Comment by 10 December 2023
Policy objectives :
A Stats SA report has revealed that TB remains the main leading cause of death in South Africa between 2016 and 2018.
The report, titled “Mortality and causes of death in South Africa: Findings from death notification, 2018”, provides information on levels, trends and patterns in mortality and cause-of-death statistics by socio-demographic and geographic characteristics.
“The mortality indicators and cause of death indicators presented in this report are critical indicators on the health status of the South African population,” said Stats SA.
“The main focus is on 2018 death occurrences; however, information on deaths that occurred during the period 1997 to 2017 is included in order to show trends in mortality. The cause-of-death statistics in this statistical release provide information on the leading underlying natural causes of death, patterns and trends in non-natural underlying causes of deaths, as well as comparison between immediate, contributing and underlying causes of death,” said Stats SA on Tuesday.
According to the report, mortality levels are declining in the country as indicated by the downward trend in the number of registered deaths since 2007.
The results showed that the total number of deaths registered at the Department of Home Affairs and processed by Stats SA in 2018 were 454 014.
While the occurrence of deaths in the country continued to decline, it differed by age and sex. The age group 65-69 had the highest proportion of deaths in 2018 at 8.4%, followed closely by age group 60-64 at 8.3%. Conversely, the lowest proportions of deaths were observed in age groups 5-9 years and 10-14 years at 0.6 % and 0.8%, respectively.
With regard to sex, between 1997 and 2018, there were more male than female deaths from age 0 to age group 65-69; whereas female deaths consistently exceeded male deaths for ages 70 years and above.
The results further indicate that in 2018, the highest sex ratio (167 male deaths per 100 female deaths) was observed in the age group 20-24 years. The pattern was observed for four consecutive years, between 2015 and 2018.
For the period 2016-2018, Tuberculosis remained the main leading cause of death in South Africa.
Diabetes mellitus, the report found, remained as the second leading underlying cause of death whose proportions have been increasing over the three years.
“According to the global burden of diseases, two of the top five leading underlying causes of death for males were communicable diseases (tuberculosis and HIV) whilst among females, there was only one communicable disease (HIV) with the rest being non-communicable diseases.
Stats SA said the results showed that 9 out of 10 leading causes of death were the same for both sexes, although with different rankings.
“Tuberculosis was the leading underlying cause of death for males, accounting for 7.2% of male deaths while diabetes mellitus was the leading underlying cause of death amongst females accounting for 7.7% of female deaths.
“Human immunodeficiency virus [HIV] disease (4.6%) was the second leading cause of death for the males, followed by other forms of heart disease (4.5%). Cerebrovascular diseases (6.1%) was the second leading underlying cause of death for females.
“In 2018, the most significant decline amongst females were deaths due to tuberculosis which declined from 5.2% in 2016 to 4.8% in 2018. Uniform to this, there was a significant decline in tuberculosis deaths from 7.2% in 2015 to 7.6% in 2018 among males.
Stats SA said although the number of deaths due to natural causes were higher than the number of deaths due to non-natural causes, the proportion of deaths due to non-natural cause have been on a slight increase in the recent years.
Between 2010 and 2018, a consistent increase in the proportions of deaths due to non-natural causes was noted from 9.0% in 2010 to 11.9% in 2018. The age groups mostly affected by non-natural causes of death in 2018 were age group 20-24 years and 15-19, accounting for 49.2% and 42.5%, respectively.
Males had higher proportions of deaths due to non-natural causes compared to females, with a wider difference observed at age group 15-29 where as much as 58,1% of male deaths resulted from non-natural causes compared to 19,8% of female deaths in the same age group.
Deaths due to non-natural causes were mainly dominated by those due to other external causes of accidental injury (68.3%) followed by assault (14.0%) whilst there were 11.4% non-natural deaths due to transport accidents.
In total, KwaZulu-Natal had the highest proportion of deaths due to non-natural causes (13.5%), followed closely by Cape Town (13.0%). In terms of proportions, deaths due to transport accidents were the highest in Limpopo (30.1%), whilst assault was highest in Eastern Cape (22.7%).
With South Africa gearing to receive its first consignment of COVID-19 vaccines, President Cyril Ramaphosa has reiterated that government’s mass vaccination campaign strategy would reach all corners of the country, prioritising those most in need.
The President emphasised the commitment in the latest edition of his weekly newsletter on Monday 25 January
In coming weeks, the country will receive a batch of 1.5 million Astrazeneca vaccine doses from the Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine producer.
This, wrote the President, will signal the start of a mass vaccination campaign that will be the most ambitious and extensive in the country’s history.
“It will reach all parts of the country and will be phased to ensure that those most in need are prioritised. The first vaccines to arrive will be provided to health care workers, who will be targeted in the first phase.
“The second phase will include essential workers, teachers, the elderly and those with co-morbidities. The third phase will include other adults in the population,” President Ramaphosa said.
The comprehensive rollout strategy and an accompanying logistical framework will be implemented in partnership with the private sector, civil society, traditional leadership, the religious sector and others.
“It is vital that this is a society-wide campaign, in which everyone is involved and no-one is left behind,” he wrote.
“A year after the novel coronavirus started spreading around the world, the arrival of the vaccine gives great hope for our country’s social and economic recovery – and, most importantly, for the health of our people.”
The President said given the unprecedented global demand for vaccine doses, combined with the far greater buying power of wealthier countries, South Africa had to engage in extensive and protracted negotiations with manufacturers to secure enough vaccines to reach the country’s adult population.
“South Africa has engaged closely with the global COVAX facility and the African Union’s Vaccine Acquisition Task Team as part of the collective effort to secure vaccines for the world’s low- and middle-income countries. The doses that South Africa will receive through its participation in these initiatives, together with the agreements being made directly with manufacturers, are expected to ensure that the country has sufficient vaccines to contain the spread of the virus,” he said.
“From the moment the Coronavirus first reached our shores in March last year, we have acted swiftly and decisively, and informed by the best available scientific evidence, to save lives and protect livelihoods. Through the measures we have taken, we have been able to contain infections, protect our health system and prevent an even greater loss of life,” said the President.
He said: “Understanding that vaccines are essential if we are to overcome the pandemic, government has been working, both through multilateral initiatives and direct negotiations with manufacturers, to ensure South Africa can make the best use of vaccines when they become available”.
Regarding concern that government has not been sufficiently transparent about these efforts, President Ramaphosa said as government did with the announcement on the Serum Institute, the details of deals with manufacturers will be released as and when negotiations are concluded and we are released from the communications terms of the non-disclosure agreements.
“This is commonplace in such circumstances, and most governments have had to comply with similar restrictions,” he said.
“We recognise that it is important that the public must be kept abreast of developments on vaccine acquisition at all times. And government must be held to account for all the decisions it makes in this regard.”
Throughout the pandemic, he said, government has been open and transparent with the South African people on the health measures it is taking to secure the safety of people.
“We have sought to explain all our decisions, to listen to people’s concerns and to continuously update the country on the state of the disease,” he said.
He added: “All of us need to be part of this national effort and not allow the spread of rumours, fear and mistrust. False information and fake news can and does put lives at risk. We all need to work together to build confidence in the vaccine, to demonstrate its effectiveness and its safety – and to emphasise its vital importance in overcoming this deadly disease”.
For its part, he wrote, government will work to improve all its channels of communication, to keep the public regularly informed on the development of the vaccination programme, to provide information that is accurate and factual, and to continue to engage with and listen to the broad range of voices in society.
“We have a massive task ahead of us, probably far greater than any of us has ever undertaken before. But if we work together, if we support and trust each other and if we keep the lines of communication open, we will certainly succeed,” said the President.
With South Africa gearing to receive its first consignment of COVID-19 vaccines, President Cyril Ramaphosa has reiterated that government’s mass vaccination campaign strategy would reach all corners of the country, prioritising those most in need.
The President emphasised the commitment in the latest edition of his weekly newsletter on Monday 25 January
In coming weeks, the country will receive a batch of 1.5 million Astrazeneca vaccine doses from the Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine producer.
This, wrote the President, will signal the start of a mass vaccination campaign that will be the most ambitious and extensive in the country’s history.
“It will reach all parts of the country and will be phased to ensure that those most in need are prioritised. The first vaccines to arrive will be provided to health care workers, who will be targeted in the first phase.
“The second phase will include essential workers, teachers, the elderly and those with co-morbidities. The third phase will include other adults in the population,” President Ramaphosa said.
The comprehensive rollout strategy and an accompanying logistical framework will be implemented in partnership with the private sector, civil society, traditional leadership, the religious sector and others.
“It is vital that this is a society-wide campaign, in which everyone is involved and no-one is left behind,” he wrote.
“A year after the novel coronavirus started spreading around the world, the arrival of the vaccine gives great hope for our country’s social and economic recovery – and, most importantly, for the health of our people.”
The President said given the unprecedented global demand for vaccine doses, combined with the far greater buying power of wealthier countries, South Africa had to engage in extensive and protracted negotiations with manufacturers to secure enough vaccines to reach the country’s adult population.
“South Africa has engaged closely with the global COVAX facility and the African Union’s Vaccine Acquisition Task Team as part of the collective effort to secure vaccines for the world’s low- and middle-income countries. The doses that South Africa will receive through its participation in these initiatives, together with the agreements being made directly with manufacturers, are expected to ensure that the country has sufficient vaccines to contain the spread of the virus,” he said.
“From the moment the Coronavirus first reached our shores in March last year, we have acted swiftly and decisively, and informed by the best available scientific evidence, to save lives and protect livelihoods. Through the measures we have taken, we have been able to contain infections, protect our health system and prevent an even greater loss of life,” said the President.
He said: “Understanding that vaccines are essential if we are to overcome the pandemic, government has been working, both through multilateral initiatives and direct negotiations with manufacturers, to ensure South Africa can make the best use of vaccines when they become available”.
Regarding concern that government has not been sufficiently transparent about these efforts, President Ramaphosa said as government did with the announcement on the Serum Institute, the details of deals with manufacturers will be released as and when negotiations are concluded and we are released from the communications terms of the non-disclosure agreements.
“This is commonplace in such circumstances, and most governments have had to comply with similar restrictions,” he said.
“We recognise that it is important that the public must be kept abreast of developments on vaccine acquisition at all times. And government must be held to account for all the decisions it makes in this regard.”
Throughout the pandemic, he said, government has been open and transparent with the South African people on the health measures it is taking to secure the safety of people.
“We have sought to explain all our decisions, to listen to people’s concerns and to continuously update the country on the state of the disease,” he said.
He added: “All of us need to be part of this national effort and not allow the spread of rumours, fear and mistrust. False information and fake news can and does put lives at risk. We all need to work together to build confidence in the vaccine, to demonstrate its effectiveness and its safety – and to emphasise its vital importance in overcoming this deadly disease”.
For its part, he wrote, government will work to improve all its channels of communication, to keep the public regularly informed on the development of the vaccination programme, to provide information that is accurate and factual, and to continue to engage with and listen to the broad range of voices in society.
“We have a massive task ahead of us, probably far greater than any of us has ever undertaken before. But if we work together, if we support and trust each other and if we keep the lines of communication open, we will certainly succeed,” said the President.
24 June 2020 – This Nelson Mandela Day CANSA gives back to cancer patients, those affected by cancer and caregivers by launching its CANSA Tele Counselling service. This is confidential, professional, cancer-related telephonic counselling to cancer patients, caregivers and their families and parents or guardians of children living with cancer. Counselling is available in seven languages (English, Afrikaans, isiXhosa, isiZulu, siSwati, Sesotho and Setswana) and is free of charge. #CANSATeleCounselling #ConnectWithHope #MandelaDay
Gerda Strauss, CANSA’s Head of Service Delivery says, “We challenge all to take action and to inspire change this Mandela Day, by donating and sponsoring 67 minutes of counselling. Help us with the costs and expenses to run the service and provide continued in-service training and debriefing sessions to counsellors. We don’t want to add the burden of payment for these sessions to those who are already battling, so we need your help. Even Madiba, when he was first diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2001, reached out to CANSA and benefitted from our support and we’d like to be there for more patients and loved ones and connect with hope. Our launch includes a webinar in mid-August to health professionals to celebrate this Tele Counselling, in addition to our face-to-face counselling services since 1931.”
CANSA has been developing an in-house telephonic counselling service for some time as cancer takes a psychological, emotional and physical toll on cancer patients. This service has just been accelerated due to the limited specialised support available to cancer patients, their caregivers and families during the lockdown period, when face-to-face contact and limited virtual support is not always possible as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Strauss adds, “Patients are feeling frustrated and despondent as they struggle to access vital support services. A cancer patient’s low immunity and high infection risk for COVID-19, results in anxiety and social distancing and hygiene measures add to a feeling of isolation even as lockdown levels are eased. So, this is the perfect time to launch the telephonic counselling. The establishment of this service will not only serve patients during this difficult period, but will become a permanent care and support offering, enabling patients who live far from our Care Centres to also access support and in a language of choice. It’s available during normal business hours.”
“We’re thrilled and thankful that we can partner with Novartis and Roche who made it possible for CANSA to establish and set up this specialised support system in place for cancer patients and loved ones,” concluded Strauss.
CANSA Tele Counselling can be accessed via the CANSA Help Desk on 0800 22 66 22 toll-free to make an appointment with a CANSA counsellor. Or send an email to [email protected].
(For more information, please contact Lucy Balona, Head: Marketing and Communication at CANSA at email [email protected]. Call 011 616 7662 or mobile 082 459 5230.)
CANSA offers a unique integrated service to the public and to all people affected by cancer. CANSA is a leading role-player in cancer research and the scientific findings and knowledge gained from our research are used to realign our health programmes, as well as strengthen our watchdog role to the greater benefit of the public. Our health programmes comprise health and education campaigns; CANSA Care Centres that offer a wide range of care and support services to those affected by cancer; stoma and other clinical support; medical equipment hire, as well as a toll-free line to offer information and support. We also supply patient care and support in the form of 11 CANSA Care Homes in the main metropolitan areas for out-of-town cancer patients and CANSA-TLC lodging for parents and guardians of children undergoing cancer treatment.
Visit www.cansa.org.za or contact the nearest CANSA Care Centre, call CANSA toll-free 0800 22 66 22 or email: [email protected]. In addition to online resources and Facebook support groups, CANSA offers multi-lingual support on WhatsApp: 072 197 9305 for English and Afrikaans and 071 867 3530 for isiXhosa, isiZulu, siSwati, Sesotho and Setswana. Follow CANSA on Facebook:
CANSA The Cancer Association of South Africa, Twitter: @CANSA (http://www.twitter.com/CANSA), Instagram @cancerassociationofsouthafrica, LinkedIn and Pinterest.