HomePublic Health
Public Health
SA experts call for warning labels on common, carcinogenic food products
Popular fast and processed foods consumed daily by South Africans are taking their toll on public health, with regulars like bacon, hot dogs and...
Health Department under barrage over jobless doctors
The Department of Health has come under fire from the Junior Doctors Committee of the South African Medical Association Trade Union (Samatu), which has...
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...
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...
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...
Young men targeted for unnecessary testosterone tests – Danish study
Despite screening for low testosterone being medically unwarranted in most young men, this category is being aggressively targeted online by “influencers” and wellness companies...
Hidden mpox exposure found in healthy Nigerians – Cambridge study
The mpox virus appears to be circulating silently in parts of Nigeria, in many cases without the symptoms typically associated with the disease, according...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Smokeless tobacco a growing oral cancer burden
Clinical interventions are vital to slash the burden of disease associated with smokeless tobacco, and providing cessation treatment in clinical settings is critical, say...
State obliged to remove barriers to health services
For months, militant vigilantes have unlawfully prevented people they deemed to be foreign nationals from public healthcare services. SECTION27 health activists Benni Mudau, Khuselwa Dyantyi,...
Experts call for SA lens on contraceptive link to meningioma
Increasing evidence has shown an association between the popular contraceptive injection depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (dMPA) – known as depo provera – and meningioma, leading...
Major Lancet review debunks paracetamol, autism claims
Taking paracetamol while pregnant is safe and there is no evidence it increases the risk of autism, ADHD and developmental issues in children, say...
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 –...
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...
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...
‘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...
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,...
Controversial study will delay life-saving vaccine for Guinea-Bissau babies
This week saw the start of a $1.6m trial in Guinea-Bissau, funded by the United States Government, on the timing of hepatitis B vaccinations,...
Novel cholera vaccine shows promise in phase 1 trial
Oral cholera vaccines have played a critical role in efforts to prevent and control the severe and potentially life-threatening diarrhoeal disease. But experts agree...
What’s on the 2026 public health agenda
South Africa is a study in contrasts, and the 2026 public health agenda is no exception. Breakthrough HIV prevention medicine has arrived alongside US...
Concern as NCDs rise in young South Africans – Limpopo study
In a small mining town in Limpopo, young people are showing worrying signs of diseases that were once thought to affect only older adults,...
US drops long-standing advice on alcohol limits
For the first time in more than four decades, US Government guidelines on alcohol consumption do not recommend clear limits.
Ever since the US Government...
Common food additives linked to cancer – French study
A recent study, published in The BMJ, has suggested that greater consumption of food preservatives widely used in processed foods and beverages was associated...
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...
Western Cape surgery backlog climbs to 100 000
Almost 100 000 patients are awaiting surgery in the Western Cape – more than 5 000 at Groote Schuur Hospital alone – thanks to...
Gauteng 'crisis' warning as specialists resign from hospitals
A rash of resignations from public hospitals in Gauteng should have set off alarm bells within the Department of Health – but it denies...
FDA approves second antibiotic for gonorrhoea
The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has given the green light to zoliflodacin (Nuzolvence) as an oral treatment for gonorrhoea, a day after...
Millions lost to dangerous fake drugs, warns Motsoaledi
Sales of counterfeit and illicit medicines are thriving in South Africa, with SAHPRA having recorded 507 suspected cases in 2024/25, of which 110 were...
First organ donation at pioneering Tygerberg Life Pod
The Life Pod at Tygerberg Hospital recently housed its first organ donor – the first posthumous multi-organ donation in more than two years facilitated...
Australia issues new restrictions on vitamin B6
A rise in B6 toxicity cases in Australia has led to the the country’s regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), strengthening safety controls for...