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News Update
Protesters call for new Gugulethu hospital
More than 100 people from several Cape Town townships marched to the Western Cape legislature this week to demand a new hospital in Gugulethu,...
First shipment of malaria vaccine reaches Cameroon
Cameroon received its first shipment of Mosquirix malaria vaccines manufactured by British drugmaker GSK last week – the 310 000 doses arriving as the...
Construction and IT companies among 'food suppliers' to Gauteng Health
The Gauteng Department of Health, which has battled this year to ensure patients are fed adequately, has now contracted out-of-town companies to supply food...
Discovery's 'chronic cover’ ad misleading, regulator finds
The Advertising Regulatory Board (ARB) has ordered Discovery Health to qualify its claim to offer “comprehensive” chronic cover after a complaint by leading business...
Health Department slams cost of anti-HIV CAB-LA shot
Government is fuming over the newly announced price of the two-monthly anti-HIV injection from Viiv Healthcare, calling its non-profit price – between R540 and R570...
Full salary for North West health official despite 11-month absence
Despite not reporting for duty since January, a senior North West Health Department official facing misconduct and criminal charges related to alleged tender fraud has...
New Crohn’s guidelines highlight use of stool biomarkers
New guidelines from the American Gastroenterological Association recommend biomarkers found in blood and stools be used in the management of Crohn’s disease, sparing some...
UK first to approve CRISPR-based treatment for sickle cell disease
In a world first, medical regulators in the UK have approved a gene therapy that aims to cure two blood disorders – sickle cell disease...
Western Cape healthcare staff protest against Gaza attacks
Healthcare employees gathered outside the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital in Cape Town on Tuesday to protest against what they called “systematic and...
‘Just let people die’, UK PM allegedly said during pandemic
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (the country’s Finance Minister during the pandemic) was quoted as saying the government should “just let people die” at...
Northern Cape state hospital appeals for donations
The hospital committee at the government-run Martha Griffiths Community Health Centre in Port Nolloth, Northern Cape – which has been open only for a...
Study flags treatment of vulnerable groups at KZN health facilities
Vulnerable groups like sex workers, drug addicts, and members of the LGBTQ+ community are still being denied access to medicine, clinics and hospitals, and...
WHO launches commission to tackle loneliness
The World Health Organisation has launched a new Commission on Social Connection – to run for three years – in efforts to address loneliness...
Zimbabwe declares state of emergency over cholera outbreak
Zimbabwe has declared a state of emergency in Harare over a cholera outbreak that has killed dozens of people, with more than 7 000...
Global measles cases and deaths rising, warns WHO
After years of declines in measles vaccination coverage, measles cases in 2022 increased by 18%, and deaths by 43% globally (compared with 2021), according...
Eswatini on track to end Aids by 2030
In 2020, Eswatini became the first African country to achieve the 95-95-95 target, well ahead of 2025, and since then, seems on track to...
Cervical cancer can be eliminated by 2040: UK health boss
Cervical cancer can be eliminated in England by 2040, saving thousands of women’s lives, the head of NHS England said last week, the first...
Fake Ozempic sends users to hospitals
The US Food & Drug Administration has launched a probe after at least three people were admitted to hospitals after using suspected counterfeit semaglutide...
SA snakebite anti-venom shortage resolved
Stakeholders say South Africa’s health facilities now have sufficient supplies of snake anti-venom, after a drastic shortage earlier this year caused panic countrywide.
In April,...
Cable theft affects three Kimberley hospitals
The theft of hundreds of thousands of rands worth of cables and other electrical equipment in the Sol Plaatje Municipality in Kimberley last week...
Netcare CEO delays retirement for six months
Hospital group Netcare said CEO Richard Friedland will remain at the helm of the business for a further six months beyond his original September...
More allegations of Mediclinic billing irregularities
A second, former Mediclinic employee, has accused the hospital group of manipulating patient bills, sharing correspondence with News24 that reflects billing changes apparently made...
SAHRC gives government deadline to address Eastern Cape malnutrition crisis
The South African Human Rights Commission has recommended a State of Disaster be declared in the Eastern Cape, where more than 100 children have...
Gauteng Health cancer tender raises red flag
The narrow window of an “abrupt” Gauteng Health tender for oncology radiation services has raised concerns, with Cancer Alliance saying many private sector radiation therapy companies...
Northern Cape surgery backlog grows by the day
Waiting lists for surgery in the Northern Cape have ballooned to nearly 6 500, up from the just under 4 000 recorded in May...
Increase in stroke cases in KZN
An emergency medical services company in KwaZulu-Natal says it has seen a significant increase in the number of stroke cases in the past two...
Red tape hampers research for vulnerable groups treatment
There is an urgent need to develop a clear risk standard in law that is consistent with national and global ethics guidelines – or...
Diphtheria prison outbreak contained
The Western Cape Department of Correctional Services has contained the diphtheria outbreak at Pollsmoor Prison after a 19-year-old prisoner died and eight others tested positive...
Artificial pancreas hope for thousands of UK diabetics
In a breakthrough for Britain’s NHS, more than 150 000 adults and children with type 1 diabetes will be eligible for “life changing” technology that will...
AGs urge action from FDA on biased pulse oximeter technology
Attorneys-General representing half of the US and Washington are calling on the FDA to step up its ongoing efforts to eliminate racial biases from...
Hundreds of operations cancelled because of Gauteng water shortages
Water shortages led to nearly 400 operations being cancelled in 16 hospitals across Gauteng in the first six months of this year – most...
EMS crews beaten, shot and robbed
Stoning, shooting and hijacking are an occupation hazard for South Africa’s emergency medical services (EMS), with parts of the Eastern Cape having been declared...
Dumped medical waste probed by Gauteng Health
Used syringes and old medical files were found dumped in a Johannesburg field this past weekend, with the Gauteng Health Department saying it would...
Australian Government apologises for thalidomide tragedy
The Australian Government is to issue a formal apology to people affected by thalidomide, the morning sickness drug that caused significant birth defects in...
US sets price for (costly) new postpartum depression pill
Pharma giant Sage Therapeutics has priced the oral postpartum depression (PPD) pill it developed with partner Biogen at $15 900 for a full 14-day course of...
Auditor-General again flags medico-legal claims risk for health sector
The Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) has again raised concern about mounting medical-legal claims against state hospital, saying they have identified such expenditure as...
UK green-lights drug that could slash breast cancer risk
Britain’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has confirmed authorisation of the hormone treatment anastrozol as a preventative treatment for post-menopausal women at...
North West Health HoD gets bail in alleged corrupt tender case
The North West Health Department’s HoD has been given a leave of absence, pending an investigation into the corrupt awarding of a R470m hospital...
Eastern Cape patient stabs nurse over a cigarette
A Bhisho Hospital patient suffering from psychosis stabbed a nurse who refused to share a cigarette with him, using an Okapi knife stolen from...
70 malaria deaths and 7 400 cases in SA this year
South Africans are warned to be vigilant as malaria season approaches, with the Department of Health saying 66 infected people have already died between...