OurHealth is a project that trains and supports local activists and aspiring health journalists. Our citizen journalists (CJs) live in rural and poorly-covered areas in South Africa, and report on health issues affecting their communities.
Six years ago when Lerato Madumise, 28, of Rammulotsi in the remote Free State town of Viljoenskroon found out she was expecting her first child she was happy. She was excited about giving birth to a healthy boy, and everything…
Lungani Ngema (27) from Shakaville in KwaDukuza on the KwaZulu Natal North Coast was diagnosed with tuberculosis empyema (TB empyema) in November last year. While curable, this complex form of TB disease requires specialist treatment for a period varying from…
Scared, in pain and out of options, Kebuile Morapedi took to social media in August. “I need help. I’ve lodged a complaint at the clinic, but still nothing. I have two children who are three-years-old and I’m still young. I…
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…
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…
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…
Residents in Moretele local municipality in the North West are optimistic about efforts to address drug abuse and the issues associated with it. This follows the launch of the Moretele local drug action committee. Municipalities around the country have adopted…
Residents of Tumahole in Parys have shut down local clinics and schools in protest of the ongoing water crisis plaguing the Free State town. But the shutdown, which started on Monday, has left the community divided. The mass protest…
The long wait is over for residents of Lerole Lea Thunya Township in Rouxville, Free State. They finally have a functional clinic. Previously, Health-e reported that the community referred to the old clinic as a ‘deep freezer’. The conditions were less…
Residents in Ga-Pila, outside Mokopane town in Waterberg District, Limpopo, are frustrated with the Sterkwater Clinic’s inability to provide adequate healthcare services. Reports indicate that the clinic has been facing persistent issues, with medication shortages and malfunctioning equipment. *Sy Thobela,…
The mumps outbreak is affecting schooling in Botshabelo in the Free State, with at least 100 children testing positive. The Limpopo Health Department is urging parents to monitor symptoms. “Symptoms include headache, fever, malaise and loss of appetite. The glands…
As cold and flu season approaches, residents of Bojanala district in the Moretele Municipality face a shortage of medicines to treat colds, and ear and eye infections. This is because of their local faces shortages of these medicines. write Precious…
The local clinic in Henneman in the Matjhabeng Municipality in the Free State has been closed for the last seven days since service delivery protests erupted in the area. Residents of Phomolong started protesting exactly one week ago over the…
A fire destroyed bundles of bed sheets and patient attire at Pelonomi Hospital on Monday afternoon in what the Free State Health Department is calling sabotage. The department alleges that striking Nehawu workers started the fire. The South African…
Despite a court interdict preventing the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) from striking today, the union went ahead with its planned protest action. In the Free State, over 3000 health workers gathered outside several hospitals in…