login
Become a member
Quick Registration
Full Registration Benefits -
Free Homepages for Doctors
Free Homepages for Hospitals
Free Homepages for Medical Conference
Free Homepages for NGO's
Personal Health Record Creation
Access to all Medical Slides
Access to all Jobs & Products Sale
South African Children Ravaged by Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
And if life was not hard enough in the poverty-stricken South African town of De Aar, Wilson has to battle with the knowledge that she condemned her own flesh and blood to brain damage and an uncertain future.
The girl is one of hundreds diagnosed with Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) in the dustbowl town with its 30,000-odd residents and the unenviable distinction of the world's highest reported incidence of the condition.
"It was a shock when the doctors told me I had caused my baby harm. I felt terrible," Wilson reflected at her bare home in the semi-arid, mostly rural Northern Cape province -- where alcohol abuse is a way of life, a means of escaping the daily reality of poverty and misery.
The now defunct "dop system" whereby farmworkers were paid part of their wages in alcohol has left many dependent on drink. Though "dop" payments were banned in the 1920s, the system carried on in many rural zones until apartheid ended in 1994.
The erstwhile phenomenon of males-only mining hostels also contributed to a boozing culture in the province.
De Aar resident Valerie Farland, herself a former heavy drinker, believes alcohol's grip on the community will be hard to loosen.
"There are more drinking holes in De Aar than food shops," she says.
|
|
|
More News on: Alcoholic Liver Disease, Alcohol abuse, Cannabis, Development Milestone, Height and Weight-Kids, Blood Alcohol Level, Alcohol Self Screening Test, Drug Abuse, Alcohol and Driving, Bubbles and Brews - Alcohol Facts
 Comment & Contribute
|
Medwonders Health Network
- Health News Index
 | Quiz on Alcohol Alcohol consumption for recreation and relaxation has become a universal culture. But do you think you know enough about this drink Take this quiz and find out. 
|
- News Quick Links
| News Categories: |
| » | Report: A Lot of Americans Have No Access to Health Care |
| » | Greece Faces Humanitarian Crisis as Health Care Access Declines in EU, Doctors Group Warns |
| » | HCCI Report Says Rising Prices for Care Responsible for Increased Healthcare Costs for Privately Insured Americans |
| » | Treatment in ED is Based on Children's Insurance Status |
| » | US Spends Most on Healthcare Without Providing Superior Care |
| More Insurance News | |
|
