7

Women in Healthcare

TB

is one of the Number One Killers in South Africa 

IthasbeensaidthatSouthAfricaisparadoxicallytheland
ofthefatandthehungry.Whilemillionsaremalnourished,
arecentstudyperformedbytheHumanSciencesResearch

Council

11

foundthatalmost

aquarterofSouth

Africanwomenareoverweight.

Thisisconcerningbecauseinadditiontotheburdenof
diseasecausedbyinfectiouscauses,suchasHIV/AIDS
andTuberculosis,wearealsonowfacingarisingtideof

lifestylediseases,suchasdiabetesandhypertension,which
arecloselyassociatedwithobesity.

45%ofAsianorIndianwomenreportedhavinghigh
cholesterol,whichisaprecursorforheartdisease;anda
quarterofwomen,whowereassessed,reportedtobe
smokers.Almosthalfofthewomen,livinginurbanareas,
werefoundtobeunfitand45%ofwomenover65years
reported

having

psychological

afflictions,

such

as

depressionandanxiety.

Itisestimatedthat1in7SouthAfricanwomenwillgetcancerintheirlifetime.Breast
canceristhemostcommoncanceraffectingSouthAfricanwomen(1in33),followed
bycervicalcancer(1in39).

Othercommonformsofcancersincludeuterine,colorectalandoesophageal.

Alarmingly,ithasbeenpredictedthattherewillbea78%increaseinthenumberof
casesofcancerinSouthAfricaby2030

12

.

SouthAfricacurrentlyranksthethirdhighestintheworld
intermsoftheTBburden,afterIndiaandChina,withan

incidencethathas

increasedby400%over

thepast15years.

TraditionallymostTBcasesanddeathsoccuramongmen,but

TBremainsamongthetopthreekillersofwomen
worldwide

8

.

InSouthAfrica,highratesareseenamongstwomen,dueto
thepreponderanceofwomenlivingwithHIV,asHIVfuels
infectionwithTB.In2011,10%ofallfemaledeathsinthe
countrywereduetoTB.

78% increase 

in the number of 

cancer cases 

expected in 

South Africa by 2030

Explosion of lifestyle 

(non-communicable) diseases in South Africa

Women’s Health Statistics in SA

1

What’s in  

the 

Headlines?