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Public Health
Public sector moonlighting headed towards a major crisis
In hospitals and clinics already hollowed out by corruption, shortages and managerial decay, large numbers of nurses and doctors rely on private-sector moonlighting and...
Africa’s deadly legacy – one stillbirth every 30 seconds
A major report has revealed that a baby is stillborn every 30 seconds in Africa, exposing major cracks in the continent’s healthcare systems. Most...
DA flags cardiac patient deaths at Charlotte Maxeke Hospital
Cardiac outcomes at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital require an urgent investigation by the Health Ombud, according to DA Gauteng Shadow Health MEC Jack...
Surgical crisis at Grey’s Hospital as aircon upgrade drags on
Staff and patients at Pietermaritzburg’s Grey’s Hospital are battling with ongoing surgical crises due to a malfunctioning HVAC system, with operations cancelled – and...
Court lashes department over non-compliance in vigilante case
The Department of Health and other government respondents have failed to comply with a court order to stop anti-immigrant vigilantes from screening patients, and...
Only 3% of South Africans using condoms as STIs rise
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are on the rise in South Africa, and while exact numbers are difficult to pinpoint, regional data paint a worrying...
Deepening crisis in healthcare affordability: Stats SA survey
With barely 14% of the country’s population covered by medical aid, new data reveal a deepening crisis in healthcare affordability, where race, geography and...
Half of all badly injured patients don’t reach medical care – UK-Stellenbosch study
Many seriously injured patients in Global South countries fail to reach medical care within the lifesaving “golden hour”, with ambulances often associated with these...
No link between vaccines and sudden cardiac death – Canadian study
The worldwide roll-out of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccines was controversial, with many claiming it took more lives than the infection itself. However, a recent...
Weight-loss treatment on brink of another dramatic shift
Just 10 weeks after approval from the US Food and Drug Administration, the Wegovy weight-loss pill is now estimated to be part of the daily...
KZN’s emergency medical services in dire straits
Life support is urgently needed for the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in KwaZulu-Natal, according to a recent report, which found that more than half...
Landmark South African study shows efficacy of HPV vaccination
A national HPV vaccination programme can be extremely effective in a high HIV-prevalence setting, a Wits-led research published in The Lancet Global Health shows...
Tackling the threat of asymptomatic TB in South Africa
Tuberculosis (TB) continues to spread in South Africa at alarming rates, possibly because some people may have the disease without TB symptoms and may...
Overdue patient fees climb to billions in Gauteng
Overdue patient fees have climbed to a staggering R4.6bn at Gauteng provincial hospitals and, in the case of a private hospital, led to a...
World’s longest study on happiness thrives
Money does not buy happiness, or even health, it has been confirmed, with a decades-long study suggesting that good friendships and relationships, instead, are...
Lessons learnt in the anti-HIV drug race as CAB-LA falls behind LEN
The two-monthly HIV prevention injection, cabotegravir (CAB-LA), was approved more than three years ago but never reached government clinics. Now, as the new and...
National Health Lab Service IT system down – again
The National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS), which provides laboratory services to every single public sector health provider countrywide, reported a major disruption to its...
Activists back in court over Dudula bullying of migrants
Three organisations have taken the Gauteng Department of Health back to court to enforce a court order, saying Operation Dudula thugs are still barring...
Limpopo team separates conjoined twins in complex surgery
Doctors in Limpopo made history after separating conjoined twin boys – born in January at Mankweng Hospital outside Polokwane – in a mammoth eight-hour surgical procedure on...
Gauteng Health denies debt affects services at Tshwane hospital
The Gauteng Department of Health has denied that R33m in unpaid supplier debt is forcing providers to restrict services to Odi District Hospital, or...
TB outbreak affects 200 at Durban homeless camp
Health authorities have confirmed a TB outbreak among a homeless settlement at North Beach, Durban, where nearly 200 people living in tents tested positive...
Zambia stands firm against US bullying over health support
The US State Department is threatening to withhold lifesaving health support to Zambia as a negotiating tactic to force that country’s government to sign...
Google bins AI search feature of amateur medical advice
Google has dumped a new artificial intelligence search feature that gave users crowdsourced health advice from amateurs around the world – not because of...
Africa summit flags fungal diseases as public health priority
A landmark summit held in Addis Ababa this month – Africa’s first event dedicated to fungal diseases – concluded with a multi-stakeholder commitment to...
Patient kept waiting nine hours for treatment after brain aneurysm
Mitchells Plain District Hospital may be hit with a lawsuit after a 39-year-old mother of three apparently waited nine hours before being seen by...
Eastern Cape clinic burglary pauses services
A burglary at Motherwell Community Health Centre in Nelson Mandela Bay during the early hours last Friday disrupted the clinic’s normal flow of business...
Non-hormonal drug for hot flushes now offered by NHS England
A non-hormonal drug for treating hot flushes and night sweats during menopause is now available on the NHS in England when HRT (hormone replacement...
FDA embraces flavoured vape options despite health warnings
The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) is proposing allowing other flavours for e-cigarettes, like mint, coffees, spices or tea, to appeal to adults...
Obstetric violence rampant in KZN, Gauteng, survey finds
Pregnant women in South Africa – specifically in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal – are subjected to alarming levels of obstetric violence during their pregnancies, childbirth...
Fragmented optometry services an eye-opener for NHI
Universal health coverage cannot succeed with fragmented systems, weak data, and largely symbolic participation, so a recent court-ordered pause to NHI implementation offers a...
Hospitals botching pain management – South African study
Most patients do not receive important pain treatment during and after surgery, reports GroundUp, with a recent local study – published in Lancet Africa...
Rise in AMR threatens to outpace research and drug development
In the five years since the Access to Medicines Foundation released its last antimicrobial resistance benchmark, the pipeline for new projects in development has...
Cockroach allergy driven by shared proteins across arthropods – Polish study
A recent molecular analysis reveals that many patients labelled as cockroach-allergic may actually be reacting to shared proteins found across mites, seafood and insects,...
Eastern Cape Health boss faces HRC for department failures
The Human Rights Commission has ordered the beleaguered Eastern Cape Health Department to explain why it failed to address 27 public complaints – some...
SA leading the charge for made-in-Africa anti-HIV jab
South Africa’s National Aids Council (Sanac) has asked local drug companies to submit applications by 7 April to make generic versions of the anti-HIV...
Drastic action urged as child obesity set to soar to 220m by 2040
The World Obesity Federation (WOF) has said that without drastic action, half a billion children will be grossly overweight by 2040, calling on governments...
Newborns with hearing loss diagnosed too late in South Africa, say experts
Despite the proven benefits of newborn hearing screening and early intervention, universal screening is not yet mandated in South Africa and is only available...
Motsoaledi suspends health boss and top officials
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has placed the head of the department, Sandile Buthelezi, and two other senior officials – all facing fraud and theft...
SA experts reassure women after ‘chemicals in pads’ scare
A team of South African experts has sought to quell public paranoia after a recent wave of knee-jerk reaction to study findings of endocrine-disrupting...
Eastern Cape drug suppliers suspend services over R1bn unpaid bills
The Eastern Cape Department of Health is facing a critical shortage of medicines after racking up unpaid pharmaceutical bills of about R1bn, with 21...