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Thursday, 5 March, 2026

FOCUS: HEALTH GOVERNANCE

Health boss and top officials on fraud, theft charges

Venilla Yoganathan - 0
The head of the national Health Department – whose conduct has come under scrutiny more than once in recent years – and two other senior health officials appeared in court this week for allegedly siphoning money out of Global Fund coffers to push out a departmental whistle-blower. Director-General of the National Department of Health, Sandile Buthelezi, CFO Phineas Phaswa Mamogale, and deputy DG Percy Mahlathi were arrested on Monday – and later released on R10 000 bail each, reports News24. They...
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NEWS UPDATE

HPCSA demands millions from former boss

The Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) has demanded its former president, Simon Nemutandani, repay more than R6.1m it says he allegedly siphoned off through alleged irregular payments, unauthorised expenses and unreturned assets, reports The Citizen. In the letter of demand, dated 18 February, attorneys Malatji and Company, acting on behalf of the council, have demanded payment of R6 105 600.12 within 14 business days of receipt of the letter, failing which legal proceedings will be instituted. Forensic probe The demand follows a forensic investigation by SM Xulu Advisory Services in February 2022 into allegations of financial impropriety during Nemutandani’s tenure...

Medscheme’s case against Bonitas off urgent roll

Medscheme has removed from the court roll its urgent application against Bonitas, in which it seeks to interdict the appointment of two new service providers, reports Business Day. This followed the January appointment by Bonitas of Momentum to take over its administration service contract and the awarding of the contract for managed care services to Private Health Administrators (PHA) – the new contracts effectively terminating Medscheme’s more than four-decade long relationship with Bonitas. The move not only dealt a financial blow to Medscheme, Bonitas’ administrator since 1982, but also to its parent company, Afrocentric. Medscheme handles the administration of 680 000 beneficiaries of...

Some NHI implementation 'full force ahead' despite pause – Minister

Health Minister Aaron Mostoaledi said the government will continue ‘full force ahead’ to prepare for the implementation of the National Health Insurance (NHI), including infrastructure upgrades to academic hospitals, improvements to patient systems, and price regulations, despite a looming case at the Constitutional Court. The implementation of some sections of the NHI Act had been halted pending a hearing in the apex court scheduled for May 2026. Both the Board of Healthcare Funders (BHF) and the Western Cape provincial government have challenged the Act, which was signed into law in 2024, arguing that Parliament failed to adequately facilitate public participation during...

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 chemicals in some menstrual products. They said these data required context and correct interpretation, and urged people not to panic. They also pointed out that endocrine disruptors are very common – and present in low concentrations in various foods, household products, personal care and beauty products like toothpaste, shampoo and conditioners, body lotions, lipsticks, clothing and electronics. Thus, they said, the finding that they are also in menstrual products is hardly surprising. In a policy statement this week,...

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 vital accounts having apparently been suspended for non-payment, reports Daily Maverick. The department has conceded it will not be able to pay the outstanding amounts anytime soon, according to documents seen by Daily Maverick, with only R60m to R70m available for payments in March, and perhaps R500m at the start of the new financial year. Health spokesperson Siyanda Manana said the department was experiencing “financial pressure”, but that this does not constitute a “widespread collapse” of its...

Don't expect jobs from state, MEC tells protesting doctors

Jobless young doctors in the Eastern Cape, some of whom completed their community service in December and who protested outside the Health Department last week, have no chance of being employed at the moment, according to the MEC, who said there were no funds available to hire them, and that they should stop expecting the state to give them jobs. News24 reports that a group of unemployed doctors had picketed outside the department’s headquarters in Bhisho last week, with Dr Khulekani Dlamini, who studied medicine at the Walter Sisulu University, claiming there were 126 medical officers, including doctors and dentists,...

Mothers call for probe into obstetric violence at state hospitals

More than 50 mothers and activists picketed outside the National Department of Health in Pretoria on Monday to demand better maternity healthcare, and calling for an end to obstetric violence, reports GroundUp. One of the members of the protest, which was organised by the Obstetric Violence Coalition, said she had been traumatised by how nursing staff treated her when she was giving birth in a Johannesburg hospital nearly four years ago. The experience inspired her to become an activist advocating for safe maternal health, she added. “We deserve care in maternal wards,” she told GroundUp. The group handed over a memorandum to...

Father refuses son’s blood transfusion because of religious beliefs

The life of a critically ill Mpumalanga teenager who needs a liver transplant hangs in the balance because his father has refused the blood transfusion process for religious reasons, reports The Citizen. The father said that as a member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, the family is prohibited from undergoing blood transfusions. The 14-year-old boy from KwaGuqa, in Emalahleni, had been admitted to the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital where doctors found he was suffering from kidney failure caused by kidney stones. “The doctors told us his severe liver problem required a liver transplant. They said that during the surgery, he might lose a...

New oncology clinic opens in Springbok

Cancer patients in remote Northern Cape towns will no longer have to endure gruelling journeys of up to 1 200km for life-saving treatment, thanks to a brand new oncology clinic in Springbok that opened last month after being built in record time. Central News reports that the JF Boeboe van Wyk Oncology Clinic at Dr Van Niekerk Hospital opened its doors on 25 February, marking a game-changer for healthcare in this vast province. A collaboration between government and private stakeholder, the clinic promises quicker diagnoses, chemotherapy sessions, and support that could save lives and ease the pain for hundreds of cancer...

Bid to have charges dropped as UKZN med school case drags on

An attorney has formally sought the withdrawal of corruption charges against one of seven people accused of paying bribes for admission to the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) medical school – in a case dating back to 2017, reports News24. This was while proceedings in the Durban Regional Court on Tuesday faced delays over escalating evidence documentation concerns. The seven accused, Salman Noor Mohamed, his mother Mirriam Mohamed, Muhammad Altamish Haniff, Preshni Hiramun, married couple Varsha and Hiteshkumar, plus their son Bhavik Bhatt, allegedly offered payments of up to R50 000 to Ruth Sekati, a senior education IT specialist at UKZN, to...

Suspected paediatric outbreak cleared in Aberdeen

The Eastern Cape Department of Health says the recent suspected outbreak affecting children in Aberdeen in the Sarah Baartman District has stabilised, and is thought to have been linked to extreme heat at the time. AlgoaFM reports that an alert had been issued after health facilities recorded an unusual increase in children presenting with similar respiratory and gastrointestinal symptoms between 30 January and 3 February. Symptoms included fever, headaches, sore throat, cough, runny nose, loss of appetite, vomiting, abdominal cramps, diarrhoea, and dizziness. Respiratory symptoms were mainly observed in children under five. At the time, the department had treated the situation as...

US health deals stall in Africa

Africa is proving to be not the easy pushover America had envisaged, even as the ink dried this past week on several new bilateral health Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) signed between the US and four Latin American countries – the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala and Panama – reports Health Policy Watch. So far, 24 bilateral health MOUs have been signed under Donald Trump’s’ America First Global Health Strategy, but in Africa, the DRC, Kenya as well as Zimbabwe, have shown reluctance to agree to specific “extractive” terms and conditions set forth by Washington. However, the US State Department described its...

Kenyan health, hospital officials charged in multimillion-dollar fraud probe

Charges against a number of directors from various Kenyan hospitals as well as several government officials all linked to Social Health Authority (SHA) fraud – worth about $8.3m – have been approved by the country’s Director of Public Prosecutions, reports Kenyans.co.ke The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) confirmed last week that it had received and reviewed the investigation files from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) regarding the alleged crimes involving directors from a number of healthcare facilities as well as members of the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council. Some of the charges include operating unlicensed healthcare facilities,...

Spain bans energy drink sales to under-16s

The Spanish Government is moving ahead with a ban on energy drinks for minors, based on data warning of the risks of caffeine in adolescents, reports Euronews. The country’s Health Ministry said the restriction will be even stricter for drinks with high caffeine content: those above 32mg per 100ml will not be allowed to be sold to children under 18. The initiative is part of a broader package of measures aimed at protecting children’s and young people’s health. Similar regulations already exist in other regions of the country; the central government is now seeking to unify the criteria. The announcement is supported...

Now Kennedy claims keto diet can ‘cure’ schizophrenia

US experts have condemned Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jnr’s statement recently that the keto diet could cure schizophrenia – an unfounded claim they say vastly overstates preliminary research into whether the high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet might help patients with the disorder, reports The New York Times. Kennedy made the remarks on his national tour to urge Americans to “eat real food”, a message he is delivering in conjunction with his recent overhaul of federal dietary guidelines, which now emphasise protein and fats, including steak, cheese, butter and whole milk, over carbohydrates. “We now know that the things that you eat are...

Western Cape Health says meningitis under control

There is no meningococcal meningitis outbreak in the Western Cape, the provincial Department of Health and Wellness said last week, noting that only 11 – sporadic –  cases had been recorded between 1 January and 22 February, and just one death. Eight cases were recorded in the Cape Town Metro district, two in the Cape Winelands, and one in the Overberg District, and most in infants under 12 months old, said department spokesperson Shimoney Regter. “We are monitoring disease surveillance data to identify trends, clusters, outbreaks, and areas that must be prioritised for targeted vaccination or outreach,” Regter added. Meningococcal disease, which...

Listed prices of Ozempic to be halved in 2027, says Novo

Novo Nordisk plans to slash prices of its listed price for weight loss drug Wegovy and diabetes drugs Ozempic and Rybelsus by up to half – starting in 2027 – in efforts to regain its market share over rival Eli Lilly, reports CNN. The $675 monthly list price is aimed at making the GLP-1 medications more accessible for patients whose costs are linked to the list price, including those who have high deductibles or who pay co-insurance for medications through their plans. Wegovy’s list price is currently $1 349 and Ozempic’s and Rybelsus’s list prices are $1 028, but those with...

Kruger floods spark Limpopo malaria fears

Communities ravaged by the recent floods throughout Limpopo are facing another problem, with a noticeable increase in mosquitoes raising fears about getting sick, write Israel Nkuna and Judas Sekwela for Health-e News. The malaria-endemic region is a breeding ground for mosquitoes during the hot, rainy season from September to May. But this year, the buzz has been particularly relentless. “It’s the worst it’s been in three decades,” says Muxe Ngobeni (34), a resident of Khakhala. Earlier this month the Limpopo Department of Health warned of a rise in malaria cases, while experts noted a significant increase of breeding sites for malaria-carrying mosquitoes, “placing millions of people at...

Global experts explore SA’s future health readiness

The World Health Organisation (WHO) Country Office in South Africa and the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research recently convened an expert policy stakeholders’ roundtable session in Pretoria, to examine how major international trends are reshaping health systems and what this means for a global, as well as South Africa’s, future. Delegates included senior officials from the National Department of Health, national and international health leaders, global experts and researchers from academic institutions. Opening the session, Shenaaz El-Halabi, WHO Country Representative SA, said it was an opportunity for national and international health experts to assess what was unfolding in global...

Africa-wide psychosis research network launched

Psychotic disorders remain under-researched and under-resourced across Africa, despite evidence that between 1% and 4.4% of people on the continent may experience psychosis during their lifetime – but a newly launched network, recently hosted by Stellenbosch University, now plans to change this. While important research efforts into psychosis have been made, these are largely fragmented and disconnected, said Stellenbosch University Professor Laila Asmal. The recent inaugural meeting of the Africa Psychosis Research Network (APRN), hosted by the facility’s Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS), she said, hopes to change this. The meeting was attended by 35 participants representing South Africa,...

Digital Health Show 2026 debuts in Johannesburg this month

The Digital Health Show 2026 will make its highly anticipated inaugural debut in Gauteng on 25/26 March, firmly positioning itself as a cornerstone event for the future of healthcare on the African continent. Taking place in Expo Hall 2 at the Sandton Convention Centre, in the heart of Johannesburg’s business hub, the event forms part of the rapidly expanding SAPHEX & Co-Located Events, which will be the biggest edition to date. Held over two dynamic days, the Digital Health Show will unite healthcare professionals, innovators, policymakers, clinicians, technology providers, and industry leaders to explore how digital transformation is reshaping healthcare delivery,...

MEDICO-LEGAL

Mother fails in bid to sue hospital after child burial mix-up

A court has dismissed the damages claim from a North West mother who sued the local hospital and provincial health officials for R500 000 after undertakers mistakenly removed the wrong baby from the facility’s mortuary and the wrong family buried it, reports IOL. The mother claimed she has been in a state of shock and suffering from headaches ever since. The North West High Court (Mafikeng) was told that at the time – during the height of the Covid pandemic – only one mortuary attendant was employed at the Lehurutshe Hospital, and she was under immense pressure. While she was dealing with...

Novartis settles with Lacks family in HeLa ‘stolen cells’ lawsuit

The family of Henrietta Lacks, the black woman whose cervical cells were harvested in 1951 without her knowledge and have been replicated infinitely ever since, has reached a settlement with a second biotech company, reports the BBC. Novartis had been accused of profiting from cells removed from Lack without consent but which have since enabled huge advances in medical science. Her family, which never received any compensation, has fought for years to get justice for the “stolen” cells. Nearly three years ago, they settled with another biotech company, Massachusetts-based Thermo Fisher Scientific, for undisclosed terms. Lacks, a 31-year-old mother from Baltimore, Maryland, began...

SOME RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS IN THE PAST WEEK

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

ChatGPT Health fails to ID emergencies – US study

Although ChatGPT Health performed well in textbook emergencies like stroke or severe allergic reactions, it regularly misses the need for medical urgent care and frequently fails to detect suicidal...

CARDIOVASCULAR

Heart disease in young women likely to spike by 2050 – US study

Nearly a third of women aged 20 to 44 will have been diagnosed with a cardiovascular disease by 2050, according to a recent study, with the researchers warning that...

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH

Microplastics found in 90% of prostate tumours – US study

American researchers detected microplastics in nearly all prostate cancer tumours examined in a recent study, finding that the tumour tissue contained about 2.5 times more plastic than nearby healthy...

ONCOLOGY

Global breast cancer cases expected to rise to 3.5m by 2050 – Lancet

Breast cancer is the most diagnosed cancer among women globally, and the number of cases worldwide is estimated to reach more than 3.5m by 2050, recent research has found. CNN reports...

ABOUT US

MedicalBrief is Africa’s authoritative weekly digest of medical matters, both on the continent and around the world. It brings you a succinct summary of the latest developments, both in news and research, with links to the original material. Contact us: info@medicalbrief.co.za

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