| | | In the firing line |  This week has been dominated by the sacking of the Deputy Minister of Health, Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge, as she says, “for doing her job”. The fall out from this rash act will affect our health services for years to come. Madlala-Routledge was rightly acknowledged for her stand on HIV/AIDS – one of the few in government who had the courage to go against the party line. But, in my opinion, it is the effects on the rest of the health service that will be the most damaging. Since becoming Minister of Health, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang has done little or nothing about the abysmal state of public health facilities, as the tragedy of Frere Hospital shows so starkly. Unfortunately, the Minister's comment that this was “nothing out of the ordinary” is all too true. Our public health services are failing and failing fast. And now Mbeki has sacked one of the few people who was prepared to stand up publicly and talk about this. It is time for Tshabalala-Msimang to go. She is a disaster for the country's poor and sick and so a disaster for the country as a whole.
Dr Bridget Farham, editor: https://www.bizcommunity.com
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| | Headlines | Cote d'Ivoire authorities work to stamp out uncontrolled sale of medicines
An uninvited wedding guest
Australia pulls Novartis painkiller Prexige on liver concerns
Could British bug-buster beat super bugs?
Nile tilapia fish beats malaria
FGM continues in Senegal 10 years after villagers claim to abandon it
Deputy health minister 'sacked for doing her job'
Cholera: the true burden
‘No more Marburg cases' says Uganda's health minister
New weapons needed in fight against TB
Congo grappling with malnutrition and post-conflict woes
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Medical | | Cote d'Ivoire authorities work to stamp out uncontrolled sale of medicines
People in the Ivorian commercial capital, Abidjan, can be seen leaving the doctor's office, prescription in hand, heading not to the pharmacy but to Roxy market in the Adjame neighbourhood, where the same medicines can be had for a fraction of the price.
Australia pulls Novartis painkiller Prexige on liver concerns
On Friday, Australia's drugs regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration, cancelled the registration of Novartis AG's Prexige, a painkiller that belongs to the same type of drugs as Vioxx, after receiving reports of serious liver damage in patients taking it.
Could British bug-buster beat super bugs?
Scientists in Britain have developed a special cream enriched with bacteria-busting viruses and it could eradicate deadly super bugs such as MRSA from hospitals.
Deputy health minister 'sacked for doing her job'
 South African deputy health minister, Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge, told a media briefing in Cape Town on Friday that President Thabo Mbeki sacked her for "just doing my job".
Congo grappling with malnutrition and post-conflict woes
Sitting at a small clinic in the Talangai area, north the Republic of Congo's capital Brazzaville, Elise Diamba holds the hands of her malnourished two-year-old grandson.
SANBS launches new blood delivery service - Nicolette Duda for SANBS
New blood transport system will add value to patients and hospitals.
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HIV/AIDS | | Novartis ruling good news for ARV access
News of the Indian High Court's ruling against Swiss pharmaceutical giant, Novartis, this week, has been welcomed by AIDS activists in the developing world.
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Infectious diseases | | An uninvited wedding guest
Until the traditional wedding season kicked off in July on Grand Comore, largest of the three islands that make up the Comoros archipelago, cholera was almost under control.
Cholera: the true burden
The true incidence of cholera is likely to be seriously underestimated in most endemic areas, according to a study published recently in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.
‘No more Marburg cases' says Uganda's health minister
The outbreak of the deadly Marburg virus in Uganda's western Kamwenge District has been contained, but the country will maintain active surveillance for several more weeks, authorities said.
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Malaria | | Nile tilapia fish beats malaria
The emerging threat of pesticide resistance means that biological malaria control methods are once again in vogue.
Climate change and malaria in Nairobi
Malaria is the most common disease in Africa's largest slum, Kibera, in Nairobi, say health workers, but at a cool altitude of about 1,700m, the capital city has long been considered a non-malarial zone.
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Obstetrics and Gynaecology | | FGM continues in Senegal 10 years after villagers claim to abandon it
Some 70km southeast of Senegal's capital Dakar, a crowd of journalists and dignitaries gathered in the village of Malicounda Bambara on 5 August to commemorate the day 10 years ago, which made headlines around the world, when the community openly declared that it had abandoned a local tradition known as ‘female genital mutilation' or ‘female genital cutting' (FGM/C).
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Tuberculosis | | New weapons needed in fight against TB
A new study has found that new drugs, vaccines targeting both active and latent TB are needed to effectively combat disease worldwide.
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| | Upcoming events | Monitoring and evaluation of HIV/AIDS programmes - Randburg, Johannesburg, 22 August | More... Submit an event | | |
| | Quotes | | | "No man is a good doctor who has never been sick himself." - Chinese proverb | | More... Submit a Quote | | |
| | News for medical professionals | | Cardiotoxicity of antimalarial drugs
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