This is my final editor's note for 2007 and it is traditional to end the year on a positive note. However, I will not be doing so. The state of South Africa's health services, unfortunately, do not warrent it. The Health System's Trust report, released last week, tells a sorry tale of widening disparities between the health care available to those who have to use the public health services and those of us who can "afford" to use the private services. Let me tell you a true story. Last week Thandi's two-year old son died. Now Thandi is HIV-positive, but is an activist in her community, is on antiretrovirals and made absolutely sure that her son was born HIV-negative. When he started diarrhoea and vomiting one evening last week, she realised that he needed medical care and fast. She was moved from Khayelitsha to Delft some months ago, so struggled to find someone to take her and her son to the Site B hospital in Khayelitsha. There is nothing in Delft. When they arrived at Site B, there was no doctor. The nurses struggled to put up a drip in her, by now, very sick son. He died 45 minutes later. Unfortunately, she refused a post-mortem and there was no doctor there to persuade her that this was very necessary. The child was buried in Guguletu that morning. The cemetry at Khayelitsha is full. On the same morning, four other children under the age of five were also buried at Guguletu. I am telling you this because Thandi's story (not her real name by the way) is not unusual. In fact it is all too common. Children die daily in our townships and rural areas - of avoidable diseases. Thandi's son was HIV-negative and should have had every chance of a full and productive life. Instead he died at the age of two. I make no apology for asking everyone who reads this to remember the toll that death and disease take on South Africa's children - think about it as you sit down to yet another festive meal with friends and family. Let's hope for a better 2008.
Bridget Farham, https://www.bizcommunity.com