Yearly Archives: 2010
Africa’s poor state of mind
10 November 2010
Nearly 17 percent of patients visiting health institutions in Africa have some form of mental disorder, the World Health Organisation says.
“œThough there is limited evidence on mental health problems in the African region, studies from a few countries indicate that one in six patients has at least one mental, neurological or behavioural disorder,” WHO director for Africa Dr Luis Sambo said.
He implored African governments to improve mental health facilities.
“œThe bottom line is mental illnesses occur with chronic physical conditions in many patients. They also worsen prognosis for heart disease, stroke, diabetes, HIV and Aids, cancer and other chronic illnesses,” he said.
Read the full article at TimesLive and share your views in our Comments section below. More news headlines can be found in our News Archive.
South African parliament may scrap VAT on books
9 November 2010
The standing committee on finance last month took a unanimous resolution to ask Treasury to provide it with a report on the likely impact on the fiscal framework of zero rating VAT on books, Democratic Alliance MP Dion George told reporters.
“The idea is not new. It was dismissed by former finance minister Trevor Manuel as a measure that would only benefit the wealthy, and his successor, Pravin Gordhan, failed to respond to a letter from MPs reiterating the suggestion.”
“We need to understand that, for the same pro-development, pro-poor reasons that bread, milk and vegetables are zero-rated, we need to zero-rate basic learning material too.
“Good education creates more opportunities for young South Africans and is the key doorway for the worst-off citizens in our country to escape the conditions that would otherwise keep them and their children trapped in poverty.”
Read the full article at TimesLive and share your views in our Comments section below. More news headlines can be found in our News Archive.
Africa goes local for green development
Funding for the green energy sector in Africa will give local entrepreneurs a sense of ownership and empowerment, an investment official said in South Africa.
The African Carbon Asset Development Facility through a partnership with the U.N. Environment Program outlined a series of new green energy financing initiatives following an investment forum in Johannesburg.
UNEP said nearly $84 billion was invested in emerging green markets in 2009 across the globe but only 2 percent of that found its way to Africa. South Africa and Kenya are the only African nations that have more than 10 such projects in the development stage, the agency added.
The environmental agency said that while the entrepreneurial spirit is a driving factor in many markets, it remains particularly weak in Africa.
Read the full article at United Press International and share your views in our Comments section below. More news headlines can be found in our News Archive.
The difference AIDS makes to vulnerable children
5 November 2010
New South African research shows that AIDS-affected children struggle with educational and mental health issues more than their peers, who are vulnerable for other reasons.
The research, which authors said was the first to measure the effects of AIDS-related illness among care-givers on children, was conducted by Oxford University and South Africa’s University of the Witwatersrand and presented at the Orphaned and Vulnerable Children (OVC) Conference in Johannesburg on 1 November.
Researchers found that having a care-giver suffering from an AIDS-related illness almost doubled the chances of a child not being enrolled in school compared with a child whose carer experienced other illnesses. Children whose care-givers were battling opportunistic infections were also more likely to miss school days and have concentration problems.
About a third more children cared for by adults with opportunistic infections reported doing at least three hours of housework daily compared with children whose carers had other ailments.
Read the full article at Irin PlusNews and share your views in our Comments section below. More news headlines can be found in our News Archive.
" alt="Giving is good" />Giving is good
Written by Lou Boxall-Davies, Head of Planning at morrisjones&co.
South Africans are surprisingly generous when it comes to giving of their time and money to worthy causes. While this benevolence is good for the recipients, it’s good for the givers too.
A recent survey by the Centre for Civil Society at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, reveals that South Africa is a nation of givers. 93% of the 3000 respondents have given money, goods or time to a cause, organisation or an individual in the month prior to being interviewed.
SAII 2010 Conference “œCollaborative capital investment for innovative social change”
3 November 2010
8 November 2010 to 9 November 2010 As philanthropic circles move more and more into a more investment space and investment circles move more and more into a responsible space, there is an important juncture at the cross section that needs to evolve – this is a huge global movement and is set to grow here too
This two day interactive workshop will cover the core themes of innovative responsible finance,building social capital infrastructure, measuring impact, collaboration in reality and social enterprise models in action.
The SAII 2010 conference is brought to you by GreaterGood, Cadiz Asset Management and Noah Financial Innovation. For further information, visit http://www.saiin.co.za.
2010 film festival hosted by Beauty without Cruelty
29 October 2010 to 6 November 2010 Beauty Without Cruelty is delighted to announce that Shannon Keith is a special guest for the 2010 Animal Rights film festival, which is to take place in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg from 29th October to 6th November this year.
Keith is the director of Behind the Mask: The Story Of The People Who Risk Everything To Save Animals and Skin Trade, which will be premiered in Cape Town 29th October, and is the story of fur.
She is an animal rights activist, documentary film maker and animal rights lawyer. Keith has represented a number of well-known animal-rights activists and campaigns, including (SHAC) Stop Huntingon Cruelty and Kevin Konjaas, the former president of SHAC USA, against Huntington Life Sciences and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. Keith has saved dogs from being euthanised in Los Angeles, and in 2000, she obtained the largest settlement against the City of Los Angeles for the beating to death of a dog by a city employee. In 2002 Keith began to challenge the media with her strong message in support of animal liberation actions and activists. In 2004 Keith started a non-profit, tax-exempt group called ARME (Animal Rescue, Media & Education). ARME rescues homeless animals and focuses on stopping the problem at its roots through educational initiatives, including making documentaries about animals and animal activists.
The Johannesburg events are on Friday 5th Nov: 40, Westmeath Road, Parkview. 7.00pm. Movie “Bold Native” and Saturday 6th Nov: Nu Metro Hyde Park. 2.00pm. Movie “The Skin Trade”
Further information can be found on www.bwcsa.co.za/campaigns
Invitation to a Brown Bag Lunchtime Seminar
12 November 2010 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm The Studies in Poverty and Inequality Institute (SPII) would like to invite you to a Brown Bag* lunchtime seminar where we will be presenting some of our most recent work on the topic of:
The progressive realization of socio-economic rights – what does the South African Constitution require the government to do and has this been guiding policy choices?
Date: 12 November 2010
Venue: Civicus Boardroom House, 31 Quinn Street, Newtown, Johannesburg.
Time: 12.00 am to 13.30 pm
Please RSVP to Fortunate Mabuza at fortunate@spii.org.za or 011 833 0161/2 by Monday 8 November 2010.
*The idea behind brown bag lunchtime seminars is to use the lunch break in everyone’s busy schedule to hold a brief exchange of ideas. Please feel free to bring your lunch. Drinks will be provided.
Call for home testing for HIV
2 November 2010
Home HIV testing kits should be made widely available in South Africa, three Aids experts have urged in the latest issue of the SA Medical Journal.
“South Africa has reached a point in its Aids epidemic where individuals should be able to decide when and where they would like to test for HIV, and do so without having to involve anyone else,” said Wits University academics Marlise Richter and Dr Francois Venter, and Andy Gray, a senior lecturer at the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s medical school.
The SA Medical Association (Sama) had said it was risky for patients to test themselves “unmonitored”, and warned this could lead to patients committing suicide. The warning had been echoed by the national department of health and the Treatment Action Campaign.
Read the full article at Times Live and share your views in our Comments section below. More news headlines can be found in our News Archive.
De Beers wins top education award
29 October 2010
Tshikululu is pleased to announce that the De Beers Fund has received a top category award at the prestigious annual Mail & Guardian Investing in the Future Awards for its work in South Africa’s education sector.
The award was accepted by De Beers Consolidated Mines CSR manager Abel Madonsela at a banquet attended by award entrants from 13 African countries at Johannesburg’s Summer Place last night. The judges remarked that De Beers was ahead of other company entrants “œby a far distance” in this work and commended others in the private sector to follow its example.
Coverage of De Beers’ education work is carried in today’s Mail & Guardian. De Beers’ winning entry can be viewed here.
