The mining sector represents a significant portion of the South African economy. The recent announcement of the proposed black empowerment bill for the mining sector caused share prices to plummet. This reaction, in turn, caused a marked devaluation of the rand against other major currencies. Anything that impacts negatively on the mining sector will therefore have an adverse effect on the South African economy. This paper considers the affect that HIV/AIDS will have on the mining sector and, by implication, on the South African economy. Consideration is given to whether mining companies manage this risk properly and whether it is reasonably accounted for and disclosed in the financial statements. Conclusions are drawn and recommendations made regarding HIV/AIDS risk management and how HIV/AIDS issues can be disclosed fairly. Although the management teams of mining companies have introduced a HIV/AIDS risk-management process and have commenced the disclosure of HIV/AIDS information, the disclosure is still far from adequate.

This research investigates the impact of improved (and improving) mortality experience in South Africa as a result of the increased (and increasing) access to antiretroviral treatment on South African life assurers, the entry-level insurance market and the wider South African economy. The research focuses on various potential impacts on the entry-level insurance market, including new business profitability, product development and pricing, market penetration and the potential for increased savings. This research has been done with the assistance of four of the main South African life offices and also draws on the new THEMBISA AIDS model on which a working paper has been produced. The research is based on the THEMBISA model in order to investigate the potential impact of alternative mortality scenarios on typical entry-level products within the industry where the scenarios have been based on actual current and proposed antiretroviral roll-out strategies by the Department of Health. Potential improvements to profitability, premium reductions, benefit enhancements and cashback benefits are quantified using a profit test model for entry-level market products.

This article focused on the problem that patients suffering from tuberculosis often stop taking their prescribed medicine and become defaulters. Although various factors could possibly contribute to the non compliance of the patients, this research had focused only on the teaching-learning situation. The experience of both the primary health nurse and the patient suffering from tuberculosis, during the teaching-learning situation in tuberculosis education, has been explored and described within the context of the North West Province. Phenomenological interviews were conducted with primary health nurses and defaulting patients suffering from tuberculosis. Interviews were recorded on tape and transcribed verbatim. The method of content analysis was used. The research has proven that adult-teaching principles have not been established in the teaching-learning situation and that the parent-child ego state predominates in communication.

There is concern over persons who fail to attend family planning clinics without a motivated reason. This represnts one of the major stumbling blocks to a successful family planning program. The author investigated factors associated with clinic drop-out among coloured women in a metropolitan area. Almost half of those who ceased to attend had a good reason for doing so. The main findings regarding the other defaulters was that there is a lack of motivation among Coloured women to prevent unplanned pregnancies through temporary contraception and that (he program may not meet all the needs of the public. In this regard specific reference is made to the need of those women who no longer bring their youngest child to a child health clinic as family planning services are usually integrated with this clinic