Mental illness alarming in prisons
Prison warders are unable to distinguish between a naturally violent inmate and a mentally ill inmate as they receive no training in identifying mental illness.
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Free State protest for community health workers
Bloemfontein recently came to a standstill as community health workers (CHW) and the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) marched to the magistrate’s court in support of 118 health workers arrested in July last year.
Drug-resistant TB: The distance between
Tugela Ferry was the epicentre of a high profile and deadly outbreak of extensively drug-resistant (XDR) tuberculosis (TB) in 2006. Now, the rural community is pioneering new ways to treat drug-resistant TB, but patients still face a long road to treatment.
Young women expelled for wearing trousers
Ntokozo Mathonsi, 18, says she should not have to wear a skirt to get an education. About two weeks after Ntokozo and seven other girls were suspended from an East Rand high school, the girls are back to school after the Department of Education intervened.
Country braces for ‘looming drought’
South Africa is facing a looming water shortage and experts warn we may not see it coming.
Government opens up public comment period on food policy after uproar
After weeks of lobbying by civil society organisations, the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has decided to open its draft food security plan for public comment.
Is there a place for dagga in medicine?
Dagga may have some medicinal qualities, but are the benefits of legalising it worthwhile?
Closing the gap for youth in transition
When children in foster care turn 18, they lose their grants and are expected to become “instant adults”. This is a very difficult time as many foster children are still at school and lack the skills to support themselves.
Poor left out of new plan to end hunger – activists
About one in four South Africans regularly go hungry. A new government plan aims to stem hunger but risks failing without input from those hit hardest – the country’s poor, say activists.
Growing up disabled
Egnes Raulinga cried for joy the day her son, Ronewa, was born. At 4 years old, Ronewa is now a smart, inquisitive toddler. Egnes says it breaks her heart to watch other children treat him differently because of his disability.
Deadly shortage of black stem cell donors
Black South Africans make up about 47 percent of all cancer patients but only 5 percent of donors in the nation’s bone marrow registry. The gap between those who may need bone marrow or stem cell transplants, and those able to provide them has deadly consequences for cancer patients.
Breast cancer advocates demand three-month supplies of treatment
Many HIV patients are now issued with three-month supplies of treatment, cutting down the burden on clinics and patients. Now, breast cancer advocates want the same for women battling the cancer.
Cancer not caused by ‘bad luck’
Most cancers are caused by lifestyle and environmental factors and not “bad luck” as a recent report suggests. On World Cancer Day, we unpack the causes of cancer.
Taking the stand: Meet the TAC members, community health workers on trial in the Free State
As 129 Free State community healthcare workers and Treatment Action Campaign (TACT members are due back in court on charges related to July 2014 protests, we take a look at the faces and stories of those on trial.
Staff shortages fuelling prison violence
A shift in Johannesburg’s “Sun City” prison may stack just two warders against up to 1,400 inmates, according to a new report that argues staff shortages are fuelling prison violence.