Healthcare in Africa

I finally had a chance today to come to the internet cafe. The last two weeks have been amazing, fascinating, and exhausting. I am not sure how to begin to tell you about all of my experiences, but I will do my best to give you a good idea of what it is like here. This is going to be a long update, so feel free to skim it. The first week I was here I went to a government-run clinic called Cato Manor. The nurses (called sisters) basically act as doctors because there aren't enough doctors in South Africa. Nurses can prescribe meds, make some diagnoses, and distribute meds. The healthcare situation in South Africa is actually worse than I expected. Patients who cannot afford to go to a private clinic go to the government-run clinics, where they usually wait all day to be seen. We got to talk to several doctors who specialize in HIV/AIDS, and the clinic has a strong program for the prevention of mother-to-child-transmission of HIV. We saw hundreds of young pregnant women, some as young as 15. About half of the patients that I saw are HIV-positive.

Last week ten students in my program travelled to a rural hospital called Hlabisa. It provides care for about 85,000 people. It was absolutely amazing. It is a fairly large hospital, but they only have about 15 doctors. Most of the doctors come from Britain, Sweden, and Scotland. They come to Hlabisa for a year or two and then return to their native countries. Even the doctors from South Africa usually only stay at Hlabisa for a year because the conditions are so difficult. The hospital is located in a little town that has a supermarket, a couple liquor stores, and of course KFC (everyone seems to love KFC here). Given the isolated conditions of the hospital, the doctors at Hlabisa are here because they really want to provide adequate healthcare for South Africans. They were amazing teachers, and they were eager to help us to understand how the hospital operates. I saw more in that one week than I would ever be able to see in the States. I learned how to take a patient history, how to look for pleural effusion (fluid build-up) in a chest X-ray, and how to listen for evidence of tuberculosis in the lungs. My favorite day was the day I spent in maternity. I watched a doctor remove a retained placenta, and I learned how to determine the gestational period by measuring the height of the fundus. That afternoon I watched two caesarian sections, and two of my peers got to actually assist in the surgery. It was amazing to watch the surgeon deliver the baby, and I am hoping that I will be able to assist in a C-section soon.

The healthcare system in South Africa is at its breaking point right now. On June 1 the public servants of South Africa went on strike. This includes nurses, teachers, and doctors who work in the public sector. The rate of inflation is 6.3%, but the government was only offering a 6% raise to the public servants. To make matters worse, the members of parliament gave themselves raises from 37-50%. The unions are demanding a 12% increase. Thankfully, we were not really affected by the strike at Hlabisa because it is partly funded by private sources. However, conditions in Durban are worsening as the government hospitals are nearly completely shut down. Several people have already died as a direct result of the strike, including a woman who died of an asthma attack because her ambulance was not allowed to enter the hospital. This week I am working at St. Mary's in Durban, which is also semi-private and is still operating as usual. On Wednesday other workers will be participating in secondary strikes. The situation will most likely get worse before it gets better.

I have had an amazing experience so far, and I am looking forward to the next six weeks. Last weekend we got to go to a game reserve, and this weekend I am going to the Drakensburg mountains. This country is absolutely beautiful, and I feel privileged to have the opportunity to know the people of South Africa. I could go on and on about all that I have seen here, but my internet time is running out. I love you all, and I really appreciate all of your prayers. I will try to update again soon.

Prayer requests:
Safety as the public servants strike worsens
Resolution of the strike
That God will continue to give me strength, and that he will continue to remind me that despite all of the suffering that I see here, He is present.