By Prossy Kawala | Thu., October 20, 12:05 PM
Dr. Trudy Smith on day three of Women's Health and Opportunity Reporting, Johannesburg 19 October 2011
Wednesday proved to be an interesting day for participants attending the Women’s Health and Opportunity reporting course in Johannesburg.
We were focussing on reproductive health, and participants posed questions enthusiastically. It proved to us how the sensitivity of reproductive health issues cuts across nations.
And yes, our speaker Dr. Trudy Smith a Gynaecology oncologist at the University of Witwatersrand did not disappoint, with a style of teaching which was sometimes graphic and direct, but always engaging and informative.
"Dr Trudy" as we all started to call her, explored topics ranging from cervical cancer, HIV, maternal deaths, contraception and male circumcision.
She said cervical cancer was one of the biggest killers of women in the world. Some 70% of cervical cancer was caused by the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) type 16 and 18, she said.
Treatment of cervical cancer is however possible after diagnosis by (i)Pap smear and (ii)Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid. But the primary prevention of HPV is through immunization, administered to 13 year old girls, before they become sexually active.
Participants were surprised to learn that 4% of virgins are also diagnosed with the HPV virus.
The discussion on contraception also helped clear up participants' concerns. For example there were rumours in some countries that contraception caused infertility, a fear that Dr Trudy said had no scientific proof at all.
In some African countries, participants said men were actually against contraception and making it difficult for women to use it. But Dr Trudy said: “Women have a right to decide when, how and if to have a baby,” beause usually the women face the consequences after all!
The day was crowned by a visit to Rotlhe Sonke Revive Organisation, sited in a candle-lit shipping container in Soweto, a heavily populated urban area on the edges of Johannesburg. The organization provides services to homebound patients affected with Tuberculosis, HIV and AIDS.
It is a long story about how far this organization has come, its challenges and expectations all together. Let's talk about that another day.
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