Hypertension as a “silent killer” because patients can feel perfectly...
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Hypertension, a silent epidemic affecting millions in South Africa
Hypertension as a “silent killer” because patients can feel perfectly well for years, all the while their elevated blood pressure is silently damaging arteries and vital organs.
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90% of South Africans with mental illness go without care
Yoliswa Sobuwa May 13, 2025
Kliptown residents fear health hazards of using chemical toilets for 20 years
Xolani Baloyi May 12, 2025
SAPS and emergency response: ‘Police not equipped to transport patients’
Health-e News May 12, 2025
‘I didn’t know I was born with HIV’ – The hidden struggles of SA youth
Yoliswa Sobuwa May 8, 2025
Freedom Farm residents exposed to deafening aircraft noise for decades
Nkosemntu Stuurman May 7, 2025
90% of South Africans with mental illness go without care
Yoliswa Sobuwa May 13, 2025
Kliptown residents fear health hazards of using chemical toilets for 20 years
Xolani Baloyi May 12, 2025
SAPS and emergency response: ‘Police not equipped to transport patients’
Health-e News May 12, 2025
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Police vehicles are not equipped with emergency life-saving equipment and as such, transporting an injured patient with a police vehicle might worsen the injury and even worse.
Being exposed to loud noise over a long period of time is a major risk factor for hearing loss.
Sex workers face significant barriers to accessing healthcare and often experience discrimination and stigma within the healthcare system.
The department has been slow in providing updates, and would not confirm if the nurse has been suspended, or is still working, while the investigation is underway.
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South Africa spends only 5% of its health budget on mental health. Most of this is allocated to inpatient psychiatric care and not community mental health services.![]()
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“There’s clear epidemiological evidence that 16% of South Africans experience a mental health condition in any given year. ![]()
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But more than 90% of people living with mental health conditions don’t receive the care that they need, despite clear evidence of cost-effective interventions,” says Professor Crick Lund, co-Director of the Centre for Global Mental Health at King's College London . ![]()
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At the heart of the issue seems to be a lack of investment and failure to implement policy. ![]()
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Find out more from Cassey Chambers (The South African Depression and Anxiety Group) and Bharti Patel (The South African Federation for Mental Health) ![]()
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#mentalhealthmatters #mentalhealthsupport #healthnews
90% Of South Africans With Mental Illness Go Without Care
health-e.org.za
In South Africa, 90% of those with mental illness lack care, with only 5% of the health budget dedicated to mental health services.
For over 20 years, Kliptown, Soweto residents have used chemical toilets that rely on substances like formaldehyde to break down waste. ![]()
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These toilets, often placed outside and shared among households, have raised serious health concerns, especially for women.![]()
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Here are the the potential health hazards associated with plastic chemical non-flush toilets. ![]()
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#CleanToilets #HumanRights #healthnews #womenshealth
Kliptown, Soweto.![]()
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For more than 20 years, people here have been using chemical toilets, the kind that don't flush and rely on harsh chemicals to manage waste.![]()
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A young woman says when she was 9 her private area started itching and swelling. "At the clinic, they told me the toilet chemicals had burned me.”![]()
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She stopped using them after that. She uses a bucket now, like many others in the area. The toilets are shared, often unsafe at night, and cleaned only twice a week. ![]()
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Professor Martin Onani, head of the chemistry department at The University of the Western Cape says direct or indirect exposure to toilet chemicals could potentially contribute to or exacerbate conditions like vaginal irritation, bacterial vaginosis, or urinary tract infections. ![]()
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In 2019, the SA Human Rights Commission called what they saw in Kliptown “a sheer violation” of people’s dignity. But not much has changed since then. ![]()
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Read more here: health-e.org.za/2025/05/12/kliptown-residents-fear-health-hazards-of-using-chemical-toilets-for-2... ![]()
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#cleantoilets #humanrights #healthnews
What can police actually do in a medical emergency?🚨 ![]()
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In March, Health-e reported on a Durban teen Bongani Nthangase who was stabbed by robbers and died after waiting 3 hours for an ambulance. ![]()
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Police couldn’t step in to transport or let bystanders assist. Here’s why, and what the law says about their role.![]()
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#healthnews #durban #ambulances #ambulanceservice #emergencyresponse #durbannorth
In March, Health-e reported on 17-year-old Bongani Nthangase, who was stabbed near Durban’s North Beach. Help was close. A police station was just 500 metres away, and the hospital only 2 km. ![]()
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But despite lifeguards giving first aid and a bystander offering to drive him to hospital, he died after waiting three hours for an ambulance. Police couldn't step in to transport or let bystanders assist. Here’s why, and what the law says about their role: health-e.org.za/2025/05/12/saps-and-emergency-response-police-not-equipped-to-transport-patients/ #healthnewsA KwaZulu-Natal family is mourning the loss of 17-year-old Bongani Nthangase who died after being robbed and stabbed outside a popular restaurant on Durban’s North Beach last week. ![]()
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On Thursday afternoon around 3pm, Nthangase from Chatsworth was at the beach when two young men approached him, demanding his cellphone and other valuables. He didn’t have any valuables to hand over, so the robbers stabbed him and fled the scene. ![]()
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The teenager was left in the beach front parking lot, 500 metres from a mobile police station. The life guards administered first aid and a bystander offered to take him to drive him to Addington Hospital, just 2kms away.![]()
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“We tried everything to help him but unfortunately we couldn’t. The police told us if anyone put the boy in their cars and he passed away they would be responsible,” a witness who asked not be named tells Health-e News. ![]()
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So they called the ambulance instead. ![]()
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“We waited for three hours and no one came to assist until the boy died. It was so painful to see someone die in front of your eyes and you can't assist,” the witness says. ![]()
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health-e.org.za/2025/03/31/durban-teen-dies-on-the-roadside-waiting-for-an-ambulance/ #healthnews
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