| Cutting edge |  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. Swaziland is one of southern Africa's poorest countries - and has an incredibly high prevalence of HIV and AIDS. You may well ask where the government's priorities are - on the assumption that it was government money that paid for the wives' shopping trip.
We have similar problems in South Africa - albeit not as starkly obvious. We are not a poor country. The amount of money spent on German battleships, submarines and fighter aircraft shows us this. So too, does the enormous amount being spent on stadia around the country for the 2010 World Cup. So where are our priorities?
In the next couple of days the more recent unemployment figures will be released. There is a suggestion that they may have improved, although people are querying the way in which the data have been collected and presented - statistics are easy to manipulate to show what you want. However, even if they have improved, it will be off such a low base as to be insignificant in terms of helping to alleviate poverty in the country. And poverty is one of the main causes of disease and general ill health. The conspicuous consumption of the new elite (and the old elite) must be particularly galling when you cannot put food in front of your children.
The time from infection with the HI virus to the onset of AIDS in southern Africa is relatively short in comparison to that in the developed world - access to antiretrovirals notwithstanding. One of the main reasons for this is the general ill health - often just a general drop in overall body functioning and not specific disease - that comes from poor nutrition and constant stress. Time to rethink our priorities.
Bridget Farham Editor
https://www.bizcommunity.com
| | Headlines
MedicalMSF provides medical treatment to displaced in campsCamps for those displaced by xenophobia may be closing across the country. Advertisement:
CardiologyVitamin B does not prevent heart diseaseThe B group vitamins are not effective in preventing coronary heart diseases.
Chronic diseasesAlexander Technique effective in lower back painRegular lessons in Alexander Technique are effective in combating lower back pain.
Corporate Social ResponsibilityLilly offers help to people suffering from psychotic conditions - The Write AgencyPatients taking antipsychotic medications, who are at risk of weight gain, are offered additional lifestyle assistance.
Ethical MedicinesNew single dose sachet for cough relief on the go Benylin is launching a new single dose cough syrup sachet for a convenient and effective remedy when you're on the run. Advertisement:
HIV/AIDSSwaziland: "We are dying, they are flying!"Mbabane: Several hundred Swazis, including people living with HIV, marched on 21 August to highlight the need for government to prioritise funding to alleviate the humanitarian crises in the country. Ethiopia: Cappuccino with condomBellissima, on bustling Gabon Street in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, could be just another upmarket café, except that each order comes with a packet of 'Sensation' condoms, and is served in 'Sensation' cups by staff wearing 'Sensation' T-shirts.
Hospital GroupsGo Red and save your heart - The Heart and Stroke Foundation SAGo Red for Women is an international movement aimed at increasing awareness amongst women of the risk factors and signs of heart disease. The Heart and Stroke Foundation SA (HSFSA) will be hosting a Go Red for Women Wellness Workshop on 27 August in the Tsitsikamma Conference Centre at the Boardwalk Casino and Entertainment World complex in Summerstrand, to raise funds and awareness of this campaign.
Infectious diseasesNew vaccine to fight multiple influenza strainsA universal vaccine effective against several strains of influenza has passed its first phase of testing, according to Dr. Christine Turley of the University of Texas at Galveston.
Medical AidBonitas Medical Fund ranks first in top brands survey - ChilliBush Inroads CommunicationsBonita Medical Fund has overthrown Discovery Health as the Top Brand in the medical aid category in this year's Top Brands 2008 survey run by IPSOS Markinor - a victory made all the sweeter when one considers the sheer size and market penetration of the survey.
Medical ResearchNew imaging technology provides early diagnosis of osteoarthritis A newly developed medical imaging technology may provide doctors with a long-awaited test for early diagnosis of osteoarthritis (OA), scientists from New York reported today at the 236th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society. Brown fat points to new ways to fight obesityA surprise discovery - that calorie-burning brown fat can be produced experimentally from muscle precursor cells in mice - raises the prospect of new ways to fight obesity and overweight, say scientists from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Medical TechnologyHuman blood grown from stem cellsCould this herald an almost limitless supply of human blood? X/PROCURE® enables online competition for Arrow Pharmascript - Owlhurst CommunicationsX/procure®, leaders in electronic procurement and media solutions for the pharmaceutical industry, enabled long standing client, Arrow Pharmascript to launch a competition via the X/procure® ordering system, designed to create awareness of Arrow's product range among pharmacists.
Mental healthAntidepressants may affect driving abilityA new study has raised serious concerns about how some people prescribed antidepressants are affected by the drugs.
NeurologyNew drug approved for Huntingdon's diseaseThe first ever drug for the control of Huntingdon's symptoms has been approved in the USA.
OncologyProstatectomy improves outcome of some men with prostate cancer over watchful waitingMen with early prostate cancer who undergo radical prostatectomy have a lower rate of death due to prostate cancer than men who are followed without treatment, known as watchful waiting, according to a randomised controlled trial published in the August 12 online issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
PaediatricsPre-school exercises can prevent dyslexiaExercise can be effective in preventing reading language difficulties in children. Codeine use may be risky for some breastfeeding mothersUsing pain treatments which contain codeine may be risky for some breastfeeding mothers, according to researchers at The University of Western Ontario, and the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto. Making the world a safer place for children - Celebrity Services AfricaInternational Children and Injuries Conference 2008 for Cape Town
PharmaceuticalsPharmacists help public to dispose of old and unused medicine safely - Magda Naudé During national Pharmacy Week from 1 - 7 September, pharmacists countrywide will assist consumers in getting rid of old and unused medicine in a safe and responsible manner.
Public healthDRC: Health crisis looms as doctors' strike continuesThousands of patients in health care centres in the Democratic Republic of Congo capital Kinshasa are being deprived of urgent medical care after a strike by doctors and health workers entered its fifth day. Programme launched to produce more health workersHealth Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang will on Monday unveil the Clinical Associate Programme, which aims to produce mid-level health workers and improve the health system.
Women's healthCombined hormone replacement therapy started late in menopause improves quality of lifeCombined HRT started many years after the menopause can improve health related quality of life. Young women who smoke significantly increase their risk of strokeNew research from scientists in the USA has found that the risk of younger women having a stroke is double if they smoke and if they are heavy smokers they have nine times the stroke risk. |
| | Events to diarise | Children and Injuries Conference - Cape Town, 31 August
The Child Accident Prevention Foundation of Southern Africa, together with its partners will host the founding Conference of the International Society for Violence and Injury Prevention in Cape Town, from the 31st August to the 3rd September 2008, at the University of Cape Town. | | |
| | Upcoming events | HIV/AIDS in the Workplace Intevention Africa - Johannesburg, 28 August | More... Submit an event | | |
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Medical marketing specialist required for international company with product (not pharmaceutical) experience! read more
| | Medical Consultant - Dunkeld West - Johannesburg | | | |
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