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News Update
Mpondoland hospital patients battle for healthcare since 2025 floods
A year after floods devastated the already dilapidated Greenville Hospital in eastern Mpondoland, frustrated patients say infrastructure problems continue to restrict services after parts...
Killer terbufos pesticide still being sold by vendors
Despite a ban on illegal sales, the highly toxic pesticide terbufos – commonly known as “halephirimi” (“the sun won’t set”), which has been linked...
Western Cape health system buckles under violent trauma cases
Gang violence-related injuries are crippling Western Cape emergency centres and trauma units, with nearly 27 000 patients being treated at public hospitals in just...
US leaves WHO, leaving massive funding gap
The US has officially withdrawn from the World Health Organisation (WHO) – leaving the UN agency without one of its biggest donors, and without...
Six countries lose WHO measles-free status
A rise in measles deaths – and a decline in the number of children having the MMR jab – has resulted in Britain, with...
Theranos founder Holmes asks Trump for early release
Elizabeth Holmes, the former Theranos founder who still has nearly six years left of her 11-year prison sentence, has asked US President Donald Trump...
Smuggled birth control pills from Zimbabwe sold in SA
Cross-border trade in illicit medication is thriving, with consignments of Zimbabwean contraceptive pills regularly entering South Africa and being snapped up, not just by...
Suspected arsonist arrested after Paarl Hospital fire
A man has been arrested and will appear in court today in connection with a suspected arson attack that forced the full evacuation of...
Suppliers’ business rescue threatens critical medicines supply
The supply of critical medicines, including the three-in-one anti-Aids drug taken by most HIV patients, and morphine, is under threat after suppliers were placed...
Medical scheme boss accuses CMS of ‘sabotage’ and racial bias
Medical scheme administrator 3Sixty GSG has alleged that regulators and industry insiders deliberately sabotaged the Sizwe Hosmed medical scheme, which was one of the...
GEMS subsidy hike postponed to next month
The planned medical subsidy increase for government employees has been postponed to next month and comes as the Health Minister has promised to intervene...
Aspen sets its sights on Canada for generic weight-loss jabs
Aspen Pharmacare is gearing up to launch one of the world’s first generic versions of Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide in Canada, where the GLP-1 weight-loss...
Upgraded Free State clinic still short-staffed
Two months after being opened with much fanfare by the Free State Premier, the Borwa Clinic in Tweespruit has yet to hire additional staff, with the...
SA scientist develops tool for fast screening of TB, cancer and Covid
A Cape Town scientist is working on developing a rapid, low-cost portable screening test that could transform the early detection of TB, cancer and...
WHO calls for higher taxes on sugary drinks and alcohol
Low taxes, which are not in line with inflation, are ineffective in reducing alcohol or sugary drink consumption, the World Health Organisation has warned, urging...
World short of one million midwives, warns global report
Africa has only 40% of the midwives it needs, while globally, there’s a massive shortage of nearly 1m midwives, leaving pregnant women without the...
NHS under fire for guidance over benefits of marrying first cousins
The NHS has withdrawn earlier official training material given to British midwives that suggested there could be “potential benefits” to marriage between first cousins...
US to probe health links from cellphone radiation
A study on cellphone radiation will be undertaken by the US Department of Health and Human Services, building on Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr’s...
Pig kidney kept door open for human organ
One of the first recipients in the world of a genetically modified pig kidney has become the first in that small group of pioneers...
SAHPRA alert on paediatric supplements
The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) has issued a health warning to parents about children’s supplements containing zinc picolinate and seleniumn –...
KZN Health reverses pharmacy intern freeze after outcry
The financially-stricken KwaZulu-Natal Health Department has done an about-turn on its controversial decision to freeze pharmacy internship posts – announced this past weekend –...
Minister vows talks with GEMS over tariffs hike
The latest hikes by the Government Employees Medical Scheme (GEMS) have come under fire from Public Service & Administration Minister Mzamo Buthelezi, who told...
KZN barges ahead with untested circumcision device
KwaZulu-Natal Health has procured 96 000 CircumQ circumcision devices through a controversial tender currently being challenged in court by CircumQ’s competitor, Unicirc, which alleges...
Durban hospital saluted for heart care in cancer treatment
A pioneering South African centre is being celebrated internationally for its dual roles of treating cancer while protecting heart health, with the team at...
Public Works severs dodgy hospital lease tied to Matlala
An internal investigation is being launched after the cancellation of a lease agreement between the Department of Public Works & Infrastructure and Medicare 24...
Three-hour wait for ambulances in rural KZN emergencies
Rural dwellers in the villages around Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal, say they have to wait hours for ambulances, because the vehicles have to travel more than...
FDA asks drugmakers to remove suicide warnings from GLP-1 labels
The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has asked Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly to remove warnings about suicidal ideation or behaviour from the...
‘Stuffy nose’ nasal spray warning in UK
Britain’s Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has issued a warning to the public about using nasal sprays for blocked noses beyond a week, reminding users...
US medical groups ask court to block vaccine changes
Six medical organisations in the US plan to ask the courts to throw out revisions to the childhood vaccination schedule recently announced by Health...
Washington launches billion-dollar health pacts in Africa – with provisos
The United States is reshaping development policy again with 14 bilateral pacts with African states so far setting out the parameters for aid in...
US court allows Covid jab lawsuit to continue
A US federal court has denied the government’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit challenging changes to Covid-19 vaccine recommendations, and the case will now...
Bayer sues Covid jab makers over mRNA technology
Monsanto sued Covid-19 vaccine makers Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna in Delaware federal court on Tuesday for allegedly misusing its messenger RNA technology in manufacturing their vaccines,...
Pepfar fund debacle should be wake-up call, say MPs
Opposition parties say the government should do more to hire unemployed medical graduates to improve healthcare services and prevent any reduction in HIV/Aids testing,...
Google removes AI health summaries
A number of artificial intelligence-generated health summaries have been deleted by Google after an international investigation found these could potentially harm readers because of...
Discovery seeks repayment after overpaying members’ claims
A processing error has led to Discovery Health members being asked to repay money after their claims were incorrectly paid out at a higher...
SIU probes vaccine research contracts
Four vaccine research procurement contracts will come under the SIU’s microscope as it investigates serious maladministration and improper conduct allegations in government departments, a...
Medicine shortage fears after Limpopo Health outsourcing
Limpopo Health staff have warned of a potential system collapse after the department outsourced the provincial pharmaceutical depot, saying that failures by the newly...
Support grows for UN health envoy as inquiry deadline looms
The Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) will decide by the end of January on whether to proceed with a full inquiry into South...
Fraud-accused ex-health boss loses 'privileged testimony' suit
A former North West Health Department HoD, Dr Andrew Lekalakala – arrested in 2019 and charged with fraud and corruption – has been unsuccessful...
Hidden market fuels fake script industry
The illegal prescription business is flourishing in South Africa, posing increasing public health and economic risks, warn experts, who urge greater effort to combat...