Tag: South African

AIDS drug roll-out boosts South African life expectancy

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Nandi Makhele poses for a portrait while wearing a T-shirt indicating that she is HIV-positive in Cape TownJOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa has achieved a "stunning" increase in life expectancy in the last three years due to a government push to roll out antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) to people with HIV/AIDS, researchers said on Thursday. The average South African is now likely to live to the age of 60, a study in the Lancet medical journal said, compared with just 56.5 in 2009 when President Jacob Zuma came to power with promises of a new approach to the country's HIV/AIDS burden. …

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South African innovator takes water out of showering

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JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – With inspiration from a friend too lazy to take a shower and a few months of research on the Internet, South African university student Ludwick Marishane has won global recognition for an invention that takes the water out of bathing. Marishane, a 22-year-old student at the University of Cape Town invented a product called DryBath, a clear gel applied to skin that does the work of water and soap. …

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Exclusive: South Africa gold firms to face silicosis class action

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To match Special Report AFRICA/SILICOSISJOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – A South African lawyer said on Tuesday he was preparing a class action lawsuit against leading gold mining firms on behalf of thousands of former miners who say they contracted silicosis, a debilitating lung disease, through negligent health and safety. Attorney Richard Spoor, whose legal battle against a South African asbestos-mining company led to a $100 million settlement in 2003, said he would file class action papers with the High Court in Johannesburg “within the next few months”. …

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