More South Africans are getting strokes, young people aren’t exempt
In South Africa more than one in three adults have hypertension. The condition is responsible for one in two strokes.
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TB report shows the urgent need for a new vaccine
The global measures to end the tuberculosis epidemic are showing signs of recovery post-Covid. More cases have been diagnosed and the number of people who died from the disease has gone down. Despite this apparent recovery, the World Health Organisation…
Diabetes-related deaths more than doubled in the past decade
One out of two South Africans with diabetes don’t know they have it. Such high levels of undiagnosed diabetes have devastating consequences. By the time they are diagnosed, people often have advanced organ damage.
Why the final push to eliminate malaria in SADC is so difficult
The disease is endemic to 14 of the 16 countries that make up the SADC region.
TB vaccine: WHO expert explains why it’s taken 100 years for a scientific breakthrough, and why it’s such a big deal
Charles Shey Wiysonge, Stellenbosch University The BCG vaccine for TB has been used for 100 years. It is largely effective for children under five, but less so in older people and can’t be used on patients who have certain medical…
Public health services face cuts as government struggles to curb South Africa’s debt
The health sector has taken a knock following finance minister Enoch Godongwana’s announcement of cuts to the HIV programmes as well as spend on health infrastructure in the medium term budget policy statement on Wednesday. The minister’s speech gave a…
TB drug price drop is a welcome relief as South Africa faces budget constrains
South Africa will now be paying 40% less for the multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) drug bedaquiline. Bedaquiline is a key component in the cocktail of drugs used to treat MDR-TB. Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is currently the sole manufacturer…
Mental illness is a growing crisis which deserves our attention all year – not just in October
Lerato Mthunzi, Health and Allied Workers Indaba Trade Union (HAITU) General Secretary October is mental health awareness month and as it draws to an end, a few key issues must be highlighted to make this month less of a ritualistic…
Don’t fall for fakes: Here’s how to spot a bogus doctor
[This story was first published on 17 October 2023. It’s been updated to reflect the latest developments] Bogus health professionals have been a hot topic in South Africa lately. One of the more sensational is the story of ‘Tik Tok’…
South African men are much more likely to die from TB than women – here’s why
Mmamapudi Kubjane, University of the Witwatersrand and Leigh Johnson, University of Cape Town Around the world, men are more likely to get TB and to die from it than women. We recently conducted research to establish the various factors that…
Human rights commission takes stand against water shortages in Limpopo
Ten Limpopo municipalities have three months to show detailed plans of how they’re going to provide residents with water, or face court action. The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) says failure by municipalities to provide basic services can no…
Traditional medicine: research needs to build more evidence around the effectiveness of these interventions
Research now needs to build more evidence around the effectiveness of these interventions, and how traditional medicine practitioners can be mobilised to become part of the healthcare system.
Here’s what you need to know about breast cancer
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in South Africa accounting for 22.6% of all female cancers. Men can also get breast cancer, with approximately 1% diagnosed. Health-e News spoke with Dr Diana Pillay, a radiation oncologist at…
Raising a child with cerebral palsy: ‘I chose not to be another barrier in her life’
In October 2017, Reokopetswe Molobi (33) from Ramaphosa village in Moretele Local Municipality, had a difficult and prolonged labour. “My pregnancy was great. I had no complications until my due date. I was admitted and spent three days in labour,”…
Now you see me: how a NGO is tackling corneal blindness
Sesona Mehlala has dealt with poor eyesight for most of her life. The 27-year-old started wearing glasses at nine. But even with the spectacles she struggled to see. In 2015 she buckled under the financial and mental strain of frequent…