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Fake and substandard drugs in Africa by immoral medical companies is a serious worry. Malaria continues to be a serious concern. It affects more than 100 countries and about 40percent of the worlds population. It causes between 300 and 500 million infections and about a million deaths each year. It is estimated that malaria kills a child every 30 seconds in spite of the disease being entirely preventable and curable. At the eighth World Health Assembly meeting in 1955, it was resolved to begin a worldwide eradication campaign of malaria. Though the campaign was eventually abandoned and considered a failure, it registered resounding successes in eradicating malaria from large regions across the globe. The successful application of insecticides and the effectiveness of antimalarial treatments formed the cornerstones of the programme.
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OPINION: The writing is on the wall for UNAIDS.
The exclusive focus on HIV promoted by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) is damaging health systems and distorting health financing, and UNAIDS should be closed down immediately, writes an expert in this weeks BMJ. We are spending far too much on HIV relative to other health needs, writes Roger England, Chairman of the Health Systems Network. Some of the money would be better spent on strengthening general health services and funding more effective interventions in other diseases such as pneumonia and diabetes that kill more people, he adds.
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Poverty is the underlying cause of child deaths in South Africa, according to a recent study released by the Medical Research Council. But other sub-Saharan African countries, with less money and fewer resources, have managed to cut their child mortality rates. A recent study in The Lancet reported that deaths in children under age five have been dropping in Tanzania, where between 2000 and 2004 child mortality dropped by 24 percent. During this period, the Tanzanian government increased the annual amount spent on healthcare per citizen from 4.70 to 11.70 (about R36 to R89,60). The money was also evenly distributed across the country, rather than favouring richer districts.
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The latest research report on the state of the provinces in South Africa has revealed that KwaZulu-Natal has the worst health indicators and has the highest HIV and AIDS infection rate in the country. The report, compiled by the South African Institute of Race Relations, used data from various official sources. When compared with the Eastern Cape, Gauteng and the Western Cape, KZN has the highest HIV infection rate of just over 1,5-million in 2008 and an AIDS-related death count of 115 483. The Eastern Cape rated second highest with close to 729 000 infections and close to 45 000 AIDS-related deaths. Gauteng had the third highest in both categories and the Western Cape had the least.
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Doctors in private practice will flee the country in droves if Health Minister Manto Tshabalala- Msimang caps the rates they may charge patients. That is according to a survey of doctors, commissioned by the SA Medical Association. It found that most doctors and specialists in private practice would emigrate if the National Health Amendment Bill were enacted. Of the 2568 general practitioners and specialists who responded to the survey, 60percent said they would consider leaving the country if the bill became law . The association has 4941 specialist members countrywide in private and public practice.
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