Community health workers — also known as ooNomakhaya in isiXhosa — fill a major gap in healthcare in hard-to-reach places. Which is why the National Health Insurance (NHI) needs to make sure they are part of the plan, writes Bulungula Incubator’s Sigrid Kite-Banks.
Sigrid Kite-Banks is the strategic communications manager at Bulungula Incubator. The NGO has a team of 20 nomakhayas who serve the Xhora Mouth Administrative Area in the Eastern Cape.
- Sigrid Kite-Bankshttps://bhekisisa.org/author/sigrid-kite/June 9, 2023
- Sigrid Kite-Bankshttps://bhekisisa.org/author/sigrid-kite/August 30, 2022
- Sigrid Kite-Bankshttps://bhekisisa.org/author/sigrid-kite/August 30, 2022
It’s a shocking reality: most children in our country feel they need mental health support — that’s according to Unicef. Health Beat finds that depression and anxiety, especially in teens, are playing out in complex ways like self-harm.
Anna-Maria van Niekerk is Bhekisisa’s news editor. She joined the centre after six years as the managing editor of the investigative television show, Carte Blanche. Anna-Maria has an extensive career in in-depth health and human rights reporting and has been named both the Vodacom Journalist (2002) and Discovery Health Journalist of the Year (2010) for exposés on the selling of human body parts for muti in Limpopo and the devastating consequences of HIV denialism.
- Anna-Maria van Niekerkhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/anna-m/January 17, 2025
- Anna-Maria van Niekerkhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/anna-m/December 3, 2024
- Anna-Maria van Niekerkhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/anna-m/November 25, 2024
- Anna-Maria van Niekerkhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/anna-m/November 1, 2024
Mia Malan is the founder and editor-in-chief of Bhekisisa. She has worked in newsrooms in Johannesburg, Nairobi and Washington, DC, winning more than 30 awards for her radio, print and television work.
- Mia Malanhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/mia/February 3, 2025
- Mia Malanhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/mia/January 30, 2025
- Mia Malanhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/mia/January 17, 2025
- Mia Malanhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/mia/November 28, 2024
Jessica Pitchford is Bhekisisa's TV and multimedia editor. She's been a journalist since the early nineties and has reported on some pivotal events in South Africa’s political history, such as the country’s transition to democracy and the work of the Truth & Reconciliation Commission.
- Jessica Pitchfordhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/jessica-pitchford/January 17, 2025
- Jessica Pitchfordhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/jessica-pitchford/December 3, 2024
- Jessica Pitchfordhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/jessica-pitchford/November 25, 2024
- Jessica Pitchfordhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/jessica-pitchford/November 1, 2024
Yolanda Mdzeke is a multimedia reporter at Bhekisisa.
- Yolanda Mdzekehttps://bhekisisa.org/author/yolanda/January 30, 2025
- Yolanda Mdzekehttps://bhekisisa.org/author/yolanda/January 17, 2025
- Yolanda Mdzekehttps://bhekisisa.org/author/yolanda/December 3, 2024
- Yolanda Mdzekehttps://bhekisisa.org/author/yolanda/November 28, 2024
Thatego Mashabela is a multimedia producer at Bhekisisa.
- Thatego Mashabelahttps://bhekisisa.org/author/thategom/January 17, 2025
- Thatego Mashabelahttps://bhekisisa.org/author/thategom/December 3, 2024
- Thatego Mashabelahttps://bhekisisa.org/author/thategom/November 25, 2024
- Thatego Mashabelahttps://bhekisisa.org/author/thategom/November 1, 2024
- Justin Barlowhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/justin-barlow/December 3, 2024
- Justin Barlowhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/justin-barlow/June 3, 2024
- Justin Barlowhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/justin-barlow/May 28, 2024
- Justin Barlowhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/justin-barlow/May 27, 2024
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In sub-Saharan Africa more than 6-million pregnant and parenting girls are out of school — and few go back after giving birth. Here’s how the barriers to girls’ schooling can be broken down to help keep young moms in class.
Shanice Kasura is a programme officer at Unicef’s Eastern and Southern Africa regional office in Nairobi, focusing on projects related to HIV and sexual and reproductive health rights.
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Itumeleng Senetla is a research assistant in the Centre for Social Science Research, University of Cape Town, where he focuses on policies affecting young people and school retention for pregnant and mothering adolescents.
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Chiedza Chinakwetu oversees the integration of gender in programmes across 21 countries in her capacity as a gender specialist at Unicef’s East and Southern Africa regional office.
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Alice Armstrong is a technical specialist at Unicef’s East and Southern Africa regional office, where she leads the adolescent sexual and reproductive health and HIV portfolio.
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Jane Kelly is a senior research officer in the Centre for Social Science Research, focusing on the role of support networks, services and systems in shaping the well-being of young people, including adolescent mothers.
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To many, especially young people, vapes look good, feel good and taste good. But are they any less harmful than conventional cigarettes? A Bhekisisa podcast explores the world of vaping.
- Bhekisisa Teamhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/bhekisisa-team/January 22, 2025
- Bhekisisa Teamhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/bhekisisa-team/January 21, 2025
- Bhekisisa Teamhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/bhekisisa-team/December 1, 2024
- Bhekisisa Teamhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/bhekisisa-team/July 10, 2024
Danny Booysen is a freelance audio technical producer and has over 30 years of experience in the broadcast industry.
- Danny Booysenhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/danny-booysen/January 30, 2025
- Danny Booysenhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/danny-booysen/January 22, 2025
- Danny Booysenhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/danny-booysen/January 21, 2025
- Danny Booysenhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/danny-booysen/November 28, 2024
Paul McNally is the founder of Develop Audio, a company that produces investigative podcasts and trains journalists to create quality audio.
- Paul McNallyhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/paul-mcnally/January 22, 2025
- Paul McNallyhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/paul-mcnally/January 21, 2025
- Paul McNallyhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/paul-mcnally/November 21, 2019
- Paul McNallyhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/paul-mcnally/August 19, 2019
At first, vaping seemed like a useful innovation in a world where cigarettes are becoming unacceptable. But is it a safer alternative? Bhekisisa’s podcast “Vape Universe” explores — and enters the world of those who are hooked.
- Bhekisisa Teamhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/bhekisisa-team/January 23, 2025
- Bhekisisa Teamhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/bhekisisa-team/January 21, 2025
- Bhekisisa Teamhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/bhekisisa-team/December 1, 2024
- Bhekisisa Teamhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/bhekisisa-team/July 10, 2024
Danny Booysen is a freelance audio technical producer and has over 30 years of experience in the broadcast industry.
- Danny Booysenhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/danny-booysen/January 30, 2025
- Danny Booysenhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/danny-booysen/January 23, 2025
- Danny Booysenhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/danny-booysen/January 21, 2025
- Danny Booysenhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/danny-booysen/November 28, 2024
Paul McNally is the founder of Develop Audio, a company that produces investigative podcasts and trains journalists to create quality audio.
- Paul McNallyhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/paul-mcnally/January 23, 2025
- Paul McNallyhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/paul-mcnally/January 21, 2025
- Paul McNallyhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/paul-mcnally/November 21, 2019
- Paul McNallyhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/paul-mcnally/August 19, 2019
With vapes being punted as an alternative to smoking, Bhekisisa’s three-part podcast looks at how the new trend shapes South Africans’ nicotine habits and how hard it is to give up, despite claims that e-cigarettes can help you ditch conventional smokes.
- Bhekisisa Teamhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/bhekisisa-team/January 23, 2025
- Bhekisisa Teamhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/bhekisisa-team/January 22, 2025
- Bhekisisa Teamhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/bhekisisa-team/December 1, 2024
- Bhekisisa Teamhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/bhekisisa-team/July 10, 2024
Danny Booysen is a freelance audio technical producer and has over 30 years of experience in the broadcast industry.
- Danny Booysenhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/danny-booysen/January 30, 2025
- Danny Booysenhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/danny-booysen/January 23, 2025
- Danny Booysenhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/danny-booysen/January 22, 2025
- Danny Booysenhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/danny-booysen/November 28, 2024
Paul McNally is the founder of Develop Audio, a company that produces investigative podcasts and trains journalists to create quality audio.
- Paul McNallyhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/paul-mcnally/January 23, 2025
- Paul McNallyhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/paul-mcnally/January 22, 2025
- Paul McNallyhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/paul-mcnally/November 21, 2019
- Paul McNallyhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/paul-mcnally/August 19, 2019
With a daily dose of medically supervised methadone, some drug dependents in the City of Tshwane are giving up their needles and heroin. Although the health department will launch pilot programmes at two clinics this year, most public clinics don’t offer methadone, and private medical aids won’t cover it. Could expanding this project save lives and cut the cost of healthcare?
Anna-Maria van Niekerk is Bhekisisa’s news editor. She joined the centre after six years as the managing editor of the investigative television show, Carte Blanche. Anna-Maria has an extensive career in in-depth health and human rights reporting and has been named both the Vodacom Journalist (2002) and Discovery Health Journalist of the Year (2010) for exposés on the selling of human body parts for muti in Limpopo and the devastating consequences of HIV denialism.
- Anna-Maria van Niekerkhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/anna-m/January 27, 2025
- Anna-Maria van Niekerkhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/anna-m/December 3, 2024
- Anna-Maria van Niekerkhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/anna-m/November 25, 2024
- Anna-Maria van Niekerkhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/anna-m/November 1, 2024
Jessica Pitchford is Bhekisisa's TV and multimedia editor. She's been a journalist since the early nineties and has reported on some pivotal events in South Africa’s political history, such as the country’s transition to democracy and the work of the Truth & Reconciliation Commission.
- Jessica Pitchfordhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/jessica-pitchford/January 27, 2025
- Jessica Pitchfordhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/jessica-pitchford/December 3, 2024
- Jessica Pitchfordhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/jessica-pitchford/November 25, 2024
- Jessica Pitchfordhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/jessica-pitchford/November 1, 2024
Mia Malan is the founder and editor-in-chief of Bhekisisa. She has worked in newsrooms in Johannesburg, Nairobi and Washington, DC, winning more than 30 awards for her radio, print and television work.
- Mia Malanhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/mia/February 3, 2025
- Mia Malanhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/mia/January 30, 2025
- Mia Malanhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/mia/January 27, 2025
- Mia Malanhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/mia/November 28, 2024
Thatego Mashabela is a multimedia producer at Bhekisisa.
- Thatego Mashabelahttps://bhekisisa.org/author/thategom/January 27, 2025
- Thatego Mashabelahttps://bhekisisa.org/author/thategom/December 3, 2024
- Thatego Mashabelahttps://bhekisisa.org/author/thategom/November 25, 2024
- Thatego Mashabelahttps://bhekisisa.org/author/thategom/November 1, 2024
Yolanda Mdzeke is a multimedia reporter at Bhekisisa.
- Yolanda Mdzekehttps://bhekisisa.org/author/yolanda/January 30, 2025
- Yolanda Mdzekehttps://bhekisisa.org/author/yolanda/January 27, 2025
- Yolanda Mdzekehttps://bhekisisa.org/author/yolanda/December 3, 2024
- Yolanda Mdzekehttps://bhekisisa.org/author/yolanda/November 28, 2024
An award-winning editor and producer with over 22 years in broadcasting, Floris Kotze tells compelling stories that connect with viewers. Inducted into the South African Guild of Editors, he brings creativity, attention to detail, experience and a sharp eye to every frame.
- Floris Kotzehttps://bhekisisa.org/author/floris-kotze/November 1, 2024
- Floris Kotzehttps://bhekisisa.org/author/floris-kotze/October 28, 2024
Ruan Visser is a South African-based freelance director of photography, crafting visual narratives with a keen eye for detail and a love for cinematic storytelling.
- Ruan Visserhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/ruanv/November 1, 2024
- Ruan Visserhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/ruanv/October 28, 2024
- Ruan Visserhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/ruanv/October 15, 2024
- Ruan Visserhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/ruanv/September 30, 2024
Yogan Pillay has worked under every health minister since 1994, making him the ultimate healthcare insider. Now he’s an outsider, but one with tremendous influence. Sean Christie visited him at home in Pretoria to hear what he’s been up to.
Sean Christie is a freelance journalist and author.
- Sean Christiehttps://bhekisisa.org/author/seanchristie/October 22, 2024
- Sean Christiehttps://bhekisisa.org/author/seanchristie/August 19, 2024
- Sean Christiehttps://bhekisisa.org/author/seanchristie/August 13, 2024
- Sean Christiehttps://bhekisisa.org/author/seanchristie/July 5, 2024
All types of foodborne illnesses — whether from eating germ-infected, pesticide-tainted or fake food — are putting South Africans’ health in danger. Could a single agency to oversee food safety be the answer?
Zano Kunene is a health journalist at Bhekisisa.
- Zano Kunenehttps://bhekisisa.org/author/zanokunene/November 20, 2024
- Zano Kunenehttps://bhekisisa.org/author/zanokunene/November 16, 2024
- Zano Kunenehttps://bhekisisa.org/author/zanokunene/November 7, 2024
- Zano Kunenehttps://bhekisisa.org/author/zanokunene/October 11, 2024
At the height of Aids denialism in South Africa, little data was available on the proportion of people infected with HIV. But the Human Sciences Research Council’s first national survey in 2002 was a turning point, and since then data has driven decisions — with South Africa today having the biggest antiretroviral programme in the world. Here’s how the numbers paint SA’s HIV story.
Linda Pretorius is Bhekisisa’s content editor. She has a PhD in biosystems from the University of Pretoria has been working as a science writer, editor and proofreader in the book industry and for academic journals over the past 15 years. At Bhekisisa she helps authors to shape and develop their stories to pack a punch.
- Linda Pretoriushttps://bhekisisa.org/author/linda-pretorius/February 6, 2025
- Linda Pretoriushttps://bhekisisa.org/author/linda-pretorius/November 22, 2024
- Linda Pretoriushttps://bhekisisa.org/author/linda-pretorius/November 14, 2024
- Linda Pretoriushttps://bhekisisa.org/author/linda-pretorius/October 11, 2024
Jacques Verryn is a software developer and independent consultant, with special interest in data analysis and visualisation.
- Jacques Verrynhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/jacquesv/February 6, 2025