Thanks to my friend and nurse colleague, Nonceba Lubanga, a South African nurse and human rights activist who has worked in children’s health in New York City for more than two decades, AJN editorial board member Barbara Glickstein and I were honored to have dinner at the home of Bongani Tembe and Linda Bukhosini, world-renowned vocalists. Tembe is the chief executive and artistic director of the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic and Bukhosini is the CEO and managing director of the Playhouse Company in Durban. They told us about a project they developed to use music to change the sexual notions and practices of South African men, with the goal of preventing the spread of HIV and reducing sexual violence. Tembe worked with others to organize a march to a stadium, got musicians to write music that included healthier sexual messages, and handed out CDs of the music. This extraordinary couple understands the power of music in promoting health.

Diana Mason, AJN editor-in-chief-emeritus, sent the above post, the last one before her return this weekend, from Durban, South Africa, where she’s been attending the ICN conference

Of course, we will never know whether the chest compressions Michael Jackson received were deep enough or whether deeper compressions might have saved him. But maybe this very public focus on CPR technique might help to save someone else.

Former president of Botswana, Festus G. Mogae, delivered the keynote address today to over 5,000 nurses. His support of the role of nurses in advancing health was evident in his appointment of a nurse, Shiela Tlou, as minister of health in 2004. "Although appointed in her own right," he said, "her appointment was nevertheless recognition of nurses as leaders . . . [who] can lead their countries in any capacity." He noted that nurses play a particularly important role in caring for the 22 million Africans thought to be living with HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa.

Health officials have confirmed a case of swine flu that is resistant to Tamiflu, the leading pharmaceutical weapon against the new virus.

The guide spoke to us about the strengths of this black community that still reveres its elders, looks out for their neighbors, and is proud of the new, simple housing that the government is slowly building. All of this housing has running water, electricity, and sewage disposal with indoor plumbing. Some of the people in these new homes have started gardens and added adornments to the plain concrete structures with proper roofs. And even in the shacks that co-exist with these new homes, we saw a hair salon, shoe repair shop, and two shacks strung together that were called the "mall". Our guide talked about the signs of hope for South Africa, saying that he sees improvements in the lives of people in these communities. They are incremental and small, but he reminded me that only 16 years have passed since apartheid was ended and much has been accomplished in this short time. One of the principles of nursing, particularly community health, is to recognize and tap into the strengths of people.