South Africa’s cholera outbreak, with cases reported in five provinces, has claimed 26 lives. On World Food Safety Day, a food safety expert says ensuring proper food safety and hygiene protocols is the most effective way to prevent the further…
South Africa is in the midst of a mumps outbreak for the first time in over two decades, with over 1322 positive cases reported. The National Institute for Communicable Diseases(NICD) says Kwa-Zulu Natal, Mpumalanga and Gauteng recorded the majority of cases.…
Covid-19 is no longer a public health emergency of international concern. The Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made the announcement on Friday, marking exactly three years since the outbreak began in Wuhan, China. “Yesterday,…
In a move to address the challenges poor nations face accessing life-saving medication, the World Health Organisation (WHO) launched the mRNA vaccine technology hub in Cape Town on Thursday. Established during the COVID-19 pandemic, this facility seeks to make essential…
The public and private healthcare sectors rely on blood donations from less than one percent of the South African population, says SA National Blood Services (SANBS) spokesperson Khensani Mahlangu. SANBS has made an urgent plea for people to donate…
A new report by the Rural Health Advocacy Project (RHAP) has highlighted the need for the scaling up of interventions within South Africa’s health system post-COVID-19. The pandemic had a severe impact on health services, with the report revealing considerably…
As residents in the Seshego township in Limpopo continue to experience water cuts, the threat of contracting waterborne diseases has caused an increased sense of fear. Taps in the township, which falls under the Polokwane municipality, have been dry…
As the world marks World Diabetes Day today, the South African Diabetes Alliance has called for an urgent diabetes education programme. This will help ensure people living with the chronic illness receive the best possible care and live long…
South African activists have called on the government to provide legislative and policy certainty to ensure cancer patients have access to the health care they need. Currently, the country’s only policy framework on cancer comprises cervical and breast cancer policies…
Just as the end of the COVID-19 pandemic appears to be in sight, a new study has revealed the emergence of another deadly animal virus capable of infecting humans. American scientists identified the new coronavirus variant in Russian bats in…
The globe is on the right path to ending the COVID-19 pandemic, with countries having recorded the lowest number of infections – the first time since March 2020. World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus gave the good news…
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for pandemic preparedness in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) with vulnerable populations. LMICs face a double burden during pandemics because they are often last in line to access available medicines and vaccines to reduce…
A distressed mother from the North West was left with more questions than answers after her nine-year-old son was diagnosed with bilharzia. It all started when Mokgadi Sebone* noticed blood stains on her son’s underpants. She immediately sat down with…
A political storm has erupted in South Africa after a video went viral showing the health minister for the Limpopo province – which borders Zimbabwe – berating a Zimbabwean woman who was seeking healthcare. Responses have been divided. Some have…
The world stands at an inflexion point once more in the war against HIV. For those of us working in the field in South Africa, it feels eerily like the battle that was fought 25 years ago. At the time,…