HomePublic Health
Public Health
SA facing diabetes ‘pandemic’ as cases soar among young people
A critical shortage of specialists to treat diabetics is contributing to the treatment challenges for patients in South Africa where the disease is now...
US analysis links 22 pesticides to prostate cancers
Researchers have found that nearly two dozen pesticides are associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer in the United States, four of them also being...
Suppliers owed R743m by Gauteng Health
The Gauteng Health Department has owed 69 suppliers R743m for more than a year, with some companies now refusing to do any more business...
Broken X-ray machine and no water for five years at Limpopo hospital
Limpopo’s historic Elim Hospital, which is more than a century old, does not have a functioning X-ray machine, and has not had a reliable...
Registration practice rules for sangomas from 2025
When they need healthcare, writes Sipokazi Fokazi for Bhekisisa, about 70% of South Africans, mostly in rural areas, visit sangomas first before they go to...
Nineteen-day wait for emergency op in KwaZulu-Natal hospital
The plight of a Northern KwaZulu-Natal man who fell through a roof and broke his femur echoes the stories of thousands of patients who...
Health Department eyes PIC trillions for hospital infrastructure
The Health Department and national Treasury are in talks to dig into South Africa’s R2.7trn savings pool held by the Public Investment Corporation for the...
MPs call for Health Department to recoup foreigner nationals' medical expenses
Parliament’s Health Committee wants the Department of Health to consider recouping money spent on treating foreign nationals at state facilities, saying, after reviewing the...
UK private healthcare thriving while NHS flounders
British patients are increasingly flocking to private providers for their healthcare as the National Health Service (NHS) buckles under lengthy waiting lists, which have...
Amazon, social media flooded with unsound cancer info – UK study
The internet is awash with cancer misinformation, according to researchers, with misleading information receiving more engagement than factual sources, and with Amazon, the world’s...
Health experts urge banning of toxic pesticides after children's deaths
Evidence linking pesticide exposure to serious health impacts has been steadily mounting, with health experts repeatedly sounding the alarm and now, after six more...
Freeze on equipment outlays as Gauteng budget falters
Gauteng Health has halted the procurement of all new equipment with immediate effect, further crippling state hospitals already constrained by various shortages, including staff.
A...
Tygerberg faces C-section backlog crisis
The backlog of pregnant women awaiting elective Caesareans at Tygerberg Hospital’s maternity ward has increased, according to staff, who say that while the waiting...
Fake medicines trade flourishing in KZN
Organised crime networks are continuing to do a roaring trade in counterfeit pharmaceutical products smuggled into South Africa and into the hands of desperate...
Emergency personnel may be linked to ambulances sabotage
Mpumalanga authorities are investigating claims that some Health Department staff deliberately damaged ambulances in acts of sabotage, rendering them unusable.
The province is already desperately...
NHS dumps hip implant after fractures increase
A metal hip implant used in thousands of NHS patients will be axed because of an increase in bone fractures, according to the Medicines...
Bigger role ahead for family physicians in SA, at last
Two decades ago, family physicians were anticipated to become critical cogs in South Africa’s public healthcare system, but they have been hugely under-utilised. Now,...
Gilead in talks with SAHPRA to register twice-yearly anti-HIV jab
Gilead Sciences, which makes the six-monthly anti-HIV injection, has approached the SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) to discuss how to get the shot registered...
Kenya's path to universal health coverage
Kenya’s pursuit of universal health coverage has evolved over three decades through incremental reforms. But by far the boldest step taken so far was...
Gauteng Health expands HPV jabs to private schools
Vaccination against the human papillomavirus (HPV) will now be available to girls aged nine to 15 at private schools in the province, Gauteng Health...
Efficacy of six-monthly anti-HIV jab confirmed in second study
In June, we heard what could be this year’s biggest HIV breakthrough: a twice-yearly injection can prevent HIV infection. Findings from a second large...
Patients wait 24 hours to see doctor at struggling Eastern Cape hospital
Gqeberha’s Livingstone Hospital, one of the biggest in the Eastern Cape, is buckling under the strain of chronic staff shortages – from doctors and...
Gilead inks deal for generic HIV drug supply to low-income nations
Gilead Sciences has granted royalty-free licences to six generic drug manufacturers to make and sell cheaper copycat versions of its HIV prevention medicine in...
African drug makers urged to adopt a regional approach
US global Aids co-ordinator John Nkengasong has called on African pharmaceutical companies to investigate the possibility of a regional manufacturing approach, to take advantage of...
Call for access to new antibiotics in SA as AMR rises
There is a desperate need for improved access to new antibiotics to treat infections caused by drug-resistant organisms, to be able to limit side...
Eastern Cape teen dies while waiting for ambulance
A teenage girl died after waiting six hours for an ambulance, with her desperate parents being unable to call for help because the Eastern...
Marburg virus kills eight in Rwanda
Eight people have died from an outbreak of Marburg virus in Rwanda, most of the victims being healthcare workers, the country’s Health Minister has...
Western Cape youngsters drive province's HIV spike
Findings of an extensive survey released by the Human Sciences Research Council last week include that sexual debut before the age of 15 –...
How SA’s childhood vaccination system can become great
The two public health interventions that have had the greatest impact on the world’s health are clean water and vaccines, write Professors Susan Goldstein...
Serious adverse events top 7 000 in hospitals as vacancy rates rise
Public hospitals in Gauteng notched up 7 117 cases of unintended harm inflicted on patients – serious adverse events (SAEs) – last year and...
Gauteng lacks safety compliance, Health Committee hears
Already humiliated by recent scathing headlines about their services, Gauteng hospitals are also failing to comply with occupational health and safety regulations, while others...
How to tackle South Africa's high suicide rate
Not only does South Africa have the third highest suicide rate in Africa, but Africa itself has higher rates of suicide than any other...
Mpox drug SAE only in compromised patients – CDC study
An analysis by the US Centres for Disease Control & Infection on the use of Tpoxx – the antiviral drug tecovirimat prescribed to more...
Survey shows HIV rates soaring in Mpumalanga
Nearly 900 000 people in Mpumalanga (or 17.4% of the population) are HIV positive, giving it the dubious title of province with the highest infection in the country, according...
Bird flu case raises first suggestion of human transmission
In what could possibly be the first known case in the United States, the H5N1 “bird flu” virus may have now been spread from...
Superbugs ‘could kill 39m people by 2050’ – worldwide analysis
In a chilling prediction, a new global analysis estimates that “superbugs” will kill more than 39m people before 2050, with older people particularly at...
Patient's viral video highlights state of public healthcare
A viral video by a patient at Helen Joseph Hospital exposing uncaring doctors and dilapidated conditions has again sparked national discussion about the attitude...
Critical vacancy rates for doctors, nurses and managers
Vacancy rates for doctors range from 22.4% in the Free State to 5.5% in the Western Cape, and for nurses, from 28% in the...
HASA urges mandatory medical aid enrolment to reduce public load
The Hospital Association of SA (Hasa) has predicted a massive 50% rise in spending on people reliant on public healthcare, and called for the...
Half of the world’s micronutrient intake inadequate – global study
According to recent alarming findings by researchers, more than half of the global population consumes inadequate levels of several micronutrients essential to health, including...