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WHO extends mpox emergency after African surge
After a World Health Organisation (WHO) emergency committee meeting last week on the mpox upsurge in Africa, the group’s director-general has accepted the recommendation...
Global recognition for SA public health expert Helen Rees
South Africa’s Professor Helen Rees was one of six global public health champions celebrated at the recent World Health Assembly, receiving the Dr Lee Jong-wook...
Rethinking how we look at obesity in South Africa
Health workers have long relied on body mass index (BMI) to measure whether people are within a healthy weight range, but leading researchers have...
Cape Town sees rise in foodborne illnesses
An escalation in foodborne illnesses – since July 2022 – has seen Cape Town’s microbiological lab testing nearly 5 000 food samples, just over...
Electronic death registration in SA a win for everyone
South Africa’s paper-based death registration process is cumbersome and fraught with problems, and moving to an electronic system will not only reduce the administrative...
US study supports lowering colon cancer screening age
Findings from a single-centre study in the United States has supported recommendations to lower the colorectal cancer screening age from 50 to 45, with...
The stealth and tragedy of hepatitis B in South Africa
When Desmond Pedro (30) discovered a strange hardness under his ribcage, the unemployed father of two was preparing for a fresh start on a...
The case for a state-owned pharmaceutical company
To haul itself out of its dependency on other nations for its pharmaceutical needs, the country needs to switch its focus from costly imported...
Public Protector lays bare structural problems at Eastern Cape Health
The Eastern Cape Department of Health has been slammed by the Public Protector in a damning report for failing to provide adequate equipment and...
Staff shortages leave North West hospital ‘broken’
Patients are being left untreated for weeks and surgeries postponed amid a ballooning crisis at Bophelong Provincial Hospital in the North West, where severe...
Tobacco industry deliberately targets teens, says Phaala
Vapes have come under renewed criticism from pubic health advocates, with Deputy Health Minister Joe Phaahla accusing the tobacco industry of deliberately targeting non-smokers...
SA may have long wait for promising new gonorrhoea drugs
Two new antibiotics offer hope for people with gonorrhoea that is resistant to currently available drugs, yet it might be years before these drugs...
US cuts affect vital cervical cancer screening, research in SA
More than 1 400 cervical cancer patients in Gauteng will be transferred to already overstretched public hospitals after the abrupt closure of several cervical...
Millions set aside to fix dysfunctional hospital laundries
The Gauteng Department of Health has admitted to a “frequent breakdown of laundry machinery” but says R50m has been allocated to deal with the...
Durban sounds alarm over 7 000 teen pregnancies in a year
Health officials have expressed concern over the rising number of teenage pregnancies in eThekwini, revealing that 7 627 cases were recorded between April 2024...
Inquiry after baby lands on floor during birth
A Limpopo mother from whose pleas for help were dismissed when she went into labour, and whose baby was born and fell to the...
Well-being and health of world’s teens in peril – Lancet global experts
A Lancet report into adolescent health has identified unique threats to young people around the world, highlighting poor mental health, rising obesity, and exposure...
HIV testing drops after aid cuts, but Minister denies system collapse
The government has defended its progress in dealing with the US funding cuts and their crucial impact on HIV and Aids programmes in South...
Cancer treatment stalls as Eastern Cape Health fails to pay chemo bills
The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has launched an investigation into the halting of treatment for cancer patients in Eastern Cape hospitals, after...
Call for action after 155 children die of malnutrition this year
More accountability and urgent action have been called for after Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi admitted that so far this year, 155 children under five...
Warning for seniors after mosquito vaccine's adverse events, deaths
US health authorities have issued a warning to older travellers after two deaths were reported following vaccination against a mosquito-borne disease.
The preventative jab against...
Despite lofty plans, 90% of mentally ill South Africans still without care
Around 30.3% of South Africans experience a mental disorder in their lifetime – and about 16% of them in any given year – but...
Intern doctor's death sparks outcry over public health working conditions
The death of a young intern doctor at a state hospital has brought into focus the physical and mental toll on junior medical staff...
EU regulator adds suicide warning for hair loss, prostate treatments
The European Union’s drug regulator has warned that a medication to treat men’s hair loss has a rare risk of suicidal thoughts, and although...
Gauteng underspends budget but owes suppliers R367m
The Gauteng Department of Health still owes service providers R367m, having paid just 21% of its invoices between January and March because of “significant...
Call for action on booming fake drugs trade in SA
Counterfeit pharmaceutical product sales from online platforms and vendors are skyrocketing in South Africa, according to a newly-released independent report, which has called for...
NIH grant funds first comprehensive syphilis test
With global syphilis cases on the rise, the news of a $2.7m research grant towards the development of a one-stop diagnostic test has been...
Human health already under climate change pressure
We all need to urgently recognise that climate change is not merely a distant socioeconomic issue – that it is a current, unfolding health...
Overtime non-payment for doctors sparks outrage in Gauteng
Health Department blunders left Gauteng doctors without overtime pay in the past month, sparking an outcry and adding to uncertainty and growing concern over...
SA’s health burden rises as ageing HIV+ population doubles
Experts are raising the alarm yet again – and more so in the wake of the US funding cuts – regarding the alarming numbers...
Durban clinic denies sex worker ARVs
A Durban sex worker was refused ARVs by a clinic at Addington Hospital and told to “go and work” so that she could buy...
Patient’s Groote Schuur ordeal prompts departmental probe
Western Cape Health has launched an inquiry into Groote Schuur Hospital (GSH) after accusations of negligence and emotional abuse by a patient transferred there...
Daily plastic exposure linked to heart disease deaths – US study
A recent analysis of population surveys shows that daily exposure to certain chemicals used to make common plastic household items could be linked to...
Deadly effects of marijuana on the foetus – US meta-analysis
Using marijuana during pregnancy has been linked to poor foetal development, low infant birth weight, dangerously early deliveries and even death, according to a...
Patients suffer as hospitals battle bed shortages, power and water cuts
Dire conditions at several state hospitals came under the spotlight this week with reports of heavily pregnant women being made to sleep on the...
Hospital staff under fire for outdoor cooking during outage
KZN Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane has called for disciplinary action against staff at Pietermaritzburg’s Northdale Hospital after a video of them cooking over a...
Measles adds to Ugandan mpox crisis as death toll passes 5 400
The cumulative number of confirmed mpox cases in Uganda has hit 5 431, with 40 deaths reported since the outbreak was declared nine months...
Limpopo doctor accused of attempted rape of patient
The Limpopo Health Department is investigating – in tandem with a police inquiry – after a doctor allegedly attempted to rape a patient at George...
Europe failing in fight against HIV, TB and STIs
Regional health authorities have warned that many countries in Europe will miss a target to combat HIV, TB, hepatitis, and sexually transmitted infections (STIs)...
Antibiotic resistance risking SA’s newborns’ lives
Experts say bacterial infections are responsible for more infant deaths than is generally recognised, and that things may get worse as more of the...