GET A HEALTH CHECK-UP, URGES KZN HEALTH MEC
KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC, Nomagugu Simelane, has urged residents to start the New Year on a positive note by getting a health check-up, including getting tested for HIV.
“The start of the year is a very good time for everyone to start these good habits, so you can know where you stand as far as
diabetes, high blood pressure, and other ailments that might turn chronic, are concerned,” she said at a recent briefing in Durban.
“In order for men not to forget to get tested for prostate cancer, now is a good time to go … Similarly with breast cancer, which women can examine themselves for, cervical cancer, and other ailments. “Of course, we are not saying people must only test themselves at the beginning of the year, but this is to try and build a habit because doing it at the beginning of the year helps you start on a clean slate.
“This includes those who do not know their HIV status. They must go and get tested. Men must stop relying on their wives or girlfriends to ‘test’ on their behalf, as it were … because some couples are sero-discordant (one partner can be HIV negative, while the other is positive). So, each and every person must test for themselves.
The MEC also appealed to healthcare workers to treat all patients with care and kindness, and not turn away those who want to get screened and tested “just because they’re not sick.”
She added: “Those who take good care of our patients … the onus is on them to ensure that those who treat patients badly are brought back in line, because if they don’t do that, we all look bad. Don’t keep quiet if you see your colleague mistreating a patient, because their actions have implication on all of us.”
With the matric class of 2023 having received their examination results, Simelane also sent a message to parents, guardians and young people to prepare themselves for the potential perils and pitfalls of life as tertiary students.
“Most of our young people have been under the care of their parents for all their lives,” she said. “They know there’s a curfew, they know what time they eat and so on. Now that they’ll be stepping into life as tertiary education students, they’ll be literally on their own, with no one looking after them.
“Co-habitation does happen. That, we know. That is why it’s vital that young people who are at university must know what they’ve come to do. There are lots of girls … lots of boys … many distractions. They must know that behaving well and staying on the right track is entirely up to them.
“Many of these young people are still 18 or 19 years old … They’re still very young. We want them to know that there’s absolutely no problem in abstaining from sex. Abstinence from sex does not mean you’re a bumpkin or out of tune with what is fashionable. It actually means you’re smart, and you know what you want out of life.”
Simelane said the department would be reviving its ‘Graduate Alive’ programme, which aims to encourage young people to behave responsibly, especially when it comes to their sexual reproductive health.
“We have a number of contraceptive options, such as oral contraceptives, male and female condoms, the long-acting Implanon, and there’s also PrEP, which protects those who are HIV negative. Also, there is absolutely nothing wrong with women keeping condoms in their bags. It is a sign of taking responsibility,” she said.