BUSISIWE MAQUNGO

Beat It! 2000 Episode 6 - Support Group

In the Support Group the members discussed their active sex lives post-HIV positive diagnosis.

Beat It! 2000 Episode 7 - Support Group

The results of not rolling out a prevention-of-mother-to-child-transmission programme were driven home in this emotional Support Group discussion in which mothers who had lost their babies to AIDS shared their experiences with the viewers.

Beat It! 2000 Episode 12 - Support Group

We invited traditional healer Mercy Manci to join the support group where she showed what the major benefit of enlisting traditional healers into the response to the epidemic can be. Traditional healers can and do provide the very necessary emotional and spiritual support that people living with HIV require.

Beat It! 2002 Episode 2 - Support Group

We got to see Busisiwe Maqungo at home in this insert and see hear about her relationship with her HIV negative partner and about her views on sex and the positive person.

Beat It! 2002 Episode 3 - Support Group

In this episode the Beat It! Support Group discusses mother-to-child-transmission of HIV.

Beat It! 2002 Episode 4 - Support Group

When to disclose your HIV status to a new sexual partner is a question that affects most people living with HIV/AIDS. In this episode Anthony and Busisiwe had very different ideas about this and argued on what the best approach is. We also met Anthony's HIV negative partner Andrew Kendell.

Beat It! 2002 Episode 5 - Support Group

Disclosing to ones family is very often the first step most people take in coming to terms with an HIV positive test result. It being the first step however doesn't make it any easier. In this discussion the support group members shared their experiences of disclosing to their families.

Beat It! 2002 Episode 6 - Support Group

In this insert the links between fear, ignorance and stigma and discrimination and the impact that treatment can have on these problems was explored through the experience of support group member Corné Fourie.

Beat It! 2002 Episode 8 - Support Group

In this episode Support Group member Nomandla introduced us to her son Thami who is HIV positive and on ARVs.

Beat It! 2002 Episode 10 - Support Group

In this episode of Beat It! the Support Group discussed their experiences within the public healthcare sector. Dr Nombulelo shared necessary information on the treatment of herpes. In the Special Report we looked at nurses and the burden they carry because of the HIV epidemc.

Beat It! 2002 Episode 11 - Support Group

In this episode of Beat It! the Support Group members talked about what they are doing as individuals to turn the tide on HIV and how they chose to make something positive out of an HIV diagnosis.

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2004 Episode 1 - Opportunistic Infections

This 2004 Siyayinqoba Beat It! series was broadcast on SABC1. With Jason Wessenaar as the presenter, this fourth series' Support Group was comprised of some old and some new members. Once again Dr Nombulelo Madala was the resident doctor. At the end of each episode Jason summarised each episode's content with a ‘Things we should remember' section. In this first episode the team looked at opportunistic infections and the need to treat them as soon as possible. It went on to show the benefits of being treatment literate: Treatment literacy allows you to demand the right drugs; the drugs that will work.

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2004 Episode 2 - Sexually transmitted infections

In this episode of Siyayinqoba Beat It! the team discussed sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The inserts focused on the prevalence of STIs amongst the youth which in turn got the support group to discuss how prevention messaging can be improved to bring about behaviour change in the youth when it comes to sex.

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2004 Episode 3 - Beating HIV at work

The Siyayinqoba Beat It! Support Group talked about the rights of HIV positive people at work in this episode. As an example the team used workers at a mine of Anglo Gold Ashanti. With the help of legal practitioners, we learnt the importance of understanding our rights and how they can help us in the workplace. Fatima Hassan, from the AIDS Law Project, joined the group and helped to shed a bit of light on how the rights of people living with HIV can be defended. Later Jason summarised the episode with the week's ‘Things we should remember'.

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2004 Episode 4 - Learners beat HIV

In this week's episode of Siyayinqoba Beat It! we heard how teenagers dealt with discrimination when disclosing to their families and peers. Nwabisa Njaba, a HIV positive learner joined the Siyayinqoba Beat It! Support Group in studio to share her experiences on when and how she disclosed her status and what challenges she had to face at school.

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2004 Episode 5 - Caring for Children on ARVs

Treatment Literacy and drug adherence are two related requirements that improve the success of the antiretroviral roll-out. This was reaffirmed by the Siyayinqoba Beat It! Team. What however are the additional challenges that HIV positive children face in firstly accessing ART and then taking it correctly. To help answer these questions the team met up with Joyce Kepe and her daughter Caroline in Mbekweni, Paarl. Dr Nombulelo then joined the group to explain the important things caregivers can do to prevent infections in HIV positive children.

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2004 Episode 6 - Teachers beat HIV

In this episode the Siyayinqoba Beat It! support group learnt that there are quite a few educators who find it difficult to disclose their HIV status' at work or at home. So the team went to Cofimvaba in the Eastern Cape to meet Nomachule Tayabi who shared her difficulties as an HIV positive educator. The support group was then joined by Dr David Mbetse, a SADTU HIV/AIDS officer, who encouraged educators to be open about their HIV positive status.

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2004 Episode 7 - Children on ARVs beat HIV

Nomandla Yako brought her son, Thamsanqa, to the Siyayinqoba Beat It! support group to share the difficulties she went through when Thamie was a bit younger. She went on to say that since he started antiretroviral therapy his health improved drastically. In the insert we also got to meet the nine year old Jady Grasland who had had horrible disfiguring facial warts until she started taking ARVs.

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2004 Episode 8 - ART in Gugulethu

In this episode of Siyayinqoba Beat It! the support group discussed antiretroviral therapy with studio guests Dr Linda Gail Bekker and Sister Lulu Mtwisha. The guests explained the importance drug adherence.

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2004 Episode 9 - How Social Grants Can Help Us

The Siyayinqoba Beat It! Team investigated the role social grants play in the response to the HIV epidemic. The team met with Thelile in Tugela, KwaZulu Natal who had recently accessed social grants. Thelile was using the grants to help take care of her siblings after her parents had passed away from AIDS. The social grant system was then discussed further with in house guest Dr Nalega Constance Kganakga from the Department of Social Development.

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2004 Episode 10 - Caring for AIDS orphans

This tenth episode in the 2004 series of Siyayinqoba Beat It! focused on AIDS orphans; children who have lost their parents because of HIV/AIDS. We met little Andisiwe and her sister and heard about the hardships that they went through and how they are being taken care of. Cati Vawda from the Children's Rights Centre furthered the discussion around these vulnerable children as the episode's in house guest.

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2004 Episode 12 - Positive living beats HIV

In this episode we followed Anthony Fernandes and Busisiwe Maqungo, two support group members, to a fresh produce store where they bought all the essential food types for a healthy balanced diet. Dr Nombulelo Madala joined the support group to discuss the important food types and why an HIV positive person needs a balanced diet. ‘Uncle' John Vollenhoven also showed us his food garden initiative in Atlantis in the Western Cape.

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2004 Episode 13 - PMTCT

The Siyayinqoba Beat It! team followed Busisiwe's story about the death of her daughter Nomazizi; how her loss changed her perception of HIV and how she rose from that challenge. Dr Nombulelo Madala was in the studio again to answer questions about the prevention-of-mother-to-child-transmission programme.

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2004 Episode 15 - False and Fraudulent Cures

Fana Khaba, aka DJ Khabzela, disclosed his HIV positive status publicly on the popular youth radio station, Yfm in May 2003. Khabzela the host of the most popular show on the station chose however not to take antiretrovirals once his HIV had progressed to full blown AIDS. Instead he opted for various other unproven remedies (supported by the South African Minister of Health) that would hold no benefits for his ailing health. In this episode the Siyayinqoba Beat It! discussed why people opt for unproven remedies and asked what can be done to ensure that fraudulent claims and false cures are exposed and restricted.

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2004 Episode 20 - Sex and the Positive Person

How do we deal with disclosure to our partners? Should we disclose to people we have casual sex encounters with? Does being HIV positive affect a woman's right to have children? How do relationships between an HIV positive person and an HIV negative person work? These are some of the questions that were discussed in this episode of Siyayinqoba Beat It!

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2004 Episode 22 - The Media and HIV

In this episode the Siyayinqoba team discussed the role the media plays in the response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The team focused on two books and a movie which they felt the viewers would find informative and enjoyable. First, they spoke to Judge Edwin Cameron about his book Witness to AIDS. Then they discussed a children's book called Brenda has a Dragon in her Blood by Hijltje Vink. The book is about the life of a young girl who is living with HIV. Finally the team revealed the critically acclaimed movie Yesterday to the viewers.

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2004 Episode 25 - Lusikisiki ARV programme

In Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape, a pioneering project showed that when healthcare workers and the community work together, they can implement life-saying antiretroviral medication just as well as more well-resourced urban areas.

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2004 Episode 26 - Wellness in the workplace

What can companies realistically do to accommodate the health and wellness needs of their HIV positive employees? What programmes should companies put in place to help address the impact of the HIV epidemic in the lives of their employees? In this episode of Siyayinqoba Beat It! we looked at what clothing and textile manufacturing companies were doing and the challenges they faced in trying to accommodate HIV positive workers. We also looked at what SACTWU was doing to assist companies in making a difference.

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2005 Episode 6 – Transactional and Intergenerational Sex

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2005 Episode 7 - Treating opportunistic infections

In this episode of Siyayinqoba Beat It! the support group spoke about the more serious opportunistic infections which occur when the immune system is very weak, when the CD4 cell count is below 200. This is the stage that is called AIDS. The reality is when your CD4 cell count is low, HIV positive people get a number of opportunistic infections but the good news is that with the help of ARVs many people recover even from serious opportunistic infections and get well again.

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2005 Episode 9 - Good leaders lead

In this episode we explored the impact of political leaders disclosing that they have lost family members to HIV/AIDS and how the public disclosure of Justice Edwin Cameron was used as an advocacy tool to push for access to treatment for all. Studio guest, Azola Goqwana, shared a youth perspective and debated the role of HIV/AIDS leadership in all sectors of society with Siyayinqoba support group members.

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2005 Episode 11 – Multi-drug resistant TB

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2005 Episode 19 - Exclusive Breastfeeding vs Exclusive Formula Feeding

Siyayinqoba Beat It! - the programme for people living with HIV and AIDS, and our partners, families and friends, discussed the choices facing mothers living with HIV in feeding their babies by breastfeeding or formula feeding. With the practical experience of mothers living with HIV, Simphiwe Mabaso from Mpumalanga and Nompumelelo Buthelezi from KwaZulu-Natal we learnt more about the two options.

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2005 Episode 21 - Living with a disability and HIV

Many people living with HIV/AIDS are also living with different kinds of disabilities. Does HIV/AIDS awareness and education reach people with disabilities? Are our healthcare services sensitive to the needs of people with disabilities? Through the experiences of John Meletse of the Gay and Lesbian Archives (GALA), Buyile Vava and other members of Disabled People of South Africa (DPSA) and parliamentarian, Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu, the Siyayinqoba support group shared ideas on what can be done to help people cope more easily with living with disability and the challenges of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2005 Episode 23 - Handling death and loss caused by AIDS

By now everyone in South Africa will have to deal with a loss of a friend, colleague or a family member to AIDS? Death is something that we do not want to talk about, but we have to talk about it and face the reality that many people are still dying because they are not accessing ARVs soon enough. What should we do when someone close to us pass away? Apart from organising funerals and the stress of covering the cost there is also the emotional pain and suffering. Remembering those who have gone is part of the healing process after the loss of the loved one. We welcome Matshidiso Habana to the support group. Matshidiso is our youth guest today in our discussion between death and loss.

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2005 Episode 26 - Nutritional supplements for people living with HIV

This week we spoke about why vitamins and micronutrients are necessary and how much we should take to maintain a balanced diet. To help us discuss these issues, we were joined by Irene Labuschagne from the University of Stellenbosch who works with people living with HIV. Jason ended the show with a few helpful tips on positive living.
Today we are discussing prophylactics and vaccinations. Prophylaxis means to prevent and that is what prophylactics and vaccines do they prevent illness. Antiretrovirals can be used to prevent mother-to-child-transmission of HIV. They can also be used to prevent infection after rape or needle stick injuries to healthcare workers. But what other preventable methods are there that we should know about especially when we start antiretrovirals. With us to discuss this issue is Ullah Mothibi. Doctor Mothibi is from the HIV Unit in the Western Cape Department of Health.

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2006 Ep. 1 - Injecting drug users

In this the first episode of Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2006, things were slightly different from the last series. Shalom Ncala was this series' presenter but we still had the old support group members, with the exception of the three new members - Thami Mthembu, Fanie de Villiers and Victor Lakay. In this episode the support group spoke about HIV and drug abuse. The studio guest, Guy du Plessis, clarified the dangers of using drugs while being HIV positive. And like Jason, Shalom wrapped up the show with a few helpful points on positive living.

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2006 Ep. 2 - Alcohol and HIV

In this the second episode of Siyayinqoba Beat It! in 2006 the support group watched inserts on HIV positive people who used to drink alcohol and how they now live their lives with little or no alcohol at all. To help discuss this matter, the group was joined by Dr Ullah Mothibi from the Western Cape Department of Health who explained why alcohol has bearing on the HIV infection rate and why alcohol should be avoided when on ARVs.

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2006 Ep. 3 - Youth and Parents

By the age of 20, 14 out of every 100 young people are already infected with HIV and most of them were infected in their teens. The support group discussed the importance of communication with the youth, especially when it comes to sex related issues in this episode. Our studio guest was a teenage mother, Nokubonga Yawa, from Khayelitsha who shared with us the hardships she had to go through because her mother never spoke to her about sex.

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2006 Ep. 5 - Food Gardens

This week the Siyayinqoba Beat It! support group learn how to start a food garden. The studio guest is none other than Thami Mthembu from the Rain and Land Care Foundation, who explains what is needed to start a food garden and who can actually start a food garden. Is substituting vegetables for ARVs a solution for people living with HIV? This is a question the support group ask and these questions are answered in the second insert where we see HIV positive people growing healthy vegetables in their food gardens but are still taking their ARVs.

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2006 Ep. 6 - Condoms in Schools

In this episode of Siyayinqoba Beat It! we looked at the reasons behind the need for condom distribution in high schools around the country. Well-known comedian and actor, Pieter-Dirk Uys was in studio. Uys pointed out that leaders in South Africa are oblivious to the HIV/AIDS crisis we are facing and that it is a daily struggle to get them to pay attention to this growing epidemic especially when it comes to the youth of South Africa. Another studio guest, Cynthia Mgijima from the Department of Education, clarified that there is a lot of red-tape when it comes to the distribution of condoms in high schools but that the Department was trying to find other solutions to the high rate of teenage pregnancy and HIV infection.

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2006 Ep. 7 - Meet the support group

In this episode's Siyayinqoba Beat It! support group, we got to know more about new support group members, Shalom, Thami and Fanie; from how they contracted HIV to how they are coping with stigma and discrimination and how they educate others about accepting people living with HIV/AIDS.

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2006 Ep. 8 - Children on ARVs

It was estimated that in 2006 about 230 000 children under the age of 15 in our country were infected with HIV. But only 10 000 of those were on antiretroviral treatment. The rest of them were in desperate need of medication to fight this disease. In this episode of Siyayinqoba Beat It! the team looked at the challenges faced in administering antiretroviral treatment to children and made the point that PMTCT programmes should be scaled up to ensure that no kids are born with HIV in South Africa to start off with.

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2006 Ep. 9 - Faith Based Communities

The official Catholic belief states that people should not use condoms under any circumstances, despite the fact that they could contract HIV through unprotected sex. What implications does this have for the faithful in a country with the highest incidence of HIV infection? Siyayinqoba went to Wits University to meet young Catholic students to discuss their response to the use of condoms in this insert.

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2006 Ep. 11 - Gender based violence - Lorna Mlofana

In 2004/2005, 306 rapes cases were reported in Khayelitsha alone. The 306 reported rapes however do not give a true reflection of the incidence of rape in this community as 42% of Rape Crisis clients did not report their rapes to the SAPS in the same year. Nationally only 7 - 9% of perpetrators of reported rape cases are convicted and between 40 - 60% of all reported rape cases are withdrawn. What can and should be done to address this social ill? In this episode the group, with the Lorna Mlofana's case as study, reflected on how sustained community mobilisation can ensure justice.

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2006 Episode 13 - Gender Violence - Noxolo

Gender violence is a massive problem in South Africa. In 2003, there were almost 53 000 rapes reported, but even this is far lower than the actual number of rapes that took place. Many rape survivors are afraid to report these crimes. They fear they will be victimised by perpetrators, and that police and court officials may embarrass and humiliate them. Rape is one of the main reasons that there are so many more women infected with HIV compared to men, which makes it difficult to arrest them. Siyayinqoba met up with an extremely brave young woman, Noxolo Vumazonke, who was raped by her father.

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2006 Episode 15 - Cervical cancer and HIV

In this weeks episode of Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2006 we learnt about cervical cancer and HIV. About half a million women are diagnosed with this disease every year. It's the most common cancer amongst black and coloured South African women. This is an important topic for all women, but it is especially important for those living with HIV to know about cervical cancer, because they have higher chances of getting the disease. The good news is that cervical cancer is preventable if diagnosed early. We were joined by Dr Nomonde Mbatani a gynaecologist from Groote Schuur Hospital and Prof. Lynette Denny who talks to us about cervical cancer.

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2006 Episode 16 - Faith-based communities

In this episode of Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2006 we look at faith based communities and HIV. Some churches, such as the JL Zwane Church, are doing a great deal to support and care for members of their congregation who are living with HIV, we also look at churches, like the Universal Church, who are promoting the idea that HIV can be cured through prayer.

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2006 Episode 17 - HIV communication strategies

In this weeks episode of Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2006 we took a look at South Africa's current response to HIV prevention; ABC. ABC stands for Abstain, be faithful and condomise. There is a need to re-think this approach because South Africa's HIV infection rate is still on the increase despite our prevention efforts. The latest antenatal survey showed that over 30% of pregnant women are testing HIV positive and six million people are now living with HIV. Clearly, ABC is not working. We hear what Mrs. Mnguni, a guidance teacher from Daveyton and her pupils have to say about HIV prevention strategies. We also headed to International Microbicides Conference to hear the thinking there.

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2006 Episode 19 - Disseminated TB and HIV

This weeks episode of Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2006 we see how tuberculosis associated with HIV is South Africa's leading cause of death. We follow Busisiwe as she gets tested for disseminated TB, look at the links between TB and HIV and Dr Lindiwe Mvusi, Director of the Department Health National TB Programme, joins our support group to discuss any questions we may have regarding tuberculosis and how to make sure it is diagnosed correctly.

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2006 Episode 21 - Curative claims

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2006 this week looks at the debate around ARV treatment vs. positive living and curative claims. We look at the Manto diet of garlic, lemons and olive oil, we visit Zeblon Kholwa Gwala and look at his untested ‘miracle' Ubhejane cure, and we speak to Justice Edwin Cameron about living positively on ARVs. We are joined by Nozizwe Mandla-Routledge and Dr Trevor Majoro in studio to discuss the importance of tested medicines.

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2006 Episode 22 - Books and media

Today we looked at the media messages around HIV/AIDS on Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2006. Positive messages in books, magazines, TV and radio programmes can change behaviour and inform audience effectively. Media messages can also have negative effects, creating poor stereotypes. We need to promote openness and successful role models for people living with HIV. We talk to Adam Levin author of AIDSafari, we are joined by members of loveLife and Health-e and we also spoke to some of our viewers about what they would like to see happen on Siyayinqoba Beat it!

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2006 Episode 23 - ARV resistance and new regimens

This episode was about understanding drug classes and how ARVs work. Dr Majoro, an HIV clinician and traditional healer joins our support group and helps us to better understand our drug regimens and the importance of adherence. We head out to Khayelitsha where Médecins Sans Frontières help Monwabisi Bikwana make a special application for an antiretroviral which is not yet registered in South Africa.

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2006 Episode 24 - Pregnancy and HIV

This week we were looking at pregnancy and HIV on Siyayinqoba. We talk about the safest ways for HIV positive couples to have children or if you or your partner is HIV positive. What you can do if you are HIV positive and your partner is negative. We visit the Cape Fertility Clinic and talk to Dr Linda Gail-Bekker about the risks of having a child if you are HIV positive and safe ways to conceive. In studio the support group are joined by Dr Nombuso Mthethwa to discuss pregnancy and HIV.

Siyayinqoba Beat It! 2006 Episode 26 - VCT or routine testing?

Patient Abuse

Patient Abuse follows the events leading up to the formation of the Treatment Action Campaign and their struggles to access affordable quality treatment for all South Africans, by challenging the patent laws protecting the profits of multinational drug companies. Patient Abuse tells of how the Treatment Action Campaign grew from a handful of people on the steps of St Georges Cathedral to an organisation of thousands with support from activists around the globe. In April of 2001 the TAC was victorious when the PMA withdrew it's case.

Law and Freedom

Media, Method, Message

Media, Method, Message follows the story of Beat It! the worlds first HIV/AIDS magazine programme. Narrated by the shows co-creator and director Jack Lewis, we see how Beat It! worked towards removing the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS and addressed the concerns of real people living with AIDS through documentary inserts and an in studio HIV+ support group.

TAC the first five years

The Treatment Action Campaign “in less than five years of existence moved a nation, shifted government policy and advanced the rights of people with HIV everywhere in the world… TAC’s struggle grows out of the best traditions of the anti-apartheid movement. TAC will be a shining light for citizen action for decades to come.” - Graca Machel, on presenting TAC with the Nelson Mandela, Health and Human Rights Award in 2002.

2006 TAPE 8 - Youth, Parents and HIV - Bongisisa Maqungo

Bongisisa Maqungo talks to us about having an HIV positive parent, he discusses his mother disclosing her status to him and how it has affected him and how he deals with her status. Bongi's friends talk about how they can support Bongi and how being HIV positive is not something to discriminate against.