May
24th, 2007
AFRICAN
HEALTH EXPERIENCE – 2007
Today
we visited the University of the Western Cape (UWC), which
is located in the City of Tygerberg, the northern suburbs
of Cape Town. It is surrounded by natural beauty: a viable
nature reserve, and the mountains of the Cape Peninsula
and Stellenbosch.
Based
on my own observation, UWC campus is a place were cultural
diversity is thriving. However, historical the university
struggled with discrimination and oppression against the
indigenous people of South Africa. UWC was a white school
until the late 1950s when Parliament adopted legislation
establishing UWC as a constituent college of the University
of South Africa for people classified as "Coloured".
The classification included all people of non-white heritage
(excluding black Africans). Not until 1987 did the school
implement its open admissions policy to black Africans seeking
a higher education. During the Presidency of Nelson Mandela,
UWC received accolades from the president for transforming
the university “from an apartheid ethnic institution
to a proud national asset."
UWC
received over 2500 applications for the nursing program.
Only 300 were accepted based on the universities criteria
and first come first server basis. There are currently 30
lecturers at UWC. The ratio of teacher to student is 1 to
50. During the meeting, UWC nursing students were invited
to sit in with the Delegates on Nursing to assist the lecturers
in the discussion and to answer our questions. Afterwards,
we had an opportunity to eat lunch together and further
interact with the students.
9:30am
Professor Thembisile Khanyile was the first to speak. She
is the Head of the Nursing Department. Her background education
includes T.D., PhD (Natal), M Ed (UNISA); BA (Nursing) (UNISA),
Honor Nursing Education (UNISA); B Cur, RN, RM, RNE, RCHessor.
Prof. Khanyile discussed nursing education in South Africa
specifically the strategy to maintain an adequate supply
of professional nurses. A couple of ways the healthcare
system and the government are strategizing is to improve
the income to attract more nurses in to the field, and to
improve the nurse to patient ratio so the nurses will not
be over worked and the patients receive the proper, adequate
healthcare they seek.
The
main reasons for the professional nurse shortage is due
to the low income for the profession in South Africa, this
leads the nurses to accepting higher offers from outside
the county leaving nurse assistances and aids, who are not
highly qualified through education and experience, to do
the work of a professional. This in itself is why the demand
for professional nurses is high in South Africa. According
to Professor Khanyile, they struggle with challenges as
more nurses are trained the more they migrate to other countries,
and the need for nurses is greatest in the rural areas of
Africa, but most nurses want to work in suburban and urban
areas.
10:30am
RR Marie Mosdeste was the second speaker. She is a student
of nursing and a fellow Golden Key Honour Society member.
The focus of Miss. Mosdeste’s discussion was examining
the HIV/AIDS pandemic and the impact on the nursing profession.
Here
are some startling facts about the HIV/AIDS crisis mentioned
in the lecture by Miss Mosdeste:
• In 2005, South Africa HIV prevalence was 18.8%
• South Africa has the most severe HIV epidemic in
the world
• Approximately 50% of the South African populace
is infected with HIV/AIDS
• United Nations & AIDS (UNAIDS) estimates that
5.5 million people in South Africa are living with HIV as
of 2005: 240,000 are children under the age of 15 years
of age
• Approximately 350,000 people in South Africa died
from AIDS in 2006 – most of them women
• ZwaZulu Natal Province has the largest percentage
of HIV/AIDS in all of South Africa and they are higher than
the national level: ZwaZulu Natal 39.1% HIV/AIDS; South
Africa national average 30.9%
The
impact of HIV/AIDS on family life is sad to say the least:
• 1.6 million children under the age 16 has increased
in the number of orphans due to the death of parents from
AIDS
• In the African culture the man is usually the source
of the income. If he is sick from AIDS or if he abandons
the family because the wife is sick from AIDS there is a
loss of income, which increases expenditure.
• Family life is disrupted if children lose their
parents. Often the grandmother will step in and raise the
children or the oldest sibling will fill the role.
• There is still a stigma and discrimination attached
to HIV/AIDS in South Africa. People are given a choice to
take a blood test or not to check for the disease, even
if the healthcare professional suspects or sees signs of
the infection. Most people choose not to know if they have
the disease. But if they do know, they keep it a secret
for fear of being ostracized by their family and community.
In some cases they will be killed by their own neighbors.
So,
what is South Africa doing about the pandemic to raise the
awareness to all people? It is apparent through my own observation
of the clinics, hospitals and lectures that the healthcare
professionals are doing all that they can to educate the
community. Here are just a few ways they are making a difference:
• In 2002, South Africa made Anti-Retroviral (ARV)
available for rape survivors and Preventing Mother To Child
Transmission (PMTCT)
• Life skills programs are implemented in schools
• Media based prevention on safe sex explaining how
to be safe
• Education on infant feeding choices for mothers
infected with HIV/AIDS and the child is not
• Due to the lack in healthcare resources, there is
support through home based care and community based organization
• At the national level, funding has increased since
2001
• The workplace is educating their employees and offering
testing.
Even
though there is a huge effort on at the local level and
national level to promote awareness, South Africa is still
faced with its challenges:
• Not enough human resources; there are capacity and
infrastructure constraints
• There is a slow rollout of the much needed treatment,
ARV: In 2005, 711,000 needed the treatment; only 255,000
received treatment
• Changing the behaviors and social changes are a
long process
• There is still a huge stigma and discrimination
surrounding HIV/AIDS
• Africa is deep in culture – there are still
gender inequalities. If the man does not want to wear a
condom, even if the women asks him to so, he does not have
to and the women accepts it as it is.
As
I go through this experience, I find myself reflecting on
the information I am absorbing about the condition of the
South African Healthcare System. I have one statement to
make, “I had no idea how bad the HIV/AIDS pandemic
was and the shortages of resources faced by this great nation”.
My eyes are open and I am learning so much from this experience.
In America, I know that the disease exists, but I do not
hear or see information flooding the news about the epidemic.
So it is out of sight out of mind – before South Africa
I did not see HIV/AIDS as a pandemic. Today, I can not say
that, because I no longer believe that. For a complete report
on the HIV/AIDS epidemic, which includes North America,
please visit www.unAIDS.org. If you would like more information
about the University of the Western Cape please visit their
website at www.uwc.ac.za.
Who
Am I? I am defined by my experiences of who I am not. I
must first know who I am NOT through life experiences –
to further define who I am and who I am becoming. My decisions
are based on my highest truth, which will lead me to my
highest version of my highest vision I ever imagined of
myself. I choose be the change in my life and the lives
of others. I choose to make a difference in my chosen field.
I choose to grow from this great experience in South Africa.
I choose to keep moving forward without looking back. Who
are you and what do you choose…..?
Email: TonyaakaTaTa@yahoo.com
Website: www.OCBlackChamber.com
Webpage:
http://www.myspace.com/southafricascholar
Personal Blog:
http://blog.myspace.com/southafricascholar
“Only
the educated are free” - Epictetus
