South Africa: a Country with a High Adult and Infant Mortality Rate - Essay Example

South Africa: A Country with a High Adult and Infant Mortality Rate South Africa: A Country with a High Adult and Infant Mortality Rate Introduction South Africa is the country of choice for this particular essay. South Africa is a fascinating nation given the population structure and composition. The history of South Africa of the apartheid, and the fight against discrimination makes one more curious to try to follow up the development after the political and social adjustments. The history of discrimination in South Africa was over social amenities. Health care and nursing is one social amenity that had high social discrimination. The essay focuses on South Africa as a country of high adult and infant mortality rate. Location and Geography South Africa is a country to the southern part of Africa covering 1.2 million square kilometres. About to two-thirds of the border forms a beach with Indian and Atlantic oceans. The country extends from the southern border of Namibia to the subtropical border of the Mozambique. Other countries that share border with South Africa include Botswana, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, and Lesotho. The general assumption is that South Africa is arid but the climate and topography varies across the vast country. The area around plateau of Karoo is dry and worsened by the northwest desert of Kalahari. The coastline to the east is fertile with adequate rainfall. The country also experiences two seasons of winter and summer (Frankental, Sichone, & ABC-Clio Information Services, 2005). Population The population of South Africa is a three racial class made up of the whites (Dutch), the Bantu and colored (Sibanda, Udjo, Zuberi, & South Africa, 2005). Most of the people live in the subtropical areas of the coast of the Indian Ocean and the mining areas like Johannesburg. Especially the nomadic Khoisan sparsely populates the western semi-arid part. In 2004, the estimate population of the South Africans was at 46.6million, a majority being the natives of about 73 percent. The country still uses apartheid racial grouping with elements of segregation, and efforts to abolish the form of class requires a keen check on the social trend such as education, fertility, mortality, and health statistics. Larger sections of the population prefer to identify themselves with religion such as Christianity, Islam and Hindu faiths. Languages such English, Afrikaans, Pedi, Sotho, Ndebele, Swazi, Tswana, Zulu, and Xhosa also form basis of classification (Frankental, Sichone, & ABC-Clio Information Services, 2005). Government During the apartheid regime, the government system of South Africa was purely of white dominated. The country adopted a new system of democratic governance with regular elections after every five years following the end of apartheid regime in 1994. Currently the country has nine provinces each with own assembly and an executive arm. The country has a president as the head of state. Nelson Mandela was the first elected African President following the abolition of the apartheid rule to allow for democratic elections. The legislature is bicameral parliament with national assembly and national council of provinces representing regional interests such as culture, ethnicity, customs, linguistics and diversity in population. The legal system derives its principles from the English common law and Roman-Dutch law. The system allows for customary laws provided they are not against the constitution (Frankental, Sichone, & ABC-Clio Information Services, 2005). Economy Agriculture and mining is the backbone of the economy of South Africa. The arable land, which is about 12 percent allow for cultivation of permanent and other crops. However, the agricultural land has increased due to irrigation activities over the arid lands and prolonged droughts. The development in agriculture makes the country a leading capitalist farming nation with leading exports in agriculture. South Africa has a rich reserve of minerals. Most of the wold’s gold, platinum, gem diamonds and other valuable metals come from South Africa. The country is also doing well in terms of business. It has one of the most, industrialized economy due to the abundant natural resources, well-developed financial, communication, transport, legal and energy systems (Frankental, Sichone, & ABC-Clio Information Services, 2005). State Of Health (Dieses, Violence and Accidents) The public health sector has achieved significant progress in availing a more equitable expenditure, duration of access, and heath management. However, there is a shift in the progress due to the increased burden because of HIV/AIDS, low morale of the staff and weak systems of management. The outcome is poor health services and increased expenditure. HIIV/AIDS is the leading course of death among the population especially infant and teenagers. About 3.5 million individuals seek health care following trauma of traffic injuries, social violence and external assault. The frequency of sexual assault and rape is high. Most cases of fatalities are from traffic accidents and other external causes. The trend in traffic accidents, intimate partner violence, and homicides has links with increased alcohol abuse. Tobacco smoking and alcohol remain to be mostly abused drugs among the residents of South Africa (Harrison, & South Africa, 2010). Culture and Traditional Medicine South Africa is a country made of people from various cultural backgrounds with religion and beliefs. Most people practice mixed beliefs, for instance, a Christian individual consulting with ancestral spirits over life issues. A majority uphold traditional beliefs such of the existence of one Supreme Being who is the creator and custodian of human life. Individuals pay homage to the ancestral spirits with ceremonies and rituals to appease them. In cases of illness, individuals still consult with traditional healers called isangoma who talk to the ancestors on behalf of the sick. Sick persons may also see herbalist (inyanga) who herbs to treat pains and aches. Currently there is association between the traditional (Clark, 2009). Healthcare System and Delivery Healthcare system of South Africa is widely overused and under-resourced and a better funded and equipped private health facilities. The public healthcare facilities cater for about 85% of the South Africa’s population while the remaining 15% seek health services in private facilities. The public healthcare facilities receives 40% health funds while the 60% is dedicated to the private sectors that offer services to the limited middle class and high earning members due to the high premiums they attract. Most of the government funds cater for AIDS patients. Various governmental health-related agencies and non-governmental organizations work in synchrony to ensure proper health service to the residence. Some of the organizations that are South African based include the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation that is deals with HIV research, prevention, treatment, and training of health care personnel. Health system Trust is an NGO to provide support in transforming the healthcare system. (‘SA Health Info’ 2015). Other organizations working in South Africa include CDC which partners with the government of South Africa and related sectors to prevent HIV transmission, treatment and care. The process involved epidemiology training, research guidelines and support TB and HIV programs (CDC, 2015). Other international organizations include UNICEF, WHO and UNAIDS. Healthcare personnel in South Africa include the doctors and nurses who work in both the private and public hospitals. However, the nation faces an sharp shortage of health providers in the public sectors. The ratio of nurses and doctors to that of the public is overwhelming. The poor working condition of health employees had made a majority of doctors and nurses to migrate from the state in search of better life creating a deficit and further enlarging the gap between the public and healthcare providers (Harrison, & South Africa, 2010). Health Priorities The state has a priority to improve efficiency equity and standards of health care. The focus is on high quality care programmes on HIV/AIDS, STI, and TB treatment and care. The government also prioritize the need to increase the number of health workers and better remuneration. The government also aims at training more health workers, hold national campaigns implication the significance of health workers, both subordinate and the management staff. Other health priorities involve expansion and improvement to cope with the population increase. Revitalization programmes for hospitals and improve the immunization programs to reduce infant mortality (Harrison, & South Africa, 2010). Nursing Implications Nursing implications include proper care of HIV/AIDS patients to improve their living standards. Nurses also should carry out regular immunizations on in young children. The nurses should also advocate for the government to employ more health providers and improve their working condition. They should also lobby for the creation of public awareness on prevention of HIV/AIDS. Lastly, the nurses should encourage the patients to take the ART regimen and seek prompt medical attention on in cases of illnesses. Conclusion In summary, South Africa is located to the south of Africa. Has a population of about 46.6 million people comprising the whites Africans and the coloured. The country is well off economically due to mining and agriculture. The country has a high mortality rate for infants and adults following HIV/AIDS. Poor healthcare in public hospital is because of few nurses and doctors. The problem is due to poor working conditions and lack of government support. However international health organizations such CDC and WHO are working round the clock to help the government manage HIV/AIDS. References CDC Global Health-South Africa. (2015, April 26) What CDC Is Doing In South Africa. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/globalhealth/countries/southafrica/what/ Clark, D. (2009). South Africa: The culture. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree Pub. Print. Frankental, S., Sichone, O., & ABC-Clio Information Services. (2005). South Africas diverse peoples: A reference sourcebook. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO. Print. Harrison, D., & South Africa. (2010). An overview of health and health care in South Africa 1994-2010: Priorities, progress and prospects for new gains : a discussion document commissioned by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation to help inform the National Health Leaders Retreat ; Muldersdrift, January 24-26 2010. Pretoria, South Africa: South Africa. Dept. of Health. Print. SA HealthInfo. (2015, April 26). South African health organisations Retrieved from http://www.sahealthinfo.org/related/sahealthorgs.htm Sibanda, A., Udjo, E. O., Zuberi, T., & South Africa. (2005). The demography of South Africa. Armonk, NY: Sharpe. Print. Read More