|
We are in the process of moving the 2008 series of Siyayinqoba Beat It! to the archive section of our website. If you wish to view highlights of the 2008 series in the meantime please click here.
Please note, the links below are still under construction
 Right at the start of this, the new season of Siyayinqoba Beat It!, it's great to hook up with some old friends and meet some new ones. Shalom finds out what Busi, Fanie, Nokubonga, and Victor have been up to since the last season and we meet Simphiwe and Luckyboy who're new to the studio support group. And believe us, there's been a lot going in their lives as always. There's also as usual so much happening on the show this season, and a funky cool montage gives us a glimpse as to what to expect in the coming weeks.
This episode deals with a relatively new phenomenon that we are all having to come to terms with: children born with HIV surviving into their adolescent years thanks to ARVs! This is the new reality of the success of ARVs, and is the most stirring and convincing story of our ability to beat HIV and AIDS with ARVs.
The third episode of the new series of Siyayinqoba Beat It! deals with herpes and its role in the spread of HIV/AIDS. A segment from Khayelitsha shows the lack of understanding of the disease in our communities. What becomes apparent is that some of us clearly have a vague idea about herpes and know it is contracted sexually, but it also becomes apparent that not many South Africans are willing to take responsibility for their actions. It shows how when we place blame elsewhere instead of taking responsibility, we merely compound the problem of HIV and sexually transmitted diseases.
In the fourth episode of the 2008 series of Siyayinqoba Beat It! There are some special guests in the studio to discuss celebrities living with HIV. HIV is indiscriminate in who it affects, and the first segment demonstrates this by dealing with the perception that celebrities are immune from contracting HIV because of their fame and privileged lives. We meet a range of inspirational celebrities, both local and international, who are using their position in the spotlight to get involved in the fight against HIV.
Relationships are intricate things. Fraught with possible stresses and complexities. Add to the mix HIV and there is what some people may see as a near-impossible situation. But that doesn't have to be the case. With honesty, trust and respect a sero-discordant relationship can be even healthier than your average relationship!The fifth Episode of Siyayinqoba Beat It! discusses sero-discordant couples: where one partner is HIV negative and the other is HIV positive.
Young women often get involved in relationships with older men and because of the expensive gifts or social status that comes with the relationship. This is called Intergenerational/Transactional sex. Women often experience pressure from families to find a man who could support them financially, and this pressure can lead to them becoming involved with men who will support them in various ways. It can become a way of life: to go in search of much older men who will give basic things like rice and meat in exchange for sex.
Parenthood can be daunting. And with so many differing opinions out there, trying to make the right decisions for your children is sometimes confusing. This is especially true for HIV positive mothers who are trying to protect their children from contracting the disease. This week on Siyayinqoba Beat It! one of the most complicated HIV-related topics is discussed: feeding and HIV. There is not one correct or incorrect way for HIV positive mothers to feed their babies; we examine the various options open to women and underline the importance of mothers getting the appropriate information before making a decision one way or another.
Life is full of uncertainties. There is actually so little that we can control. But knowing our HIV status is something that is in our control. What's more, knowing our status means that if we are HIV positive, we can start treatment and have a better chance at a full, healthy life with HIV. Effective treatment of HIV is completely time dependent. The earlier the disease is picked up, the sooner the treatment can start and the better the chance of a full, healthy life with HIV. Denial is still a huge factor leading to many people dying of HIV/AIDS in this country, and this week in Siyayinqoba Beat It! we examine the benefits of getting tested regularly.
Coming to terms with one's sexual orientation can be a confusing and stressful time. Added to that, people of a different sexual orientation are being assaulted, raped, and bullied on a daily basis; causing them to feel unsafe in the townships where they live. These are known as hate crimes. Hate crimes are at their root based on ignorant discrimination against race, nationality, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or HIV status. Siyayinqoba Beat It! investigates a particularly heinous kind of hate crime known as "curative rape", where the perpetrator is attempting to force a change in their victim's sexual orientation. Siyayinqoba Beat It! is never afraid of a challenge, and this week we bring you one of the most shocking and controversial subjects prevalent in South African society today: sexual violence and hate crimes.
Tuberculosis is a devastating disease. As South Africa has the second highest incidence of TB in the world, it is vitally important that we are all exposed to the reality of this disease. As HIV positive people are even more susceptible to becoming infected with TB, educating the public on how to treat this disease properly becomes even more urgent. This week's episode of Siyayinqoba Beat It! explores the relationship between TB (Tuberculosis) and HIV in South Africa. Due to immunodeficiency, the chances of catching TB are considerably higher if the patient is already HIV positive. HIV also alters the clinical course of TB, making it difficult to diagnose. The rapid spread of the disease often makes it fatal.
Male circumcision is often seen as a matter of choice or tradition, but recent studies have shown that it may have a significant impact on men contracting HIV. Independent tests have shown that men who are circumcised are considerably protected from contracting the virus and circumcision is now considered a viable factor in the prevention in HIV.
There are alarming rates of domestic abuse in South Africa. 1 in 6 women have been abused verbally, physically or sexually and usually the victims are afraid to speak out. This means that the culprits are seldom punished. Gender violence is under the spotlight on this week's episode of Siyayinqoba Beat It! as our support group discusses how our communities can respond to the epidemic of gender violence - one of the key drivers of the HIV epidemic. Rape is the most serious manifestations of gender violence. Joining our support group to discuss these issues is Noluthando Ntlokwana from the Women's Legal Centre.
2008 - Episode 13 - Infants on ARVs
This episode of Siyayinqoba Beat It! aims to inform us on the best practices and difficulties of administering ARVs to infants. It has been shown that starting new born children on ARVs as soon as they are diagnosed leads to far better results. Pharmaceutical companies have not yet developed a fixed dose that is a sure-fire across the board measure suitable for infants. Determining the correct pediatric dose is often difficult at understaffed hospitals in South Africa. This leads to hospitals often using a dose that is relative to the child's weight which could lead to over or under dosing.
This episode of Siyayinqoba Beat It! explores how children are raised by their parents and how this impacts on their integration and socialisation into communities. There are many socially and culturally defined gender roles which shape and influence the way the child perceives the world to be, and how the world treats the child. This fascinating and vast subject is under the spotlight in this week's show. We see how pre-determined ideas about sex and other issues are all based on upbringing.
In this episode of Siyayinqoba Beat It! we discuss the new Children's Act and social grants. Passed recently, the law enables children to make life decisions without parental consent such as testing for HIV and buying contraceptives over the counter. The Foster Care and Child Support grants are also under scrutiny from our Support Group as we examine the circumstances under which they are given. Joining the support group discussion is Zukile Kani from the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA).
Although it is almost entirely curable, cervical cancer is still responsible for more deaths amongst women than any other type of cancer. Because the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), which causes the lesions that may result in cervical cancer, is sexually transmitted women seem reluctant to talk about it. This is not ideal because HIV positive women are more likely to be infected with HPV because of their weakened immune systems and this can and does lead to cervical cancer.
We are all aware that South Africa has a high incidence of drug and alcohol related problems. In Cape Town last year alone some 46% of patients seeking drug treatment were tik users compared to just 0.7% four years earlier. Alcohol abuse is also widespread throughout our country. The associated risk-taking behaviour that substance abuse leads to contributes to the high rates of HIV infection in our communities. It also contributes to and compounds unemployment and poverty especially in our communities affected most by HIV and TB.
In this episode of Siyayinqoba Beat It! the serious topic of preventing mother-to-child transmission is dealt with in depth. South Africa has had a prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT) programme since 2003 yet this programme is clearly not reaching enough women. South Africa is one of the few countries were infant mortality is increasing, not decreasing mainly due to HIV-related deaths. The new National HIV/AIDS Strategic Plan aims to reduce the rate of mother-to-child transmission to 5% by 2011. As the only show presented by people living positively with HIV this matter is obviously close to the Support Group's hearts. No one wants innocent children to be infected, especially mothers. Joining us again on the show this week is Dr Majoro.
An alarming 35 to 40% of farm workers living in South Africa are infected with HIV. Conditions prevalent on farms are conditions that contribute to a high rate of HIV infection. On farms workers are often forced, in the absence of alternatives, to live in crowded compounds far from their families and isolated from HIV/AIDS interventions.
In April 2002 the South African government announced the roll-out of post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for rape survivors and medical practitioners with needle stick injuries. The importance of PEP in South Africa shouldn't be underestimated due to the high rates of gender based violence and rape. In 2002 alone over 50 000 rapes were reported to the South African Police Service and it is estimated that only 1 in 9 rape survivors actually report to the police. PEP is administered to victims of sexual crimes who report to a health facility within 72 hours of the crime. As a prevention measure PEP is only administered to survivors who are known not to be HIV positive. Consequently survivors who decline to be tested for HIV cannot be given PEP.
One in three South African girls fall pregnant before their 20th birthday. In a country with a generalised HIV epidemic as big as ours these statistics are alarming. According to the South African Medical Research Council's (MRC) latest national survey, 16% of pregnant teenagers are HIV positive. The problem is not uniform throughout the country. There are "hotspots" where the problem is more prevalent. In Gauteng for instance the problem doubled from 2005 to 2006 despite a decade of AIDS education in schools. In some areas nurses are also reluctant to give contraception to teenagers and this, although not addressing the risk of HIV infection, does contribute to the large number of teenage unwanted pregnancies. All of these issues are tackled and discussed in this week's episode of Siyayinqoba Beat It!
One of the greatest challenges of living positively with HIV/AIDS is the act of telling your loved about your status. No two people react in the same way when confronted with the HIV positive status of a loved one and some HIV positive people are often rejected by their friends, family, and colleagues. This rejection is because of the stigma that still surrounds the disease in our communities. The decisions to be made of when, where and to who to disclose to aren't easy but as this episode of Siyayinqoba Beat It! shows disclosing to loved ones, however hard, most often brings about acceptance, understanding and treatment support.
With a shift in the political landscape recently the government has started to address HIV/AIDS with urgency. It will, however, take unprecedented effort and people to repair the damage caused by inaction, incompetence and in some cases downright denial. The figures too appear overwhelming: 345 000 AIDS-related deaths last year, 1 in 10 South Africans are HIV positive and 30% of pregnant woman at government facilities are HIV positive. The waiting lists for ARVs are too long and clinics are too often understaffed with only 370 of the accredited 4000 able to administer ARVs. This week on Siyayinqoba Beat It! the National Strategic Plan (NSP) is under the spotlight as we discuss all the aspects of this potential lifeline to millions. Joining Shalom and the Support Group is Mark Heywood who is the deputy chairperson of SANAC, the South African National AIDS Council.
There is a lot of stigma around HIV in South Africa. In some rural communities the virus is even seen as being the result of witchcraft making the HIV sufferer "bewitched". Besides this it is also seen as a disease that only affects people who are promiscuous, sex workers or homosexuals. This week on Siyayinqoba Beat It! our support group and guests discuss the stigma attached to HIV/AIDS and if anything in the foreseeable future can be done to alter the mindsets of people who perpetuate these unfortunate views. Zuki, from the Siyayinqoba Beat It! Outreach team, joins us in studio for this week's show.
Public health is a basic right of every person living in South Africa. Our Constitution states that all citizens have the right to basic needs like water and sanitation. Yet there are still areas where even these basic commodities, that most take for granted, are not easily available or accessible. Despite the negative impact this has on these communities it also leads to poor hygiene, which can create a breeding ground for a variety of diseases and as a result many babies die from diarrhoea and pneumonia. These could be avoided if people had access to clean water.
The reaction to HIV/AIDS in our country has at its root been in contravention of many of the inalienable human rights defined in our constitution. Public health policies for the prevention, education and treatment of HIV/AIDS should take into account respect for human rights as core to the challenge of HIV/AIDS. This week Siyayinqoba Beat It! tackles this issue of basic human rights within the framework of HIV/AIDS. One of these issues is the way people with HIV are treated in their work environments. Skhumbuzo Maphumolo from the AIDS Law Project joins the support group in the studio.
|
