Yogan Pillay, Stellenbosch University and Madhukar Pai, McGill University For centuries, we have known that tuberculosis is a social disease. It thrives on poverty and social factors such as malnutrition, poor housing, overcrowding, unsafe work environments and stigma. Globally in…
Patients using public health facilities in the Free State face hostile services, staff shortages, and long waiting times. Some patients have even reported being turned away and denied care. These are just some of the findings of a report published…
Jubilee District Hospital in Hammanskraal, north of Pretoria, is stretched and doesn’t have the capacity to take care of a growing population. Communications officer, Moses Seete, says the hospital serves patients from more than 20 villages between Gauteng and Northwest…
Written by Dave Chambers for Jive Media Africa, research communications partner to GIFT A South African innovation designed to screen for inflammation associated with HIV infections and improve women’s sexual and reproductive health has been manufactured and has entered its…
“I don’t even want to leave the house. I am scared that I might leak urine or faeces in public – this usually happens when I am at home. I am stressed most of the time, and live with consistent…
Police and community members say the growing cases of gender-based violence (GBV) in the Selosesha cluster in Botshabelo east of Bloemfontein is likely the result of substance abuse and high unemployment rates. Speaking at a community dialogue in August police…
When Sister Olivia Pharo retired from her job as a nurse at Wesfleur hospital in Cape Town in 2018 it was just the beginning. Most retirees look forward to putting their feet up and spending time with their families. But…
The community of Section L in Botshabelo in the Free State closed down their local clinic on Wednesday in protest of a staff shortage at the facility. They locked the doors to Potlako Motlohi clinic with workers inside and camped…
Access to TB prevention treatment and antiretroviral (ARV) medication is about to get easier in South Africa. People will soon be able to get a range of HIV services from pharmacists with special training. South Africa’s HIV treatment programme is…
Kathryn Steventon Roberts, University of Oxford and Janina Jochim, University of Oxford Imagine the weight of responsibility for caring for a child when you are not yet fully grown yourself, and the fear of being shamed by parents, fellow learners,…
The quality and availability of water have been a major issue at two hospitals in Kwa-Zulu Natal (KZN). At Montebello Hospital in Ndwedwe families have to bring water when visiting sick relatives because the tap water at the hospital is…
The National Department of Health has less than 10 days to hand over all the copies of the Covid-19 vaccine procurement contracts to the Health Justice Initiative (HJI). This follows a court judgement handed down by the North Gauteng High…
Residents in over 96 villages in Giyani, Limpopo, have been relying on a single ambulance for medical emergencies since the beginning of the year. “When you contact the Giyani EMS station for an ambulance, they will tell you straight that…
Less than 100 deceased organ donations take place in South Africa every year, while around 5000 patients are on the waiting list for an organ. This is according to the South African Transplantation Society and the South African Transplant Coordinators…
Patricia Maluleke* is fraught with worry. The unemployed 29-year-old from Thohoyandou, in Limpopo, recently had a baby girl and it’s been a struggle. “My daughter is only four-months old, but I am already facing uncertainty whether I will be able…