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Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi urges people to accept facts about teenage sex at the opening ceremony of the 6th National Aids Conference in Durban.

Fact: Children have sex – Motsoaledi

Denial should not stand in the way of the provision of sexual health services at schools, says Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi.
35 initiates in Mpumalanga and Limpopo died last month in botched traditional circumcisions.

PrePex will save many lives in SA – with traditional leaders’ help

The state's hopes for the nonsurgical circumcision device rest on its acceptance in initiation rituals.
Nelson Mandela may have been stalked by his prison past in the years since freedom was won.

Harsh prison air left mark on Madiba

Madiba's prison past may have played a role in his recurrent lung infections.
Sub chief Mabhokomela Bonakele has shut down shebeens at night

Booze curfew breaks the cycle of violence on the Wild Coast

In a far-flung district, a night-time ban on shebeens has wiped out violence in a village.
A group of El Salvadoran mothers receive training in kangaroo mother care at a maternity hospital in San Salvador.

Infant care leaps forward with a lesson from kangaroos

A simple practice that benefits all newborns is also bringing down mortality rates.
Unjustifiable: Human rights group Section27 says that making life ­insurance unaffordable for HIV-infected people just serves to perpetuate the stigma around the condition.

People with HIV pay more for life insurance – if they can get it

Their life expectancy is almost as high as those who are HIV free, yet they pay much more.
Sewn up: The ­private sector has built up ­sophisticated ­administration ­systems that the NHI

‘Let private skills come to NHI’s aid’

Mia Malan reports on the challenges of involving medical schemes in the administration of the National Health Insurance scheme.
In 2011

ARVs alone won’t save HIV infected mothers

Access to ARVs is improving, but poor attitudes to patients are aggravating maternal mortality rates.
Fikile Magubane lost her son and husband in four months.

Mother’s vow to ‘save one more teen’

Suicides among teenagers are on the rise, but parents can be taught to spot the warning signs.
Unprescribed: Students are using the drug Ritalin to stay focused for exams.

‘Smart drugs’ rife at universities

Students are abusing schedule six pills ahead of exams – with the help of their doctors.
Open wide: Good oral health could keep gum disease and other serious ailments such as cardiovascular disease at bay.

Sex life leaving a bad taste in your mouth?

Poor oral hygiene doesn't just affect your gums; it can also lead to impotence.
Cotlands is a former children's Aids hospice that was converted to an early childhood development facilitation centre.

But when the bough breaks …

‘Baby bins' can mean the difference between life – and death at the bottom of a trash can.
Studies have shown that antiretroviral drug Truvada helps shield HIV-negative people from contracting HIV

Women confound HIV researchers

Why would young, single African women not take free drugs that could potentially save them from contracting a life-threatening infection?
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the primary donor of this revolutionary initiative in global health data dissemination.

Aids most prevalent cause of early deaths in SA

Aids kills more people prematurely in SA than another other disease – in sharp contrast to two decades ago, which set them at just 12%.
Kholekile Rouben Mdaka is one of 3500 claimants bringing a class ­action against Anglo American South Africa.

Silent killer lurks in miners’ lungs

Silicosis might appear only 15 years after exposure to gold ore dust, long after they have gone home. Heidi Swart reports.

Rural hospitals in terminal crisis

Accessing healthcare in this rural town has never been easy. Shortages of staff as well as medical equipment makes it difficult for this hospital to function.