. The high rates of infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and full-blown AIDS add another layer of complexity. This review evaluates health care reform and responses to the pandemic of HIV and AIDS during the first decade of the new democracy.
Equity in Health
Health Care Reform and the Crisis of HIV and AIDS in South Africa
Nevirapine continues to be dispensed in SA
South Africa's department of health will continue to dispense Nevirapine until further research into the reliability of the drug in preventing HIV transmission from mother to child is conducted. Concerns about the safety of Nevirapine surfaced after collaborative research conducted by the Medicines Control Council (MCC), manufacturer Boehringer Ingelheim and the National Institute for Communicable Diseases revealed that some HIV positive mothers had developed resistance to the antiretroviral, making it uncertain whether transmission of the virus was being blocked or not.
SA HIV caregivers struggle to make a living
As the number of HIV-positive children and AIDS orphans continues to rise in South Africa's east-coast KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province, AIDS organisations have embarked on community-based projects aimed at generating income for the guardians of children affected by the virus. The goal is to create self-sufficiency and ultimately gain independence from funding agencies. But it has been difficult to sustain the programmes, especially those focusing on traditional crafts, such as beadwork and woodcarvings.
Steep Registration Fee Limits Access to Aids Conference
A number of Namibian non-governmental organisations will not be represented at the largest-ever AIDS conference, being held in Thailand this month, because of the "prohibitive" registration fee. The conference is being held under the theme 'Access For All'. Sources from Namibian NGOs working with HIV-positive people this week described the US$1 000 registration fee as "prohibitively expensive".
Urgent funding needed in Angola for essential drugs
Angola needs urgent funding for essential drugs if lives are to be saved, particularly among resettling populations, warned a mid-year review of the UN's Consolidated Appeals Process (CAP). The CAP review, prepared by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said that at the end of April, funding for the essential drug component of the Minimum Health Care Package stood at approximately 50 percent.
Valuable resources 'not adequately harnessed'
Despite southern Africa being rich in resources, it had not adequately harnessed these for the people in the region, the Regional Network for Equity in Health in Southern Africa (Equinet) said. Speaking at an international conference on Equity in Health, Rene Loewenson, Equinet's spokesperson, said with the common focus on poverty and ill health, it was often forgotten that southern Africa was one of the richest regions in Africa and - in resource terms - in the world. "Despite this wealth of potential, the value of these resources have not been adequately harnessed for the people of the region," she said.
10/90 health research gap may be closing
Spending on research on diseases of the poor, such as malaria, tuberculosis and dengue fever, has increased substantially over recent years, according to the annual report of the Global Forum for Health Research. Major donations from governments and charities pushed global health research funding to more than US$100 billion in 2001, up from US$30 billion in 1987.
Clinics in three Zimbabwe provinces lack water access
Only half of the health clinics in three Zimbabwean provinces have access to safe water and the majority of districts face shortages of essential drugs, according to an NGO monitoring group, the Food Security Network (FOSENET). Based on information drawn from 52 districts, FOSENET noted that clinics spread across central Zimbabwe - in Mashonaland West, the Midlands and Masvingo - had the poorest access to safe water out of the country's eight provinces.
Local production of AIDS drugs begins in Zimbabwe
Access to anti-AIDS drugs is improving in Zimbabwe, due to recent initiatives to roll-out antiretroviral (ARV) therapy and to manufacture the medicines locally. A Zimbabwean pharmaceutical company has started manufacturing generic antiretroviral (ARV) drugs in a bid to significantly reduce the cost of the medication for people living with HIV/AIDS.
Networking of SA municipalities critical for tackling HIV/AIDS
A new study commissioned by the South African Cities Network (SACN) urges local municipalities to develop a multi-sectoral strategy to tackle the effects of HIV/AIDS on their communities. The report, titled 'South African Cities and HIV/AIDS: Challenges and Responses', noted that while there had been a number of initiatives to support local government in developing an HIV/AIDS response, there was little attempt to assess the challenges facing the cities.