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Wednesday, 18 March, 2026

FOCUS: OBSTETRICS

Obstetric violence rampant in KZN, Gauteng, survey finds

Venilla Yoganathan - 0
Pregnant women in South Africa – specifically in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal – are subjected to alarming levels of obstetric violence during their pregnancies, childbirth and postpartum care, with at least 60% experiencing some form of mistreatment. The results of a survey over the past 10 years found that six out of 10 women giving birth in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal have experienced obstetric violence, but researchers say this is just the tip of the iceberg as the problem extends right across...
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NEWS UPDATE

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 information system, TrakCare, on Monday evening – creating an immediate crisis like the one two years ago, when a cyber attack brought the entire system to a grinding and chaotic halt and resulted in patient deaths. Daily Maverick reports that rather oddly, and despite bitter experience, the NHLS – the sole provider of diagnostic pathology services to more than 80% of South Africa’s population, with more than 300 laboratories across the country – has no emergency UPS or uninterruptible...

Bonitas-Medscheme row threatens jobs – Sanlam CEO

At least 5 000 jobs are at risk as the legal saga between Medscheme and Bonitas Medical Fund – which stripped it of long-term contracts – continues, according to Paul Hanratty, CEO of Sanlam, which owns Medscheme via its almost 60% stake in its subsidiary, AfroCentric – which owns the medical aid administrator. News24 reports that although Hanratty said the wrangle between Medscheme and Bonitas was just an “irritation” in terms of Sanlam’s financials, the human impact could be far larger, given the roughly 5 000 people employed across AfroCentric and the medical aid administrator. “In financial terms, it’s not that...

Ramaphosa says NHI still a realistic goal

Despite the many legal challenges impeding its proclamation, implementation of the National Health Act will proceed as planned, according to President Cyril Ramaphosa last week in the National Assembly. IOL reports that the President’s comments came in a question and answer session, during which EFF leader Julius Malema queried the government’s commitment to the NHI and the steps taken to ensure the health system was prepared for its rollout. Ramaphosa said legal challenges, to be heard in May, will not disrupt the timeline for implementation or stop ongoing preparatory work by the Department of Health. “This undertaking, which has been made an...

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 foreign nationals from two Johannesburg clinics, reports News24. The Treatment Action Campaign, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), and Kopanang Africa Against Xenophobia said the xenophobic group was still barring migrants, pregnant women, and children from obtaining healthcare at the Yeoville and Rosettenville clinics, despite Judge Stuart Wilson ordering authorities to stop the harassment months ago. Wilson had ordered the Health Department and the City of Johannesburg to restore safe, unhindered access to the clinics immediately, to remove any...

Guaranteed orders vital for anti-HIV jab production – Aspen

The country’s largest generic manufacturer, Aspen Pharmacare, has warned that local drugmakers will need guaranteed demand to produce Gilead’s twice-year HIV prevention shot lenacapavir, reports Business Day. Aspen’s appeal for guaranteed orders stems partly from its bitter experience during the pandemic, when it invested in manufacturing Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine for Africa but received no orders. The government is currently in discussions with Gilead Sciences to identify local manufacturers who can produce lenacapavir under voluntary licence here – none of the six licences awarded by the patent holder to generic drugmakers in 2024 went to a South African firm. The expectation...

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 Tuesday, reports IOL. Initial assessments had indicated the boys were joined at the abdomen, and the separation surgery, led by Professor Nyaweleni Tshifularo, revealed that they also shared certain organs. Tshifularo said afterwards that successfully completing the highly complex procedure was “a great day for the province, the country and for my team, including the specialist nurses I work with”. “These were identical twins whose separation was incomplete during development. They were delivered here, and after assessing our...

Discovery uses AI prompts to expedite health checks, diagnoses

AI-driven health prompts to Discovery Life clients are boosting the numbers of preventative screenings while lowering their costs of cover, reports Business Day. The tool also accelerates detection of serious illness, including cancer, said Discovery Life, a subsidiary life insurer Discovery and which use incentives to encourage healthy behaviour through its Vitality programme. Discovery has invested in a global partnership with Google that uses AI to provide people with personalised recommendations to improve their health and lower the cost of cover. It encourages clients to sign up for its “personalised payback booster”, which rewards them for completing AI-driven recommendations through Discovery Health’s “personalised health...

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 that patient care is being compromised at the Tshwane facility, reports The Citizen. It said any such reports are “misleading”, and that “all services continue without interruption while patient care remains fully safeguarded”. This follows previous allegations by DA Gauteng spokesperson for Health and MPL Madeleine Hicklin that a massive debt of R33m owed to suppliers had become untenable for those keeping the hospital running. “Suppliers have begun cutting back on essential support after accumulating R33m in unpaid...

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 for the disease, reports Health-e News. The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health immediately deployed screening teams to the site to test residents and begin treatment for those testing positive. Contact tracing is also under way to limit further spread of the infectious disease, officials said. One of the camp residents, Sandile Zulu (24), described overcrowded conditions that make infection control difficult. “There are many people coughing. We sleep in one tent with about 100 people, so it is easy for...

KZN neurosurgeons perform world-class treatment

A team of doctors on KwaZulu-Natal’s South Coast has achieved a major medical milestone for the region – removing a brain tumour without a single external incision, reports eNCA. The complex operation, known as Endoscopic Endonasal Transsphenoidal Pituitary Tumour Resection, was performed by surgeons at Shelly Beach Hospital, just outside Port Shepstone. Neurosurgeon Yandisa Nxakama said the achievement signalled a new era of world class healthcare for the region. The doctors used a camera system inserted through the nose into the base of the brain where the tumour was located. “The tumour grows from the pituitary gland,” Nxakama said, “and if left untreated,...

DA calls for clarity on Health officials’ suspensions

The DA has questioned whether accountability and consequence management are prioritised in the Department of Health, calling on Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi to clarify last week’s suspensions of DG Sandile Buthelezi and two other senior officials, reports Polity. Motsoaledi was directed by President Cyril Ramaphosa to place Buthelezi, Dr Percy Mahlati and CFO Phaswa Mamogale on precautionary suspension after they were arrested in connection with suspected fraud and theft of more than R1m from the Department of Health. The suspensions are said to be until their cases are finalised, but DA Health spokesperson Michele Clarke said Motsoaledi’s statement did not make it clear whether these would...

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 a deal giving America more access to its critical minerals, reports The New York Times. Zambia, though, is stubbornly digging in its heels. “We will only secure our priorities by demonstrating willingness to publicly take support away from Zambia on a massive scale,” according to the draft of a memo prepared for Secretary of State Marco Rubio by the department’s Africa Bureau staff. Around 1.3m people in Zambia rely on daily HIV treatment provided through the decades-old Pepfar...

Judge strikes down US vaccine policy changes

In a major blow to the Trump administration’s health agenda, a Massachusetts federal judge has blocked the US Government from implementing a series of decisions on vaccines made over the past year by Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, reports The New York Times. The ruling also reversed, at least temporarily, all decisions made by the panellists appointed by Kennedy to the Advisory Committee for Immunisation Practices (ACIP), which makes recommendations on which vaccines Americans should take. The court decision will prevent the committee from meeting later this week, as it was scheduled to do. The judge’s ruling brought an abrupt halt...

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 any problems, it claims, but as part of a “broader simplification” of its search page, reports The Guardian. The company had said its launch of “What People Suggest”, which provided tips from strangers, showed “the potential of AI to transform health outcomes across the globe”, but it has since removed the feature, say sources. A Google spokesperson confirmed “What People Suggest” had been scrapped but denied it was linked to the quality or safety of the new...

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 strengthen surveillance, capacity building, access to diagnostics and treatment across the continent. Co-hosted by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and the Global Action for Fungal Infections (GAFFI), the event brought together researchers, clinicians, policymakers, health activists and funders to address what experts increasingly describe as a silent epidemic affecting millions of people worldwide, with Africa bearing a disproportionately high burden. Fungal infections remain a major public health challenge across the continent, contributing...

Doctors arrested amid escalating tensions at Nairobi Hospital

One of Kenya’s leading private medical institutions, The Nairobi Hospital, is facing a deepening governance crisis after sudden arrests at the weekend of senior board officials, mounting legal disputes, and growing concerns from doctors over the management of the hospital, reports The Kenyan Wall Street. Police detained several members of the hospital’s leadership on Sunday, including board chairman Dr Job Obwaka, vice-chairman Professor Samson Kinyanjui, and former chairman Dr Chris Bichange, as part of ongoing investigations linked to disputes within the hospital’s governance structures. The arrests have ramped up tensions surrounding the management of the institution and its parent body, the...

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 after computers and other equipment were stolen, reports IOL. Police spokesman Captain André Beetge said a case of business burglary was under investigation. The break-in was discovered when the premises were unlocked on the morning of the incident.   IOL article – Burglars raid Eastern Cape clinic, leaving staff too traumatised to work (Open access)   See more from MedicalBrief archives:   Computer theft closes down Khayelitsha clinic   Nurses union threatens legal action over security concerns   Robbers lock nurse, guard in clinic dispensary overnight   Pretoria clinic guard...

Recall of contaminated Clicks snacks

A batch of contaminated snacks on South African shelves have been recalled by the National Consumer Commission (NCC), which announced the alert regarding1 152 units of Made for Tots Corn Puffs Chicken (12g) by supplier Clicks, reports the Sowetan. Clicks told the NCC that about 348 units had been sold to consumers while 804 units had already been removed from shelves. The supplier said the affected batch had tested positive for non-pathogenic Listeria contamination. Clicks noted that the type of Listeria bacteria involved were generally non-pathogenic to humans but had rare and isolated reports of human disease. “The affected products were sold...

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 therapy) isn’t suitable, reports the BBC. The treatment, called Veozah, is a daily pill which blocks nerve pathways in the brain that trigger the symptoms, and could help around half a million women, particularly those who can’t use HRT because of underlying health conditions, and whose options up until now have been limited. Veozah, also known as fezolinetant, is an important option, sais Helen Knight, Director of medicines evaluation at NICE – the National Institute for Health...

MEDICO-LEGAL

North West Health liable for finger fracture after diagnostic failure

A North West woman who had a finger fracture in 2016 has been left with a permanently disabling condition after staff at a provincial hospital failed, over months of repeat visits, to recognise a well-known complication of her injury. Anita Kleinsmidt, writing for MedicalBrief, reports that the North West High Court (Mahikeng) has found the provincial Health MEC fully liable for her damages, a finding reinforced, interestingly, by the defendant’s own expert witness. In the Pheko v MEC for the Department of Health, North West, judgment delivered on 3 March, Judge FMM Reid held that the defendant’s employees were negligent in...

Western Cape Health sued for baby’s forceps birth injuries

Parents of a three-year-old girl in Delft, outside Cape Town, have attributed their child’s injuries to her traumatic birth at Mowbray Maternity Hospital, and have now launched a legal claim against the provincial Health Department as the costs of caring for her pile up, reports TimesLIVE. The toddler has already had four surgeries and will need at least another two: she also suffers from breathing problems because her diaphragm is elevated, affecting her lung function, said her mother Siphokazi Ncapayi. Little Likothemba Ncapayi’s left arm hangs limp and largely unusable, while her complications mean her parents often watch her anxiously as...

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 a doctor or receiving medical treatment for a brain aneurysm, reports the Cape Argus. Noerisah Sonday has since undergone a DSA coil brain procedure at Groote Schuur Hospital, where she was transferred and remains in high care. Doctors also suspect possible meningitis, said her family, who had reported the matter to the hospital’s management and was told an internal investigation could take up to 24 days. A family friend said they were seeking accountability, and questioning why...

Recalled glucose monitor linked to seven deaths

A manufacturing problem in millions of Abbott glucose sensors has been tied to at least seven deaths and hundreds of injuries worldwide, reports NBC News. The company’s warning about the problem, and its recall, has alarmed the many thousands of people who rely on these monitors, but also came too late for a number of them. One of these was Californian Michael Ford, who although not in great health, was able to manage his type 2 diabetes, with the help of his son, Davonte Ford – who was also his full-time caregiver. When father and son awoke one morning to a...

Indian court allows removal of coma patient’s life support

In a landmark ruling, India’s Supreme Court has approved the removal of life support of a 31-year-old man who has been in a vegetative state for more than a decade, reports the BBC. This is the first instance of court-approved passive euthanasia in that country. The patient, Harish Rana, had not left a will specifying directives for his treatment before he fell from from a fourth floor balcony in 2013, suffering serious injuries. He has been in a comatose state ever since. India legalised passive euthanasia in 2018 but active euthanasia – any act that intentionally helps a person kill themselves – remains illegal. Over...

Probe into Canadian clinics after two plasma donors die

Police in Canada are investigating the deaths of two people who died after donating plasma at a chain of clinics that has been under scrutiny by federal inspectors for failing to keep accurate records, screen donors or maintain its machines, reports The Guardian. Critics say the country’s embrace of private companies to handle blood products reflects a “slow collapse of a system that has been the envy of the world”. Health Canada, which regulates plasma clinics, said it had received reports from the clinics regarding “fatal adverse reactions” after donations in October 2025 and January this year, at facilities operated by...

SOME RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS IN THE PAST WEEK

ALLERGIES

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, highlighting the need for more...

CARDIOVASCULAR

Common drug class may increase heart disease risk – Swedish study

People who use drugs with anticholinergic effects, including certain anti-depressants, drugs for urinary incontinence and common antihistamines, could have a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease, suggest scientists from...

OBSTETRICS

Fewer boys born in warmer climes – Oxford study

British scientists have suggested that as temperatures rise due to climate change, heat above 20°C is leading to fewer male births – that heat exposure can increase prenatal mortality...

OPHTHALMOLOGY

Wegovy may have highest risk of blinding condition – Canadian study

The obesity drug semaglutide (Wegovy) conferred a significantly higher risk of ischaemic optic neuropathy (ION) than any other GLP-1 agonist, including semaglutide for diabetes (Ozempic), an analysis of US...

PAIN MANAGEMENT

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 – providing disturbing insight into...

PSYCHIATRY

Cannabis useless for treating mental health issues – Australian review

Scientists say there is scant evidence that cannabis is effective in treating common mental health conditions, despite the global surge in patients using it for that purpose, with one...

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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