BuaNews (Tshwane)
Kagiso Metswamere
20 August 2008
Tlakgameng — Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang has encouraged women in the North West to take advantage of the various health empowerment programmes provided by government to improve their lives.
Addressing residents of the Tlakgameng villiage at the Thusong Service Centre on Tuesday, the minister said women must gain control of their own health and make use of the health services available.
"I would like to encourage you to visit our stalls, where you can gather useful information on health issues affecting women, such as cancer including breast and cervical cancers, mental health, contraception, violence and rape, management and prevention of these conditions," she said.
The minister's visit to the village was part of commemorating women's month through sharing the gains made in uplifting the status of women through improvement in service delivery and promoting healthy lifestyle.
The event was held under the theme, "Business Unusual - Encouraging Women and Men Working Together in Choosing Healthy Lifestyles."
Minister Tshabalala-Msimang said her department was taking specific and targeted measures to achieve equality by taking stock of the effects of gender equality on the respective situations of women primarily, but not forgetting male partners.
"We are cautious that the promotion of equality should not be confused with the simple objective of balancing statistics.
"Our programmes are designed to promote long-lasting changes in parental roles, family structures, institutional practices, the organisation of work and time, personal development and independence, as well as provision of quality of healthcare," the minister said.
She emphasised that there was a need to develop programmes that increase women's skills, capacity, rights and opportunities in order to address years of discrimination against women.
"It is all about women becoming agents of their development and empowerment, this simply means that women's empowerment is in the ability of women to exercise power in all of the social institutions that govern their daily lives, their households and their extended families.
"The empowerment of women is critical for the improvement of life of the general population," Minister Tshabalala-Msimang said.
The minister noted that improving maternal health and child survival remains the highest priority for South Africa as a country, for Africa as a region and for the whole world.
"We are the first country in Africa to declare maternal deaths a notifiable event, mainly because we believe no one should die just because of pregnancy and childbirth.
"In March this year, I launched three committees. One for confidential enquiries into maternal deaths, one for assessment of the deaths of small babies, one year and below and the third one for the assessment of death of children, five years and below, this is to intensify the prevention of preventable deaths amongst women and children," she said.
About 90 percent of public health facilities with antenatal care provide services for Prevention of Mother-To-Child-Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV and the current uptake is 60 percent.
At least 580 880 pregnant women accessed the PMTCT services during 2006.
Minister Tshabalala-Msimang thanked the province for strengthening the Women in Partnership Against AIDS initiative and engaging women at grassroots level.
She further said these initiatives were driven by the fact that women bear the brunt of HIV and AIDS, communicable diseases, non-communicable diseases, traumas and accidents.
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Since when is rape a womens health issue,for that matter since when does it not affect men?