Search
  1. Home
  2. Southern Africa
  3. South Africa

Health department allays HIV infection fears

    JOHANNESBURG

    The health department of South Africa's Western Cape Province has called for calm after recent reports that 14 children had contracted HIV in hospitals.

    Controversy erupted last week after an article in the latest edition of the South African Medical Journal pointed out that 12 of the children were treated at eight Western Cape hospitals.

    Dr Fareed Abdullah, the head of the province's HIV/AIDS programme, said each case was being taken "extremely seriously" and the risk of infection was still small.

    Abdullah was quoted by a local newspaper, the Cape Argus, as saying: "We're talking about a possible 14 cases in the past six years."

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

    Share this article

    Our ability to deliver compelling, field-based reporting on humanitarian crises rests on a few key principles: deep expertise, an unwavering commitment to amplifying affected voices, and a belief in the power of independent journalism to drive real change.

    We need your help to sustain and expand our work. Your donation will support our unique approach to journalism, helping fund everything from field-based investigations to the innovative storytelling that ensures marginalised voices are heard.

    Please consider joining our membership programme. Together, we can continue to make a meaningful impact on how the world responds to crises.

    Become a member of The New Humanitarian

    Support our journalism and become more involved in our community. Help us deliver informative, accessible, independent journalism that you can trust and provides accountability to the millions of people affected by crises worldwide.

    Join