Children in Saulsville, west of Pretoria continue to use public parks where residents say sewage, illegal dumping and deteriorating infrastructure have made the spaces unsafe. When Health-e News visited Forest Park on Chauke Street, sewage was flowing through the park,…
At 21, Brandon Booysen from Randfontein in Gauteng is bedridden with end-stage kidney disease and severe bone complications after living with chronic kidney disease (CKD) since childhood. He cannot sit upright for more than a few minutes because of severe…
If there is a statement that still haunts Llona Makhubedu, it is: “Switch off the machine.” Eighteen years ago, her first-born son, Paballo Makhubedu could not breathe on his own after his birth and was placed on life support. Llona…
For the past five years, more than 800 learners and staff at Seetsa sa Kgwedi Primary School in Soshanguve, north of Pretoria, have been living with recurring sewage spills on the school grounds. School governing body (SGB) chairperson, Kehwile Ramaru…
For unemployed father of three, Ramsenyane Lefenya, volunteering at a community garden in Lenasia South close to Johannesburg, means there are fresh vegetables to take home to his family every day. The 34-year-old father of three children aged 7, 9…
As the Gauteng Education Department faces a R27 billion backlog in school occupational health and infrastructure, parents at a Soshanguve primary school in Tshwane threaten to keep their children home, saying conditions of temporary mobile toilets at the school pose…
When Health-e News first shared the story of 110-year-old Koko Violet Ramadimetsa, her birthday wish was not cake or presents. It was a simple wish to walk safely and live with dignity. Koko Violet, who lives in Hammanskraal, Tshwane, had…
The grandparents of an 8-year-old Lenasia South girl in Gauteng claim they’ve had to navigate the medical, psychosocial and criminal justice systems alone in the days following the girl’s alleged rape by a security guard at her school. The family…
Every weekend up to a 100 children, teenagers and women gather at Refentse Primary School in Stinkwater, north of Pretoria, for free aerobics classes. The weekly events were started by local resident, Khaohelo Tshabalala, known as ‘Miss Tee’ in her…
In the first part of our Hungry For Change series, Health-e News shares the story of a Johannesburg mother who turned to sex work to feed her three young children. Her youngest was hospitalised with malnutrition earlier this year. A…
One year after Health-e News reported on Stinkwater’s sanitation crisis, residents say conditions have worsened. For thousands of residents in Stinkwater, near Hammanskraal north of Pretoria, pit toilets remain the only form of sanitation nearly 60 years after the settlement…
A Roodepoort mother is speaking out about life with a stoma after childbirth, saying the condition has changed how she mothers, works and manages her life. Phemelo Seane, 28, says she has been living with a stoma since 2024 after…
Community health organisations and activists say female condoms are scarce, while finger and tongue condoms are largely unavailable in clinics, community health service centres and local shops. This leaves some women and members of the LGBTQ+ community with limited options…
Gauteng: When Mphonyana Mtamane arrived at Zola Clinic in Soweto on the morning of 27 May 2026, she was visibly injured, with bruises and scratches showing on her face and neck. Three days earlier, she had been raped by a…
It's been two weeks since Gauteng began rolling out lenacapavir (LEN), but patients in parts of Pretoria are yet to get the jab
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