Opinion and Editorial
There’s more to self-care than scented candles or massages, it’s a key public health toolÂ
Social media for sex education: South African teens explain how it would help them
Eye on crisis: KZN’s water woes could be fuelling pink eye outbreak
Tackling climate change can improve public health in Africa – new report highlights how
Chris Malley, University of York; Alice Akinyi Kaudia, University of Nairobi; Andriannah Mbandi, South Eastern Kenya University; Kevin Hicks, University of York; Philip Osano, Stockholm Environment Institute, and Youba Sokona, UCL African countries can simultaneously address climate change and improve public health by reducing air pollution. In many cases these actions…
Giving South Africa’s disabled children the care they need
by Chantelle Kriel, CEO of Casa Caritas. Most children with disabilities require care beyond what parents or primary caregivers can provide. In South Africa, many parents with disabled children struggle to earn a basic living, let alone afford the optimal…
How we talk to young boys is key to curbing the gender-based violence scourge in South Africa
by Dr Ntombifikile Mtshali, CEO of Shout-It-Now, a South African NPC that delivers youth-friendly, community-based HIV prevention, sexual and reproductive health and related services in the Gauteng and North West provinces. Young children learn by imitating the behaviours of those around…
Health risks at home: a study in six African countries shows how healthy housing saves children’s lives
Hellen Gitau, African Population and Health Research Center; Blessing Mberu, African Population and Health Research Center; Kanyiva Muindi, African Population and Health Research Center, and Samuel Iddi, African Population and Health Research Center Housing is a critical social determinant of…
Way too many young people’s lives are cut short on our roadsÂ
by Dr Lee Randall an independent road safety researcher and co-founder of the Road Ethics Project Globally, young people aged 5-29 – especially males – are the most likely to die in road crashes. This is very concerning in Africa…
Diabetes is South Africa’s second biggest killer disease: hiking the sugar tax would help
Karen Hofman, University of the Witwatersrand and Susan Goldstein, University of the Witwatersrand Death rates in South Africa have declined slightly during the past few years. But the country faces a steady rise in both death and disability caused by…
Diabetes-related deaths more than doubled in the past decade
Dr Patrick Ngassa Piotie is a Senior Programme Manager at the University of Pretoria Diabetes Research Centre and the Chairperson of the Diabetes Alliance Deaths due to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are on the rise in South Africa. The increase in…
Why the final push to eliminate malaria in SADC is so difficult
Dr Jaishree Raman is a Principal Medical Scientist and the head of the Laboratory for Antimalarial Resistance Monitoring and Malaria Operational Research at South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases. Malaria exerts a huge public health burden on communities within…
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…
Mental illness is a growing crisis which deserves our attention all year – not just in OctoberÂ
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…
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…