There is a growing concern about childhood obesity in the country. Childhood obesity has increased by 6% since 2002 and continues to rise today. Programme Leader for the Action Obesity Prevention Programme and PhD Candidate at the South African Medical…
For the first time in two decades, there has been an increase in the estimated incidence of Tuberculosis (TB) globally. The number of deaths also increased during the COVID-19 pandemic and close to 11 million people fell ill in 2021…
If anything, the COVID-19 pandemic opened our eyes and taught us many lessons. Reflecting on the last two years, health experts unpacked the good and the bad and, most importantly, the state of healthcare systems in low and middle-income countries.…
The Dr JS Moroka municipality community has been forced to take desperate measures as water shortages continue to plague Mpumalanga. As residents and clinic staff members resort to using pit toilets, the healthcare system struggles to stay afloat, with load…
With no end to load shedding in the foreseeable future in South Africa, the community of QwaQwa was hopeful when the procurement of generators was announced. But this glimmer of hope has turned into a tunnel of darkness following the…
After a 2-year hiatus due to COVID-19, Africa’s healthcare community has gathered in Midrand for the Africa Health Congress, which brings together leading healthcare professionals from across the continent. “Healthcare professionals from multiple disciplines are meeting to promote discussion and…
A larger fund allocation to health and the extension of the Social Relief Grant are among the key announcements that came out of the Medium Term Budget Speech (MTBS) delivered by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana in Cape Town on Wednesday.…
With Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana set to table his Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) later today, civil organisations which advocate for the rights of all South Africans have identified; inequality, healthcare, access to food, social relief grants, non-communicable diseases, and…
The Health Justice Initiative (HJI), a lobby group, has raised red flags over how people will access life-saving medication under the proposed National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill. The HJI’s new study highlights several concerns, including access to critical medicine. The National…
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the world. Every year it claims more than 650,000 lives. Breast cancer affects more women in high-income countries like the US and the UK. But people in low- and middle-income countries, such…
Another four measles cases have been detected in the Greater Sekhukhune District in Limpopo, bringing the total number of cases to seven. Health authorities are now busy with contact tracing and screening for suspected cases.. On Monday, the National Institute…
South Africa celebrated World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) earlier this year when South Africa was coming to terms with the devastating news of children in the  Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal dying from severe acute malnutrition. Most shockingly, in January and February…
Pfizer maintains the BioNTech vaccine was tested but the  trials were not designed to evaluate the vaccine’s effectiveness against the transmission of the coronavirus disease-causing virus but rather its ability to prevent infection In an email interview with Pfizer South…
Not a single hospital in the North West has yet been exempted from load shedding. The National Health Department announced that 72 public hospitals in eight provinces are no longer subject to the consequences of Eskom’s power cuts. The DoH…
In a country where at least one in three people will experience mental health problems, the cost of obtaining care can be a significant barrier to seeking treatment. The situation is worsened by the public healthcare system not prioritising mental…
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