To good health

A sea of around 3000 people flowed onto Groutville sports field on Wednesday, October 7 for the launch of Rotary International’s third year of family health days in South Africa.

This national campaign saught to raise awareness of the services available to the public to combat the spread of preventable diseases, such as tuberculosis (TB), HIV and AIDS.

Between October 7 and 9, public-sector nurses, workers from the Department of Health and volunteers from Rotary joined forces on 120 sites across South Africa to offer tens of thousands of people access to a range of health checks.

Scores of men, women and children patiently waited in spiraling queues beneath a blazing sun to receive services, including TB screening and testing, HIV testing and counselling, immunisations, screenings for cholesterol, blood pressure and diabetes, and information on sexual and reproductive health.

Nontshumayelo Gxoba, a professional healthcare trainer and nurse at Stanger Hospital, manned the family planning stand with two fellow nurses and said it was encouraging to see so many people seeking help and advice, but worrying that not all of them have access to the medical facilities they need.

The launch was attended by KwaZulu-Natal member of executive council for health, Sibongiseni Dhlomo, South Africa minister of health, Aaron Motsoaledi, United States consul-general, Frances Chisholm and founder of Rotarians for Family Health and AIDS Prevention (RFHA), Marion Bunch as keynote speakers on the day.

Both Dhlomo and Motsoaledi addressed the growing need for improved healthcare and voiced their support, on behalf of the government, for the annual programme’s contribution to South African healthcare.

Sue Paget, programme director for Rotary Family Health Days of Southern Africa, said the central goal of the international drive was to grant people access to healthcare where there is a real demand.

“The aim is to reach at least 75 000 people in all nine provinces over three days,” said Paget, who has been involved in the campaign since its first launch back in 2013.

Jabu Ngoma, a young mother from Nkobongo said she was very happy to wait so that her 18-month-old son, Sipho, could receive the vaccinations he needed. Another patient in the screening tent said he was grateful for the chance to be seen, as he cannot afford the tests he needs.

“I heard from my neighbour that this would be happening, so I made sure I got here early so that I could get the blood tests I need,” said Lucky Mkhize, a 44-year-old man from Groutville.

Angie Maloka, senior manager of education and community programmes at the MTN SA Foundation, said that the campaign saught to invest in the health of communities and to see a healthy return.

“Our goal is to help people understand that prevention is always better than a cure, as the culture of treatment has caused many to relax their standards of personal healthcare, making them less cautious,” said Maloka, a trained nurse with more than 20 years involvement in community development.

Many South Africans either cannot make it to hospitals and clinics because they are too far away from their homes or due to a lack of education are suffering from conditions which could have been easily prevented.

“Our job is to take healthcare services to the people and to catch those falling between the cracks,” said Paget, who added that through a continuous education incentive, Rotary hopes to take the message of public health right into the heart of disadvantaged communities.The idea is to identify illness and diagnose disease before symptoms begin to take effect.

“The fact that people were queuing to be tested says that we are already achieving our goal of raising awareness about the spread of disease,” said Maloka, who highlighted that this is only the first step in drastically improving public health in less advantaged areas.