Eat, drink and be merry - 14 Sep 2008[Bridget Farham] Eat, drink and be merry is a common approach to life, but all too often it is the wrong sort of eating and drinking! We have known for some time that a Mediterranean style diet - rich in vegetables, fruit, olive oil and a moderate amount of red wine - appears to have health benefits. Now, a meta-study, published in The British Medical Journal seems to say that this is uneqivocal. read more Disability versus handicap - 8 Sep 2008[Bridget Farham] This week the Operational Hospital Management Conference runs in Johannesburg from the 9 to 11th. The Operational Hospital Management Conference has emerged as the leading conference in South Africa aimed at improving performance and the quality of services at public hospitals. read more Cervical cancer month - 1 Sep 2008[Bridget Farham] September is cervical cancer awareness month. This is a cancer that affects millions of South African women - and which is made worse by co-infection with HIV. read more Where are our priorities? - 25 Aug 2008[Bridget Farham] One of the articles in today's newsletter highlights a protest by people living with HIV and AIDS in Swaziland. They were protesting about several of King Mswati's wives flying overseas on a shopping trip. read more Peddling snake oil - 18 Aug 2008[Bridget Farham] There is out there, making enormous amounts of money, a truck driver, called Zeblon Gwala, who claims to have a cure for HIV and AIDS. The 'cure' came to him in a dream, is called Ubhejane and is selling well to desparate people, clutching at straws. Anso Tom, writing eloquently in today's Cape Times, accuses our Minister of Health of being soft on 'natural remedies', while cracking the whip at every opportunity over any perceived failure in conventional medicine. read more Morbidity and mortality - 11 Aug 2008[Bridget Farham] Most of the stories in today's newsletter are about infectious diseases. Now in South Africa, along with most other low to middle income countries, the top two causes of death are actually cardiovascular disease and stroke. read more A global burden - 4 Aug 2008[Bridget Farham] Mexico City is host this week to the 17th International AIDS Conference and also saw the release of the latest figures on HIV and AIDS around the world from UNAIDS. There has been a small, very small, decline in the numbers of people infected - from 33,2 million to 33 million - a drop in the ocean in terms of human suffering. Sub-Saharan Africa still bears the brunt of the epidemic, and, interestingly, Germany and Britain are seeing a resurgence in new HIV infections - as are India and China. The UNAIDS report cited in this Monday's newsletter speaks of the efficacy of treatment and prevention programmes in reducing new infections and in prolonging the lives of those already infected. read more Medicine's backbone - 28 Jul 2008[Bridget Farham] When I was growing up, both in Zambia and in the UK, the only doctor I ever saw (apart from when I had my tonsils out) was a GP. However, I can virtually guarantee that most of you reading this newsletter now go to a specialist rather than a GP, for most of your medical care. read more Not caring enough - 21 Jul 2008[Bridget Farham] On Friday I was the moderator at a session of the HealthCare Expansion Congress that dealt with Africa's pandemic and pandemic preparedness. All three speakers highlighted one simple fact - our healthcare infrastructure is totally inadequate and will not stand up to a major onslaught. read more World Population Day - 14 Jul 2008[Bridget Farham] 11 July was World Population Day. In the past couple of decades talking about reducing the world's population has become increasingly politically incorrect. read more When medicine sells out - 7 Jul 2008[Bridget Farham] There are two items in today's newsletter that particular caught my eye. The first is a call for an end to selling organs for transplant and to the transplant tourism industry that has built up around this practice. read more Selling snake oil - 30 Jun 2008[Bridget Farham] Some years ago I wrote an editorial in the journal CME calling for Mathius Rath to be expelled from the country. That was at the start of his campaign of spreading misinformation and peddling snake oil as cures for HIV among the population of several South African townships. read more Know your drugs - 23 Jun 2008[Bridget Farham] The period 24 to 30 June is National Drug Awareness week - all too pertinent with the growing problem of addiction in South African society. Time was that we were relatively shielded from the horrors of drugs such as heroin and cocaine - ironically enough one of the few good effects of international isolation. read more 17 Jun 2008[Bridget Farham] Global warming may be a long way from most of our minds in the depths of winter, wherever you are in the country. But the reality of climate change is clear - winter rain in Joburg - long periods of drought in the Cape - and, as for Australia (where so many are rushing to go to) - climate change is such an important issue there that it forced a change of government. But climate change has other, more subtle, effects. read more 9 Jun 2008[Bridget Farham] Opening a newspaper in the mornings these days is a pretty depressing business. Rising fuel prices are stimulating higher prices generally and the use of agriculural land for biofuels is contributing to hunger around the world, as more and more people can simply no longer afford to put food on the table. read more |
