Health Access

Old clinic

Tshikota residents call for public clinic as transport costs add to healthcare burden

When Tshikota resident Dipou Moyo recently suddenly lost consciousness in the middle of the night, she was fortunate to have a relative who could drive her to Louis Trichardt Memorial Hospital at 2am. “If he was not around, I could…

Read More » Tshikota residents call for public clinic as transport costs add to healthcare burden
PMOs use corr

‘I am tired of living in pain’: Woman with PMOS struggles to access specialist care

24-year-old Regomoditse Kgomo has struggled to access specialist treatment for polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS) and endometriosis through Gauteng’s public healthcare system since losing her medical aid in 2023. Despite repeated clinic visits and three requests for a referral at…

Read More » ‘I am tired of living in pain’: Woman with PMOS struggles to access specialist care
Mom and daughter 1

‘She can go to any health facility’ – but bedridden Limpopo woman has no way to get there

Tshegofatso Molamo has spent more than a decade trying to understand why she lost her ability to walk after medical complications during childbirth in May 2012. She says doctors at two hospitals in the province have been unable to provide…

Read More » ‘She can go to any health facility’ – but bedridden Limpopo woman has no way to get there
GBV Limpopo

After escaping family violence, Limpopo mother struggles to get help for her children

A Musina mother says she was trapped in a violent family home with her four children after being unable to find a shelter to move her children to, and could not afford to leave while unemployed.  Makwanela* says she eventually…

Read More » After escaping family violence, Limpopo mother struggles to get help for her children
CASE STUDY web edit

15 Years With Hearing Loss: How Communication Barriers Lock Deaf Patients Out of Healthcare

For 15 years, Maria Sikhosana from Orange Farm has relied on family members to take phone calls, listen to messages and help her communicate when she needs healthcare.  The 43-year-old single mother of 12-year-old twins says she lost her hearing…

Read More » 15 Years With Hearing Loss: How Communication Barriers Lock Deaf Patients Out of Healthcare
Bedridden

From toothache to cancer: Bedridden Free State woman seeks answers after years of treatment

What started as a toothache in 2021 led to a rare cancer diagnosis and years of medical treatment for 29-year-old Lerato Mosai. Four years later, the Sasolburg woman is bedridden and dependent on her mother for her daily care. Mosai…

Read More » From toothache to cancer: Bedridden Free State woman seeks answers after years of treatment
Feature Bridge photo

Washed-away bridge again puts healthcare out of reach for Mafarafara residents

Residents of Mafarafara village outside Burgersfort in Limpopo are again struggling to reach healthcare after a makeshift bridge across the Steelpoort River, also known as the Tubatse River, was washed away by heavy rains. The community-built crossing, made from corrugated…

Read More » Washed-away bridge again puts healthcare out of reach for Mafarafara residents
Playground

Investigation launched into five-year-old’s playground injury at Tshwane school

The Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) is investigating a case after a five-year-old Grade R learner was injured at a Tshwane primary school and later required surgery. Katlego Setshedi was injured while playing on a metal swing at Nchuncheko Primary…

Read More » Investigation launched into five-year-old’s playground injury at Tshwane school
Case study

Trans woman went months without hormones after US-funded clinic closed

When the Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute (Wits RHI) transgender clinic where Kamogelo Moamogoe received her hormone treatment closed last year following cuts to US funding, she says she was given a prescription to buy her hormones herself, but…

Read More » Trans woman went months without hormones after US-funded clinic closed
Fibroid Feature

Young women in North West live with fibroid pain as they wait for treatment for more than a year

25-year old Tiisetso Lekgetho experiences painful periods with heavy bleeding that keeps her home two or three days a month, unable to look for work or go about her normal life. Lekgetho, from Tsetse village outside Mahikeng in the North…

Read More » Young women in North West live with fibroid pain as they wait for treatment for more than a year
Health e FEATURE 18

21-year-old’s crucial kidney dialysis treatment puts family under financial strain

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…

Read More » 21-year-old’s crucial kidney dialysis treatment puts family under financial strain

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