by Kegorapetse | Apr 13, 2018 | SMU Media
The Sugar Tax is a tax based on the sugar content of food beverages. The tax is fixed at 2.1 cents per gram of the sugar content that exceeds four grams per 100ml‚ which means the first teaspoon of sugar in 100ml is levy free. Fruit juices are exempt from the tax despite the fact that fruit juice in some instances, contain more sugar compared to sugary beverages.
Imposing sugar tax is an attempt from government to prevent or control the rapid rise in the prevalence of non-communicable diseases (diabetes type II, heart disease, obesity, etc.). The ideal would be to promote a diet which consists of a healthy variety of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Yet, proteins are expensive even though they are a necessary component of our diet.
Sugar Tax combined with the increase in Value added Tax (VAT) will force people into purchasing more energy-dense, but less nutrient-dense food items. Foods that are energy dense have lots of calories per serving. Foods that are nutrient dense have high levels of nutrients per serving. Nutrient dense refers to the amount of vitamins, minerals, and/or protein in a food. In general, nutrient-dense food is more expensive when compared to energy-dense food. A diet high in energy but low in nutrients should not be promoted. This will affect especially the poor. There are 19 food items that are tax exempt and vegetables are part of this list. Lack of consumption of meat is a major cause of the high levels of vitamin A deficiency in our country.
The poorest of the poor, do not exclusively live on these 19 products. They require red meat. But red meat is not exempted from VAT which they need to consume to have a complete diet. Nutrient-dense vegetables have also become very expensive and the outbreak of Listeriosis, which has claimed over 180 lives, exacerbates the impact of not eating enough meat. The non- consumption of ready to eat meat like Polony (due to Listeriosis contamination from Rainbow, Enterprise processing plants) has removed from the menu of the poor, a few inexpensive protein-rich products.
This is by no means promoting the intake of processed foods. Rather, it refers to unprocessed meat, even though Listeriosis could also spread through fruit and vegetables (such as in Australia, where it was spread by watermelons). A number of recent research studies have reported on the detrimental impact of processed meats on health, especially the onset of cancer.
There is a significant increase in the prevalence of non-communicable diseases within the South African population. There are high levels of obesity in young children, even within poor communities. Government is making an honest attempt at promoting a healthy lifestyle, including dietary intake.
The sugar tax and increase in VAT to 15 percent does not differentiate between the poor and the rich. With the increase in VAT, more of the middle-class will be sucked into poverty and opt for cheaper energy-dense food items. The outcome of this is that there will be a differentiation in the outcome, between the poor and the rich. The poor will experience a more negative impact.
The treatment of non-communicable diseases is a daunting task and any intervention that assists in prevention of sugar related non-communicable disease should be welcomed by the health industry. The consumption of large amounts of sugary beverages has been proven to be a major factor leading to obesity, almost everywhere in the world. That is what the sugar tax targets. Whether the sugar tax, together with the increase in VAT, will have the desired outcome, is something that will become apparent in a few years from now. Public health strategies are long-term strategies and difficult to predict. But what is known however is that the United States of America (USA), Mexico, Brazil and France have all experienced lower demand for sugary beverages due higher beverage prices.
by Kegorapetse | Apr 13, 2018 | SMU Media
Students retention is a huge challenge: how do you spot if they’re engaged or not? How can you intervene successfully? And how do you use all the data you hold to create courses that meet students’ needs and high expectations? Big questions, but with the right tools you might have the answers.
“Across Europe, many universities face drop-out rates as high as one-in-five. The most seriously affected institutions reach levels as high as one-in-three.” For more, please follow this link >>
by Kegorapetse | Apr 6, 2018 | SMU Media
The South African flags and of the university are flying at half-mast. SMU Community joins the rest of the country and indeed the world in the 10 day mourning period for Mrs Winnie Madikizela-Mandela who died on 1 April 2018, at the hospital. The mother of the nation, as she is affectionately known by millions, was 81 years old when she succumbed to a short illness.
Perhaps, no descriptive better exemplifies the strength of character of Winnie Madikizela- Mandela than this African proverb – “More mogolo o we le, thaga t꙼꙼sa lla botsororo” meaning, the Baobab tree under which all sought shelter and succour has fallen, leaving many exposed”. She was the first medical social worker, working at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, during the dark days of Apartheid. Her home in Soweto, has been a home of refuge for many.
The abuse that Winnie Mandela was subjected to, for her beliefs, is unimaginable. Separated from her husband Mr Nelson Mandela who was sentenced to life imprisonment in Robben Island, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela had to metaphorically hold the knife on the sharp end as, a young mother.
She was dragged from her house by police one night, in front of her two little daughters, Zenani and Zindzi, who looked on in tears, as she was bundled in the back of the police van, when she was detained. She spent eighteen months in gaol, in solitary confinement, sleeping on the cold floor. When she was released from detention, she was forcefully removed from her home in Soweto in 1977 and banished to Brandford, in the then Orange Free State.
All these and more brutal acts, visited upon her, sought to coerce her to submit and also to squash the popular uprising to Apartheid that the masses of the people of South Africa were embarking upon, under her leadership.
What her torturers sought to achieve, by violating her human rights, had an opposite effect. Instead, it sharpened her resolve to defy and overcome all that the Apartheid state unleashed against her. Fed up with obeying the banning order which restricted her to Brandford, she broke her banning order and relocated voluntarily back to her home in Soweto from where she continued leading struggles of the masses of her people to end Apartheid. Her home in Soweto became a refuge for young and old who had to escape their own homes out of fear of detention, arrest and persecution by police.
Some of the people she harboured in her home were security police informants the most notable was Mr Jerry Richardson, who was the coach of the Mandela United Football Club (MUFC). Richardson murdered Mr Stompie Seipei for which he was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment.
It transpired that Richardson was a spy and Seipei became aware of this. Seipei was on the verge of exposing Richardson by informing Winnie Mandela that Richardson had been an SA Police spy. Richardson, in attempt to prevent Seipei from exposing him, murdered the teenage activist and blamed it on Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. Police investigation and the subsequent trial of Richardson exonerated her from involvement. Whilst she played no part in the murder, her detractors still hold this against her even though she had been exonerated from this murder.
After the first democratic elections, which the ANC won, she was appointed deputy Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology, in the first post-Apartheid Government which was led by her ex-husband, Nelson Mandela. She was fired from this position, by President Mandela and she became an ordinary member of parliament until her death.
She delivered a key note address at the graduation ceremony in 2009, when her grandson, Dr Zinhle Dlamini graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB), at the time when the university was a campus of the University of Limpopo (UL) with which it was merged. The late Nelson Mandela also attended the graduation ceremony of Dr Dlamini, their grandson. Dr Dlamini is the son of Ms Zenani Mandela and Prince Dlamini, of the Kingdom of Swaziland. May her soul find eternal peace.
by Kegorapetse | Mar 28, 2018 | SMU Media
Listeriosis, the most deadly food-borne disease has claimed over 100 lives in South Africa. The source of the outbreak has been traced, according to Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, the Minister of Health, to three Enterprise processing plants in Polokwane, Germiston and also in Pretoria. Retailers consequently withdrew from the shelves all ready to eat uncooked foods from Enterprise, Rainbow Chickens and other products contaminated with the bacteria known as Listeria monocytogenes.
Most fast foods sellers, in the townships, who use Polony, as one of the ingredients in their Khothas (a quarter slice of bread hollowed out and filled with Polony, eggs, chips etc) have experienced a marked decline in the sales of their fast -foods, as consumers fear contracting this deadly disease from ready to eat uncooked foods.
Listeriosis is a bacterial disease-caused by a bacteria known as Listeria monocytogenes. Whilst many people do not know about this deadly disease, it is not a new emerging disease. This bacteria has been a cause of human disease for a long time worldwide. It commonly causes Meningitis or Blood Stream infection in new-born babies. It is widely distributed in nature, in soil, in vegetation etc. It is also found in about 5% of pregnant women who are not ill (a colonizer of maternal gastrointestinal tract and the genital tract-hence leading to infection of the new-born during delivery). It is also one of the causes of Meningitis in the elderly above the age of 65 years.
When looking at the statistics from National Institute for Communicable Disease (NICD) from 2013 to end of 2016 countrywide, there has been about 60-80 cases per year – that is sporadic cases. The outbreak was first noticed between July and August 2017 by two academic hospital laboratories in Gauteng. These laboratories were noticing higher than usual numbers of laboratory confirmed cases of Listerioses in their centres. The laboratories reported their observations to NICD and laboratories and clinics were placed on a heightened sense of alert.
By October 2017, NICD had reported 129 culture confirmed cases since January 2017 – which was higher than the usual numbers. Laboratories and clinicians were on high alert and the outbreak was declared in December 2017 by the Health Ministry. By then, 557 cases were reported country wide – with Gauteng having the most cases. By 3 March 2018, there were 967 laboratory confirmed cases.
Of these there had been 218 deaths (where outcome was known – because there are cases where the patient outcome was not known).These numbers are very dynamic as new data is received by the NICD on daily basis, so the numbers may be different, today.
In adults, Listeriosis is a food-borne disease which is contracted from eating contaminated foods. Of note Listeria can survive in temperatures of 4°C, hence its ability to survive and contaminate refrigerated foods such as cold meats and other ready to eat uncooked foods. On 4 March 2018, the Minister of Health, Dr Aron Motsoaledi, announced to the nation the discovery of the source, which was traced to Enterprise manufacturing plants in Polokwane, Germiston and in Pretoria. As a consequence, stringent control measures were put in place since then.
This disease can be prevented by not drinking unpasteurized Milk. Wash vegetables thoroughly before eating. Keep the refrigerator at 4.4°C or lower. Eat pre-cooked, perishable or ready to eat food as soon as possible. Keep raw meat, fish and poultry separate from other food.
The symptoms of Listeriosis, (broken down into age categories/or clinical scenarios to make it easy to read) are:
(1) Adults and children
Mild febrile diarrhoea after eating contaminated food. Symptoms may occur long after eating the suspected foods – several days to weeks. Outbreaks of diarrhoea and vomiting in 2 or more people who have shared a common meal (Food poisoning). Severe disease: Meningitis /Bloodstream infection in people above 65 years of age or those with a compromised immune system( Body defence system) for one reason or another e.g.- HIV/AIDS, Cancer therapy, diabetes etc.(NB: Symptoms may occur long after exposure, up to 90 days).
(2) Pregnant women
May be asymptomatic or may have mild flu-like symptoms with fever. These women in the setting of the outbreak must be asked about these symptoms when they come for routine antenatal care even though they have mild disease, because of the danger of passing it to the new-born.
(3) New-borns (babies day 0-day 30 of life)
Severe disease-Meningitis or Bloodstream infection. From laboratory statistics from January 2017 to 26 March 2018 in Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital (DGMAH) there were 32 Cases, 8 of which were from surrounding district hospitals and data could not be confirmed for them. Majority were new-borns just as it is nationally. There were 9 confirmed deaths.
The disease is treated with antibiotics, administered timeously, even before laboratory confirmation. As long as there is suspicion or differential diagnosis of Listerioses. Recommended antibiotics – Ampicillin + Gentamycin. For patients with Penicillin allergy there are affordable easy to get alternative antibiotics. In addition – other supportive care, in severe disease.
by Kegorapetse | Mar 28, 2018 | All News, Research
Prof Kebo Mokwena, the Head of the Department of Public Health has been awarded the prestigious Research Chair in Substance Abuse and Population Mental Health.
This grant bestows on Prof Mokwena the mantle of a pioneer, as the grant is the first at the SMU coming under the aegis of the South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) of the National Research Foundation (NRF).
“The grant, which is a significant amount, will enable me, among others, to continue the work that I have been doing for the past few years. Although Nyaope is a significant social and health problem in the country, there is little research on it, even though families, communities and society are, on a daily basis, having to deal with the ruin the drug is causing in the lives of the users. Addicts mostly assemble in the streets, taxi ranks, shopping malls and municipal parks. They can be easily identified by their slow movements, slow speech and untidy appearance” Prof Mokwena explained.
Mokwena said the grant will cover the operational and student support costs of the research programme. Key among her plans is to develop a national nyaope prevention strategy, which will need cooperation and collaboration with a number of stakeholders, including NGOs. The funding will also enable her to continue multi- disciplinary collaborations which she has already established with a number of Clinical Departments at SMU, as well as other organisations outside of the University. Current projects include collaborations with the clinical departments of radiology, nuclear medicine, physiotherapy, general surgery, gynaecology and obstetrics, paediatrics and child health, community dentistry, urology, chemical pathology, pharmacology, to mention a few.
Each of these specialities will explore the impact of Nyaope on specific body organs and function of the users and contribute to the body of knowledge around Nyaope. Although mostly master and doctoral students in Public Health will benefit from the award, other students from identified disciplines will also benefit from collaborations with the professors in their respective departments.
The collaborative effort also extends to the communities who have to contend with the challenges emanating from the addicts, who are mostly Black. She will also extend collaborative networks to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working with the addicts. Families will also be provided with skills to cope with the trauma associated with having addicts in their midst.
“The work is massive. One hopes that the good coming out this project will place Nyaope under the national spotlight and scrutiny, and that it does not remain to be regarded as a problem of a few. For a number of years, nyaope required a national response and the funding will enable realisation of that goal and be regarded as a national crisis needing a national response” warned Mokwena.
At a personal level, the grant will go a long to instil in her a sense of achievement and pride in the knowledge that she will be changing the lives of the addicts, their families and the communities they belong to.
“The overall goal is to develop a community based Nyaope treatment model, which, currently does not exist. This will entail intervention that prepares the families and the communities, from behavioural and pharmacological points of view. At a personal level, I will have created a mark as an academic and a community development professional” she concluded.
Nyaope, also known as Whoonga, is wreaking havoc in the lives of addicts and among their families, in many townships across South Africa. It is a dangerous, highly addictive and cheap drug. It is a fine powder which is usually combined with dagga (Marijuana).
A cock-tail drug with Heroin as its main ingredient, it is smoked, snorted or even injected in the arm or in any other part of the body. Addicts are increasingly resorting to what they term “Bluetooth” method which means the use of a needle to extract blood from an addict who had just had a fix and injecting the blood into another with the intention of ‘sharing’ the effect. This method poses a number of health risks as the blood types may be incompatible. Other risks include spreading infections like hepatitis and HIV, as well as development of infections from using unsterile needles.
