Responding to a question on why the department had placed such an emphasis on HIV and AIDS to the possible disadvantage of other healthcare issues in the country, [b]Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi[/b] says not only did HIV and AIDS result in the mortality rate doubling, but it also had an impact on increasing the incidences of cancers, tuberculosis, maternal deaths and mental health disorders.
He said in a [s]Polity[/s] report that the mortality rate in SA doubled between 2006 and 2007 from 300,000 to 612,000 – this was comparable to a country at war. Motsoaledi added that HIV and AIDS had caused a battle against maternal mortality, which was now being reversed. The child mortality rate – or children who die by the age of five – was at 35% because of HIV and AIDS. Also, women who are HIV-positive are five times more likely to get cancer of the cervix or uterus – which is the second biggest killer in the country. Another mind-boggling statistic Motsoaledi said was that 43% of people who are HIV-positive developed mental health problems.
[link url=http://www.polity.org.za/article/sa-makes-inroads-in-tackling-hivaids-2014-02-18]Full Polity report[/link]