Today’s Health News
Underage drinking : causes, effects
Times, 17 January, 2012, p5
It is sunset, the weather is cool but dust all around as a result of motorists who keep the shadowy figures of pedestrians barely lit by the yellow glow of the setting sun off the road as they rush to and from on the infamous ‘Devil Street’. The road devil street is nick named so because of its location which encompasses bars and taverns in Emmasdale Township of Lusaka. A mere evening stroll in the neighbourhood of ‘Devil street’ reveals an orgy picture of social degradation; young adults engaging in alcohol intake which is a common sight…………………..Vices in the name of underage drinking, premarital sexual affairs , drug abuse are some of the most common that have rocked the youths in society especially in the urban areas.
Fruits, vegetables; better, healthier than meat
Times, 17 January, 2012, p6
Our bodies require just a certain amount of starch, protein, and fat. This should be well measured because anything in excess or less can be harmful to our health. Abundant vegetables and fruits that contain a high proportion of mineral salts which immensely helps in the prevention of constipation. Constipation predisposes our bodies to alot of diseases. Though liked by alot, meat is not the only source of energy. Yes it may give strait temporarily but it loads the body with toxic substances.
Rwanda steps up male circumcision exercise
Times, 17 January, 2012, p6
This will be a busy year for Rwanda’s health centres as the country attempts to reach its goal of medically circumcising 50 per cent of men by June 2013 as part of HIV prevention efforts. “ We plan to extend free male circumcision services to all men in Rwanda – we are targeting two million circumcisions by 2013,” said Simon Kanyaruhango, head of the national male circumcision programme at the Rwanda Bio-Medical Centre.
Kenya : The downside of male involvement in PMTCT
17 January 2012
Kisumu
Involving men is increasingly being promoted as a key element in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, and while its benefits are well-documented – in one Kenyan study it reduced the risks of vertical transmission and infant mortality by more than 40 percent compared with no involvement – it can occasionally lead to domestic discord and even violence. Silvia*, a 33-year-old mother of six, now living at her mother’s home in western Kenya, says her 14-year marriage was doomed the minute she followed her healthcare worker’s advice to bring her husband for an antenatal visit after she tested HIV-positive. “I was tested and I was told I was positive; I asked if I could go ahead and just carry the pregnancy and the nurse assured me it was fine,” she said. “She, however, asked me to bring my husband when coming for the next visit and I agreed.” She convinced her husband to accompany her on her next visit, but when he tested HIV-negative, he accused her of cheating on him. “He left me at the hospital… When I got home, he beat me up and said the child I was carrying wasn’t his and he chased me away,” she added. “The nurse thought she was helping us but it turned out to be a curse for me.” There is limited research into the area of gender-based violence following HIV-testing, but a presentation by the NGO, the Sonke Gender Justice Network, at the 2010 International AIDS Society conference in Vienna, Austria, reported that women’s experiences upon disclosing their status to their male partners were often “complex and positive”: some studies reported violence levels of up to 14 percent, while others stated that about half of HIV-positive women said their partners reacted supportively to the disclosure. According to Beatrice Misoga, PMTCT programme officer with the AIDS Population Health Integrated Assistance (APHIA Plus), gender-based violence is more common in discordant relationships where the man is HIV-negative. “Male involvement has helped realize success with PMTCT programmes where it has been applied because prevention of mother to child transmission is a family issue, but yes, there have been challenges in certain aspects like the possibility of gender-based violence targeting women and more so in a situation where the male partner is not willing to be part of it.”
Nigeria : Affordable malaria medicines – when will the countries begin to benefit?
17 January 2012
Little Nkem was the joy of her parents who were childless for over 15 years before her birth. From the date of her birth, Nkem was adored as the princess of the house. Her parents never ceased to thank God each day that breaks. But little did they know that their joy will be short lived. It started like a fairy tale when Nkem all of sudden became ill. All efforts to bring down the high fever proved abortive. Sadly, there was no money to take her to a health centre. They, they resorted to self medication. Nkem was bombarded with different types of pain relievers in the absence of standard medical treatment in any hospital. Still battling to save their only child, they decided to take her to a nearby diagnostic laboratory where a few tests were conducted. Lo and behold, malaria was confirmed. With the laboratory test, it was expected that Nkem’s illness would be tackled immediately, unfortunately, purchasing the recommended malaria drugs became a problem drugs due to the financial situation of the family. Nkem’s parents are poor. Her mother sells packaged water, popularly known as pure water while the father is jobless. Things are tight. Little Nkem’s health got worse. Worried that genuine Artemisinin combination Therapy, ACT, costs between N1, 000 and N1, 500 depending on the brand, Nkem’s mother started gathering proceeds from her daily sales, with the hope that within a week, she would buy the drug for her child. However, luck ran out for her. Few days later, Nkem’s health deteriorated further, and she died. She is part of the 90 per cent of the country’s population at risk of malaria, a statistic of the 30 per cent of childhood mortality and among the 30 Nigerian children who lose their lives every hour from malaria_ related illnesses.
Tanzania : Poverty fuels Mother to Child HIV Transmission
17 January 2012
Poverty in Dar es Salaam has been cited as the biggest stumbling block in ensuring that pregnant women get access to services for the prevention of mother to child HIV transmission. The Management and Development for Health (MDH) Chief Executive Officer, Dr Chalamilla Guerino, said yesterday during the opening of a care and treatment centre in Vingunguti area in Ilala District, that poverty causes fewer women to visit clinics when pregnant. “Thanks to the availability of centres in Dar es Salaam that have been opened since our programme began in 2004, 94 per cent of women have antenatal visits to the clinic at least once, but statistics also show that only 62 per cent of them go the required four times,” he said. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends that for the full life-saving potential that antenatal care visits promises for women and babies, four visits providing essential evidence-based interventions – a package often called “focused antenatal care,” are required. Dr Guerino explained that current statistics also showed that of the 85 per cent of pregnant women in Dar es Salaam who tested for HIV/AIDS, only 68 per cent of them get access to ARVs. “These statistics clearly show that there is big deficit among those with access to these services and we hope that this new care and treatment centre will help bridge this gaping gap,” he said. MDH is a public health organisation based in Dar es Salaam and provides technical and financial support in provision of quality HIV care and treatment services to 50 health facilities in the region. The support is funded by the financial support from the US government, president’s emergency fund for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Dr Guerino explained that the Vingunguti centre, that cost 150m/-, was a gift from the American people through the US PEPFAR, in collaboration with Tanzania and that direct support for the clinic was based on a partnership between the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and MDH.
Namibia : Close shave for TB patients
17 January 2012
USAID has thrown a lifeline to the close to 600 tuberculosis (TB) patients at the Penduka Namibia programme in Katutura. In mid-December, it was announced that the TB programme would have to be shut down because its funding had dried up. The crisis came amid the fact that Namibia is one of the worst TB-affected countries in the world – with an annual rise in national figures. Resistance to medication adds fuel to the country’s TB fire. Penduka Namibia general manager Rudolph Tjaveondja said they could not sustain the programme beyond December. Yesterday, Tjaveondja had good news – the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has come to their rescue and the Global Fund will resume its funding towards next month. But, he said, they still need financial support to help feed the 556 TB patients. “They need proper food when they take their medication.” If the TB facility had to close its doors, the patients would have had to go to State clinics for treatment, provided they could be accommodated. There was also a fear that they might default on their treatment – which would result in further drug resistance. In December, the Khomas Regional Health Director, Sakaria Taapopi, said TB in the country is “an emergency that needs action from all of us at household level, at [the] workplace, at school level and everywhere where there are Namibians”. In February last year, the Global Fund withdrew all its financial support to Lironga Eparu, a local HIV-AIDS support organisation, following alleged financial abuse.
Zimbabwe : Sports or HIV and Aids, which is our priority?
17 January 2012
The Global Fund recently announced that it has stopped the application for round 11 of funding for HIV and Aids in Zimbabwe. We were told they were unable to raise enough funds and that major donors no longer see HIV and AIDS as an emergency compared to issues such as climate change. In my country people living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA) are always surprised by the effort, attention and money that is being spent by successful local companies, such as Delta and Mbada Diamonds, on sport. Both companies this year alone poured at least $2million into the soccer league and cup games. These are not the only two major companies. Econet, Telone, and Old Mutual are performing well on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange yet you rarely hear about them donating money to HIV and AIDS programmes. While one might argue that they run wellness workplace programmes for their employees, what about the millions of our dear brothers, sisters and orphans who are affected or infected by the pandemic directly or indirectly? These companies are pouring millions of dollars into sports such as cricket, soccer, tennis and golf but we are quick to rush to international donors looking for funds for our local anti-retroviral therapy (ART) programmes. Information at hand says that our government is spending at $9 instead of the WHO recommended $34 on health http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/life/health/54890/gnu-spends-9person-on-health.html. So if these corporate companies would pour money into health instead of sport, think how many lives would be saved in our country
Nigeria : World malaria report 2011 (part one)
17 January 2012
The year 2011 had come and gone. It is in the interest of forging ahead that we should review some achievements, challenges and landmarks as we are ushered into 2012. This article is about Malaria and 2011 which is captured in a detail report by World Health Organization (W.H.O) titled ‘World Malaria report 2011′. It summarizes information received from 106 malaria-endemic countries and other sources and updates the analyses presented in the 2010 report. It highlights continued progress made towards meeting the international targets for malaria control set for 2010 and 2015. Internationally agreed targets and goals for malaria control the year 2010 was the date set to achieve universal coverage for all populations at risk of malaria using locally appropriate interventions for prevention and case management, and to reduce the malaria burden by at least 50% compared to the levels in the year 2000. In the light of progress made by 2010, the Roll Back Malaria (RBM) targets were updated in June 2011. The targets are now to reduce global malaria deaths to near zero by end-2015; (ii) reduce global malaria cases by 75% from 2000 levels by end-2015; and (iii) eliminate malaria by end-2015 in 10 new countries since 2008, including in the WHO European Region. These targets will be met by: achieving and sustaining universal access to, and utilization of, preventive measures; achieving universal access to case management in the public and private sectors and in the community (including appropriate referral); and accelerating the development of surveillance systems. A growing number of countries have recorded decreases in the number of confirmed cases of malaria and/ or reported admissions and deaths since 2000. Global control efforts have resulted in a reduction in the incidence of malaria and malaria specific mortality rates. A total of 8 countries and one area in the WHO African Region showed > 50% reduction in either confirmed malaria cases or malaria admissions and deaths in recent years (Algeria, Botswana, Cape Verde, Namibia, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, South Africa, Swaziland, and Zanzibar, United Republic of Tanzania). Eritrea, Ethiopia, Senegal and Zambia showed reductions of 25%-50%. In all countries, the decreases are associated with intense malaria control interventions. The increases in malaria cases observed in Rwanda and in Sao Tome and Principe in 2009 (two countries that had previously reported reductions) were reversed after intensification of control measures. This highlights the need to build systems for effective surveillance of malaria and to rigorously maintain control programmes even when cases have been reduced substantially. According to available information, increases in cases and deaths observed in Zambia in 2009 have not yet been reversed.
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Additional materials in the Dziwani Knowledge Centre for health
REPSSI
Mainstreaming psychosocial care and support through child participation
REPSSI
Johannesburg, South Africa
2009, 52p.
The document is a guide with a view of enhancing child participation in various interventions meant to address their needs. Particular emphasis is put on the benefits of their participation. These include increase in skills and confidence as well as bringing creativity, energy and fun to development programmes.
REPSSI
Mainstreaming psychosocial care and support within food and nutrition programmes
REPSSI
Johannesburg, South Africa
2009, 50p.
Tailored for practitioners working with children and families affected by HIV and AIDS, conflict and poverty, the key messages in the book mainly focus on the nutritional programmes and how these build children’s dignity, confidence and general well being. The book also highlights how linkages with other organisations can help in referrals for further assistance of these children.
Smith, Tricia
Understanding HIV basics
REPSSI
Johannesburg, South Africa
2009, 13p.
The manual is a third in a series called Body Maps: Bringing mind, body and community together for wellbeing. Provides information from HIV and AIDS basic terminologies to CD4 count, ART, drug classes drug resistance and adherence.
REPSSI
Psychosocial care and support for young children and infants in the time of HIV and AIDS: A resource for programming
REPSSI
Johannesburg, South Africa
2007, 78p.
Key messages in this publication include role of family care, specialised mental health services, natural resilience in children and cost-effective interventions for addressing psychosocial wellbeing in children.
REPSSI
Tracking your health: A guide to creating a tracing book
Johannesburg, South Africa
2009, 23p.
Strives to mainstream psychosocial support into health services, in this case HIV treatment provided by clinics, hospitals and home based care. The document uses the tracing book as a tool to better understand individual health. The tracing book is like a journal and one can enter things that are important in their lives. This can be used to help children better understand HIV. The use of words is not necessary as symbols take on the illustration. Parents may also use the tracing book to encourage their older children get tested for HIV but also as an important piece of information in the event of illness.
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