"On 2 - 4 July 2004, more than 530 delegates - including more than 80 health workers and representing over 60 organisations and institutions - met at the first People's Health Summit (PHS) to discuss the crisis and inequity in the health system and the roll-out of antiretroviral (ARV) treatment. While recognising the impact of the legacy of injustice and inequality of apartheid on the health service of our country and our people, delegates to the PHS expressed grave concern that in spite of many good policies, laws and programmes, the public health service is in crisis and the quality of many services is in decline."
Equity in Health
Growing inequality in access to health services
People\'s Health Movement Statement
Further details: /newsletter/id/30549
Monitoring access to basic health services
The second Equity Gauge seeks to place the goal of equitable health care within a broader framework that links socio-economic disparities with health outcomes. This publication highlights the fact that people do not get sick at random and that health is intimately tied up with living and working conditions. In focusing on this interdependence of socio-economic determinants with health outcomes, the document also points to the relationship between health status and geographical, racial and gender-related issues.
SA nevirapine rollout sluggish, says report
Political prevarication and weak management has hampered the implementation of the Operational Plan for Comprehensive HIV and AIDS Care, Management and Treatment for South Africa a new report has found. The preliminary report is the first in a series that will monitor the implementation of the Operational Plan. The report, researched and produced by the AIDS Law Project and the Treatment Action Campaign, deals with the first seven months since the Department of Health’s announcement of the Operational plan in November 2003.
Ten Years On - Have we got what we ordered?
South African Health Review
The promotion of equity in health is one of the basic ideologies underlying South African health policy. Therefore, it is befitting after ten years of democracy to gauge how far the health system has moved towards providing equitable health services to all citizens is concerned. This 2003/04 South African Health Review, the 9th edition, consists of an overview and 24 chapters, each describing a key health concern. Unlike many of the previous Reviews, this year's is data driven. It uses different sources of information to measure and assess the health and well-being of South Africans quantitatively. An overview of the key achievements and challenges is given in the chapter Ten years on have we got what we ordered?
Zimbabwe health sector on brink of collapse
The health delivery capacity of public health institutions has been adversely affected by the poor economic environment and some clinics and hospitals are now operating without essential drugs and medical supplies. Zimbabwe's public health sector - once the best in sub-Saharan Africa - is now reeling as a result of neglect and inadequate funding by the government.
Education and healthcare quality effect pregnancy outcomes in Malawi
Of 585 000 maternal deaths worldwide each year, 99% are in developing countries. What factors underlie this striking imbalance? Research involving the Malawi College of Medicine and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine studied this issue in a rural community in southern Malawi. Maternal education and access to healthcare facilities influence pregnancy outcomes, it showed.
Free medical care in Kenyan public health centres
In a bid to improve access to medical care for millions of poor Kenyans, the government announced it would provide free health services in state-run dispensaries and health centres. "With effect from 1 July, 2004, all charges for prevention services, treatment, diagnosis in public dispensaries and health centres must stop," Health Minister Charity Ngilu told a news conference in the capital, Nairobi.
Health Care Reform and the Crisis of HIV and AIDS in South Africa
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.
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.