The media is invited to the taking of healthcare services to the people living and working in the Mansel Street market in the Durban Station precinct. This is how the MEC for Health in KwaZulu-Natal Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo has chosen to celebrate his birthday this year.
This will take place on Saturday, 10 December 2011 from 09h00 at the Mansel Street Market, off Umngeni Road before Ke Masinga Street, in Durban. There will be photo and interview opportunities.
The MEC will be celebrating his birthday on the 10 December and has chosen to use his profession, being a medical officer, and take healthcare services to women, children and the taxi drivers who live and work in the Durban Station precinct. The MEC believes that women, together with out-of-school youth and children, are a particularly vulnerable group in the informal sector.
“We can never get a recreation of community and heal our society without giving our citizens a sense of belonging,” says MEC Dhlomo explaining his choice of the people in the Mansel Street market. “There are clear implications for the health of participants in this sector in which the health risks are exacerbated by the nature of informal sector activities. The same is true for taxi drivers.”
Women are the main vendors and they are young with an average age of 29 years, with a majority between the ages of 20 years and 29 years, while others are between 30 and 39 years of age. Most of the women regarded themselves as single and others are married, with a few divorced, widowed or refusing to disclose their marital status. Of all the women most admitted to being in a relationship with a man and of these many had been in this relationship for longer than five years.
According to research on the sector sexual and reproductive health problems are high, particularly considering the substantial proportion of the vendors, or their dependents, who engage in early sex and the large number of them who experience unwanted pregnancies. A large number of the vendors had been pregnant or indicated being aware of some members who had resorted to abortion when they found themselves pregnant.
A visit to the area one is confronted with a number of vendors carrying infants. On enquiring most indicated that they have to choose between losing a day’s income or take the baby for regular check-up or immunisation. There are anecdotal stories that taxi drivers or men usually rape the young female vendors and in many instances these cases are not reported for fear of victimisation.
Transport sector employees are not the only demographic group that is vulnerable to health issues. Communities and traders that live and operate side by side with the transport sector face similar health risks as well. The taxi industry is also regarded as a high transmission industry with regards to HIV. The visit will seek to promote HIV Counseling and Testing services targeting taxi drivers in the main.
Believing in promoting ‘Safer, Healthier People’ the MEC will don his coat and stethoscope to provide healthcare services. This programme is part of the MEC’s effort to promote healthy livelihoods which he started when he entered for and completed the Comrades Marathon this year. The MEC is expected to be joined by the MEC for Social Development and the Mayor of Ethekwini; Mrs W Thusi MP and Cllr James Nxumalo, to be part of this people serving endeavor.
Among the programmes and services that the visit will focus on include HIV Counseling and Testing, screening for various ailments, child immunisation, family planning, TB screening and health promotion.
