WeeklySA_AdminACTION: Advocacy groups make the call, saying the urgent measure is necessary as diabetes cases are rising…
By Marcia Moyana
Civil society organisations are intensifying calls for President Cyril Ramaphosa to declare diabetes a public health emergency, citing the need for urgent government intervention and resources to prevent the growing number of deaths caused by the disease.
Up to 350 stakeholders, including academics, civil society organisations, industry representatives, and government officials, presented a unified front this week at the Diabetes Summit, demanding immediate action on what they describe as a spiralling health crisis.
According to Summit convener and Diabetes Alliance chair Dr Patrick Ngassa Piotie, diabetes is a leading cause of death and poses a heavy burden on the country’s already stretched public health system.
“Currently, the Department of Health has very few people able to dedicate their working time to diabetes. An emergency declaration would mobilise dedicated human and financial resources while putting society on notice that business as usual is no longer acceptable,” he says.
The toll keeps rising
It’s estimated that between 4.2 and 4.6 million people in South Africa have diabetes, and the numbers are expected to rise if there is no intervention.
The country is currently seeing an alarming intersection between the disease and other noncommunicable diseases like cardiovascular disease, hypertension and obesity. The rise of diabetes among people living with HIV adds to the complexity of dealing with the disease.
Pholo Ramothwala, founder of Live Life Beyond, a forum supporting people with chronic conditions, went from taking two tablets a day to eight when he was also diagnosed with type 2 diabetes about three years ago.
Ramothwala, who has been living with HIV for 26 years, has developed high cholesterol and hypertension because of long-term medication use.
He explains that his doctor cautioned that one of the side effects of taking both HIV and diabetes medication would be a spike in his cholesterol levels – a reality he still tries to make sense of.
“It is one of the most confusing things. The idea is that once you take medication, you get better. But technically, you get better from one side, and you develop something else,” he says.
After more than two decades of living with HIV, managing diabetes has been more challenging for him because of the blood sugar spikes.
“People need to literally pay attention to everything they are eating, think before they eat, and understand what they are eating. The day before the Diabetes Summit, I woke up feeling dizzy, and it was one of those difficult days where I could literally feel my body reacting to blood sugar spikes,” he tells Health-e News.
Ngassa Piotie explains that Ramothwala’s experience has become a common phenomenon for long-term HIV survivors.
The country’s large population of people who survived the HIV crisis in the 2000s are now in their 40s, 50s, and 60s and are developing diabetes.
“One of the HIV treatments, unfortunately, has a side-effect that can create diabetes in an individual down the line. We also know that even if you are not living with HIV, the more you age, the more your risk of diabetes increases,” says Piotie.
Stronger nutrition policy
Nzama Mbalati, chief executive officer of the Healthy Living Alliance (HEALA), says prevention of the rising diabetes and other NCD-related deaths through nutrition has become more urgent than before.
“HEALA has been talking about the cost of inaction for years, and in 10-15 years, if nothing is done, there will be a bigger problem in NCDs.
There is a greater need to look at how to support people to eat healthy, driving nutrition literacy and building networks and ecosystems,” says Mbalati.
The Diabetes Alliance intends to adopt a grassroots approach to diabetes management, modelling it after the successful Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) adherence programmes.
Ngassa Piotie argues that grassroots movements, where people are empowered at community level to care for themselves, providing education, peer support, tools and skills to live healthy and long with diabetes, are needed.
Mbalati adds that HEALA will be implementing groundwork in provinces including Limpopo, Eastern Cape, Gauteng, KZN, and Western Cape, piloting mobilisation, treatment literacy, nutrition literacy, and building a large-scale education campaign and social mobilisation.
“We will continue advocating for front-of-pack labelling, the health promotion levy, marketing restrictions to children, and ensuring the National School Nutrition Programme provides nutritious food,” he says.
Ramathwala encourages people to take charge of their health and well-being by screening regularly and paying attention to their diets. “You cannot delegate your health responsibilities to somebody else,” he adds..— Health-e News
MIRROR Briefs
RASH MANAGER TO PAY R4,6M
Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke has used her expanded powers to issue a Certificate of Debt (COD) against the Ngaka Modiri Molema municipality in Mafikeng, North West.
This is the first COD since amendments to the Public Audit Act came into effect in 2019.
The CoD is issued as a last resort after all attempts have failed in addressing the material irregularity with the accounting officer and their executive authority. Maluleke slapped the municipal manager, Allan Losaba , with a COD after failure to recover financial losses from overpayments for water tankering services.
The municipality extended a service provider’s contract multiple times for drought relief and water and sanitation services, during which overclaiming on kilometres and working hours were identified, leading to significant financial losses, which amounted to the tune of R4.6m.
The municipality appointed a service provider in June 2018 on a two-year contract, which was later extended twice to December 2020.
During the 2018-19 audit, the AG identified discrepancies between the service provider’s daily schedules and job cards, indicating overclaimed kilometres and hours. Losses continued in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 financial years.
According to the AG, the accounting officer initially committed to corrective action but did not implement it. – Lehlohonolo Lehana.
COUNCIL’S COSTLY STINKING FINE
The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has welcomed a judgment by the Mpumalanga Division of the High Court, which found the Emalahleni Local Municipality guilty of multiple environmental offences under the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) and the National Water Act (NWA).
The ruling follows the municipality’s repeated failure to comply with several directives and compliance notices aimed at preventing sewage spillages into water resources and the surrounding environment. A criminal case was subsequently opened to compel the municipality to halt ongoing pollution.
The court imposed a R650 million fine, with R150 million suspended for five years, on condition that the municipality does not commit further pollution-related offences during the suspension period.
In a statement, the department welcomed the decision for R500 million of the fine to be allocated to the rehabilitation, urgent refurbishment, and repair of all identified dysfunctional wastewater infrastructure and operations by 2031.
Infrastructure cited in the judgment includes the Klipspruit, Riverview, Ferrobank, (including pump stations, manholes, and network systems), Naauwpoort, Thubelihle and Kriel Wastewater Treatment Works, as well as the Phola and Vilakazi sewer pump stations, along with associated pump stations, manholes and network systems.
The department said the magnitude of the fine reflected the extent of the dysfunctional infrastructure that requires attention. – Sanews.
CRUSHING DEFEAT FOR DA
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi has survived a motion of no confidence after the majority of political parties in the Gauteng legislature voted against it.
This was the first time Lesufi has faced such a motion since the formation of his minority government last year.
The motion was brought by the Democratic Alliance (DA), which was prompted by the recent disbandment of the Gauteng Crime Prevention Wardens, which Lesufi established without any constitutional mandate.
DA leader Solly Msimanga, argued that Lesufi violated Section 41(1)(f) and (g) of the Constitution, which prohibit government entities from assuming powers not granted to them or encroaching on the functions of another sphere of government.
Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka ruled that deployment of the crime wardens was unconstitutional and unlawful.
Only the DA voted in favour of removing him, while all the other parties, including those in the opposition, voted for Lesufi to remain in office.
Parties that rejected the motion argued that the DA’s proposal was frivolous and pointed out that it was the DA itself that helped elect Lesufi last year.
Speaker of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature Morakane Mosupyoe confirmed that all 80 members were present for the vote of no confidence, with 54 voting against and 24 in favour. – Lehlohonolo Lehana.
2 KILLED IN DRUG WAR
The South African Police Services in Kwazulu-Natal (KZN) has confirmed that two people have been shot dead and seven others wounded in a mass shooting on Hime Street in Wentworth, Durban.
According to KZN provincial police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda , the shooting unfolded on Major Calvert Street when a group of young people were seated outside a flat. A grey Mazda 3 pulled up and two armed men stepped out and opened fire.
While the motive remained unclear, police said gang or drug-related turf wars may be behind the shooting. “The motive of the killing is unknown. However, gang and drug-related turf wars cannot be ruled out,” Netshiunda said.
Community activist, André de Bruin, visited the scene and believed the attack was drug related. He said residents were deeply traumatised.
The latest shooting added to a troubling pattern of violence in Wentworth over recent years. In 2023, Craig Cochrane ( 55), was killed by a stray bullet while watching television in his lounge.
That same year, two other men, including 17-year-old Leyton Fynn, were shot dead in broad daylight, while a 14-year-old boy was wounded on Major Calvert Road. – SAnews
