HomeWeekly Roundup
Weekly Roundup
Calls for an increase in sugar tax to 20% but sugar farmers object
Ahead of the midterm budget speech civil society organisations demanded National Treasury commit to increasing the Health Promotion Levy (HPL), commonly known as...
UK announces a 20,000-patient 2-year medical cannabis trial
Up to 20,000 patients in the UK are to be given medical cannabis over a two-year period in an initiative that aims to create...
Global push to thwart TB sees Sanofi slash price of key drug
A pharmaceutical multinational slashed the price of a key anti-tuberculosis drug boosting the battle against the world's deadliest infectious disease, as a new treatment...
Stellenbosch's $18.9m grant agreement to develop child-friendly treatments for TB
Stellenbosch University and UNITAID have signed a $ 18.9m grant agreement to develop child-friendly treatments and preventive therapy for treating multidrug-resistant TB in children....
DRC journalist raising awareness about Ebola murdered
A Congolese journalist who had been raising awareness about the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been killed at his...
Namibia's anti-corruption authorities investigate competency test cheating by foreign graduates
Namibia’s Anti-Corruption Commission is investigating a case of foreign-trained medical graduates who allegedly cheated in a competency test last month, reports The Namibian. Pending...
NHI hearings: Traditional healers feel marginalised, communities believe it will create jobs
The government-initiated National Health Insurance (NHI) has been lauded as a great development towards achieving equitable healthcare, particularly for the poor, but reports The...
STD numbers at an all-time high — US Centers for Disease Control
There is some bad news and worse news in the 2018 Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance Report, published earlier this month by the US Centres...
Clinical trial starts into whether light-and-sound-wave exposure can slow Alzheimer's
Doctors in the US have launched a clinical trial to see whether exposure to flickering lights and low frequency sounds can slow the progression...
UK GPs pilot standing appointments to 'set an example' and possibly cut consultation times
General Practitioners (GPs) in the UK are to pilot standing-up appointments to “set an example” to patients about the perils of a sedentary lifestyle...
WHO reports eradication of two types of wild poliovirus
The World Health Organisation (WHO) reports on World Polio Day, an independent commission of experts concluded that wild poliovirus type 3 (WPV3) has been...
African nations urged to decriminalise same-sex activity — Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation
The Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation (DTHF) has released a statement on criminalisation of same sex activity and its effect on efforts to stop...
Public Health England confirms presence of the tick-borne encephalitis virus
A disease that can harm the brain, and which is spread to humans through tick bites, has been identified in the UK for the...
Aspen writes down value after Australia recalls heartburn drug over cancer risks
Africa’s largest drug company, Aspen Pharmacare, has written down the value of a heartburn medicine it sells primarily in Australia by R719m after it...
Texas doctors live stream neuro-surgical procedure
Doctors in a Texas hospital prepared a 25-year-old woman for surgery, removed a section of her skull, and then turned on Facebook Live. The...
WC's hospital ICUs swamped by trauma-related violence
“Trauma-related violence is overwhelming our services.” According to a Weekend Argus report, this is the assessment of trauma surgeon and head of surgery at...
Substance abuse blamed for growing burden on WC psych hospitals
Increased substance abuse has been blamed for escalating the burden on psychiatric hospitals in the Western Cape, where despite an increase in bed numbers,...
Blockchain 'has potential to curb fraud' in medical schemes
The Government Employees Medical Scheme (GEMS), the second biggest scheme in the country, had a problem in KwaZulu-Natal. Moneyweb reports that it identified this...
Johnson & Johnson recalls baby power in US with trace amounts of asbestos
Health care giant Johnson & Johnson has recalled 33,000 bottles of baby powder in the US, after health regulators found trace amounts of asbestos...
World Health Organisation Global Tuberculosis Report 2019
"It is extremely concerning that the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) 2019 Global Tuberculosis Report confirms that tuberculosis (TB) remains the single most lethal infectious...
Medbelle releases Best Hospital Cities 2019 list
Digital healthcare provider Medbelle has released a study, which reveals the top 100 hospital cities worldwide, based on data relating to infrastructure in terms...
Dutch Health Minister calls for global strategy to deal with dementia
The Dutch Health Minister has called for a global strategy to deal with dementia at a meeting of world experts in Japan. Hugo De...
Head of Western Cape Health talks about 'unqualified audit with no findings'
In an era of gross financial mismanagement, corruption and budget cuts, what does it take to get an ‘unqualified audit with no findings’? Mark...
Oldest person with HIV dies at 100
A man known as “The Lisbon Patient,” once the oldest known person living with HIV, has died, reports CTV News. Miguel, a pseudonym used...
Public health buckling under increasing burden of immigration and disease — Mkhize
Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize says the demand for health services in South Africa is increasing and funds to address the change are limited...
R5bn wasted on failed NHI pilots could have improved health system — DA
Siviwe Gwarube MP – DA Shadow Minister of Health said in a statement. The Democratic Alliance (DA) can reveal the exact breakdown of the...
UN report on the abuses against women in reproductive healthcare
The UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women has released a report regarding mistreatment and violence against women in reproductive health services with a...
Busa and Health Department have 'constructive' meeting on NHI
Business Unity SA (Busa), which represents private companies and professional bodies, has had a “cordial and constructive” first meeting with the health department to...
Most of Cape metropole a red zone for violent crime against EMS crews
90% percent of the Cape metropole is a red zone for violent crime. The Weekend Argus reports that so says veteran medic JA van...
Nehawu to picket against high private healthcare costs
The National Education Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) has declared a picket outside the Netcare head offices in Johannesburg, against increasing costs in...
CMS investigations into alleged racism and corruption to cost R14.6m
Investigations at the Council for Medical Schemes into alleged racism of schemes and corruption within its own ranks, will cost the regulator approximately a...
FDA approves Eli Lilly's migraine drug
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that it had approved Eli Lilly and Co’s migraine drug, Reyvow. Reuters Health report that...
Illegal foreign 'dentists' arrested in Gauteng
Three unqualified people who were running an illegal dental practice in Springs, Ekurhuleni, were among those arrested at the weekend, The Times reports Gauteng...
Africa's first Mako robotic knee replacement operation
A total knee replacement operation has been carried out using the state-of-the-art Mako robotic arm assisted surgery system for the first time in Africa...
New Jubilee District Hospital facility and residence for Cuban-trained students
A medical student training facility has been opened at Jubilee District Hospital, in Hammanskraal. The newly renovated residence solves numerous challenges faced in the...
Rural Britain struggles to recruit senior medical staff
Hospitals in rural and coastal Britain are struggling to recruit senior medical staff, leaving many worryingly “under-doctored”, The Guardian reports a major new report...
Global Fund raises $14bn for next three years
Bono, Bill Gates, and heads of state convened in eastern France for the Sixth Replenishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and...
UK hospital books hotel rooms for patients, in case of Brexit chaos
Maidstone Hospital is taking the step to ensure patients can still be treated in the event of Brexit causing severe traffic congestion in Kent....
Big Three schemes dominance is bad news for medical consumers
Because of their market dominance, there was little incentive on the part of the Big Three medical schemes to drop prices, the health market...
Parliament extends NHI Bill's period for public comment
The government’s proposed deadline for establishing the National Health Insurance (NHI) fund is too short, the Finance and Fiscal Commission (FCC) has warned Parliament,...