Pooling funds to cover people’s medical bills makes sense — but only if the funds are managed well. Here’s what actuaries and economists look at when calculating your monthly premium — and what it could mean for the proposed National Health Insurance plan.

This July, Greek islands were far from idyllic. In fact, people working in the tourism industry there say it was hell. With raging wildfires and surging temperatures, the effects of climate change are hitting home.

The National Health Insurance scheme aims to solve two problems — fixing poorly-run health facilities and distributing the money available for healthcare in the country in a more equitable way — simultaneously. But trying to fix two things at once may make things worse, writes Dave Martin.

The Emfuleni local municipality needs over R600-million to fix its broken wastewater plants. An activist in one township worries that cholera may spread because people can’t afford the soap needed to stay safe. In this Health Beat episode, we take you to Bophelong, a township south of Johannesburg, and show you what dirty water does to people’s health.

Nine years after a Grade R learner, Michael Komape, drowned in a pit toilet at his school in Limpopo, 2 334 schools in the province still have these structures on their premises. Here are the hits and misses of the education department’s efforts to get rid of them since — and what they can learn from India.

Walking on the road in Accra can be dangerous, say researchers. Using a cellphone while doing so can up the chance for an accident even more. Here’s what a study found should be done to keep pedestrians safe.

Men who have sex with men have a 28 times higher chance of getting HIV through sex than heterosexual men. And transgender women’s odds of getting HIV via sex is 14 times higher than non-transgender women. We break down why.

About two in five wastewater systems in South Africa are falling apart. Their dysfunction has disastrous effects. It exposes people to dirty water that can carry diseases like cholera. This episode of our monthly television show, Health Beat, looks at water safety and explores how climate change makes disease-causing germs spread faster.

When things get heated at hospitals or clinics, security guards often need to step in. But they’re not always trained to handle situations the right way. A new training programme can help.

Abigail Olivier’s* mother was angry at the father of her child. So she made sure that he couldn’t have a relationship with his daughter. As an adult, Olivier realised it could be a case of what some experts call parental alienation.