Measles outbreaks are devastating countries across the globe, linked to a massive drop in vaccination rates. The World Health Organisation has raised the alarm and ranked ‘vaccine hesitancy’ as one of the top 10 threats to public health everywhere. Is South Africa immune? HEALTH-E NEWS’ Amy Green reports.
Read More »Anti-vaxxers & the return of measles: Is SA immune?
One hails from Mumbai and the other from Khayelitsha but the pair has teamed up after surviving the planet’s deadliest infectious disease; tuberculosis (TB). Toxic treatment robbed both women of their hearing and a newer, safer, drug is unaffordable leaving many people with the choice between deafness or death.
Read More »Two women vs ‘big pharma’ to fight TBWhile South Africa has increased HIV spending at district level with stellar results, access to condoms has plummeted, according to the latest District Health Barometer (DHB).
Read More »SA’s HIV score: ‘A’ for meds, ‘F’ for condoms
Malnutrition, which includes both obesity and undernutrition, is the leading cause of poor health around the world, and the culprits for the costly obesity epidemic aren’t individual couch potatoes. Instead, governments have failed to curb ‘big food’ placing everybody’s health at stake, according to a major report.
Read More »SA’s obesity caused by big business not greedy people
After turning down placements at rural hospitals, hundreds of newly qualified doctors remain unemployed while the country’s rural state hospitals remain desperately understaffed because of a complex – yet fixable - situation. Health-e News’ Amy Green investigates whether these health professionals are being ‘picky’ and what possible solutions there are to this senseless situation.
Read More »Are workless doctors being ‘picky’?
Many South Africans are returning to work this week but the December break hasn’t resulted in improvements in stress levels and overall mental health. The number of calls for help received by the South African Depression and Anxiety Group is just as high this January as the last months of 2019.
Read More »Janu-worry stress busters: The science behind some health therapies
South Africa is not at war, yet our rates of violence are similar to war zones. Virtually every child surveyed in Soweto has witnessed extreme violence, which means they have more in common with Palestinian children than our African neighbours – and our mental health is suffering.
Read More »The war on our mindsUniversal health coverage (UHC) or National Health Insurance (NHI) will remain a “pipe dream” if human resources for health, especially in rural areas, aren’t urgently addressed.
Read More »Health staff shortages make NHI a ‘pipe dream’
With baby deaths tripling in a matter of months, staff at Tambo Memorial Hospital in Boksburg have turned to the media in a desperate attempt to prevent further losses of life.
Read More »Baby deaths at Gauteng hospital tripleOral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), taken as a once-daily pill, has been hailed the world over as one of the major HIV prevention interventions in the fight against AIDS. Yet, apart form sex workers, very few South Africans are using PrEP or even know it exists.
Read More »SA sleeping on the most successful HIV weaponsAIDS kills 76 adolescents around the world every day, and some 360 000 will die by 2030 unless “urgent” action is taken.
Read More »HIV: One child infected every two minutes
Children learn violence from a young age, often within their homes, so to create a more peaceful South Africa, experts warn that care-givers must stop spanking kids.
Read More »A non-violent society needs non-violent parentingIt is one of our fastest-growing epidemics. But managing diabetes is complicated when diagnosed late – the main problem for most South Africans. HEALTH-E NEWS’ Amy Green spends time in a surgical ward where people living with complications from the condition often have to choose between amputation and death. And once they have lost a limb, their chances of getting a prosthetic one in the public sector is virtually zero.
Read More »Diabetes: Your leg or your life
Local doctors say that if prevention efforts aren't ramped up, diabetes-related costs to society - especially amputations - will become completely unaffordable.
Read More »Diabetes ‘will destroy the economy of this country’The alleged Dros rapist’s defence lawyer is trying to blame his client’s behaviour on a bipolar diagnosis. But while many people associate mental illness with violence those who are mentally ill are much more likely to be victims of violent crime than perpetrators, reports HEALTH-E’s Amy Green.
Read More »Dros rape accused perpetuates mental health stigma
