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?