The government is facing close to R78-billion in medical negligence claims, which is nearly 80% of the budget used to treat people when they’re sick. But not all of the cases are legit. Find out what the data reveals.
Zano Kunene is a health journalist at Bhekisisa.
- Zano Kunenehttps://bhekisisa.org/author/zanokunene/December 12, 2024
- 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
Data from the latest District Health Barometer show that close to 365 teenagers give birth in South Africa every day. Ten of those daily teen births are to girls younger than 15. Experts say the numbers reveal deeper issues in society that lead to a vicious cycle — from school dropouts to unemployment and poverty across generations. We unpack the numbers.
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
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/December 10, 2024
- 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
Laura Grant is a data journalist with 20 years of experience in the South African media as a journalist, copy editor and designer. She combines infographics, interactive maps and a variety of other visual elements with journalistic storytelling to make data accessible and interesting at Media Hack Collective.
- Laura Granthttps://bhekisisa.org/author/laura-grant/October 25, 2023
- Laura Granthttps://bhekisisa.org/author/laura-grant/March 24, 2023
- Laura Granthttps://bhekisisa.org/author/laura-grant/April 19, 2022
- Laura Granthttps://bhekisisa.org/author/laura-grant/March 10, 2022
By 9 September, South Africa had 25 laboratory-confirmed mpox cases in three provinces (Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape), with three people dying from the virus.
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/January 17, 2025
- Mia Malanhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/mia/November 28, 2024
- Mia Malanhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/mia/November 25, 2024
- Mia Malanhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/mia/November 22, 2024
On Wednesday, Parliament’s newly appointed portfolio committee on health sat to discuss the proposed new Tobacco Bill for the first time since the government of national unity was formed. In 2021, more than a quarter of South Africans older than 15 used tobacco. We break down three tactics Big Tobacco uses to stall the Bill’s approval.
Christina Pitt is a health journalist at Bhekisisa.
- Christina Pitthttps://bhekisisa.org/author/christinapitt/November 2, 2024
- Christina Pitthttps://bhekisisa.org/author/christinapitt/September 20, 2024
- Christina Pitthttps://bhekisisa.org/author/christinapitt/August 15, 2024
- Christina Pitthttps://bhekisisa.org/author/christinapitt/July 4, 2024
Government clinics often run out of contraceptive medicines, which has been the case since 2015. The latest Stop Stockouts and Ritshidze report shows that planning problems, small budgets and poor record systems are part of the reason. Could getting bi …
Sipokazi Fokazi is Bhekisisa's senior health news reporter.
- Sipokazi Fokazihttps://bhekisisa.org/author/sipokazif/November 20, 2024
- Sipokazi Fokazihttps://bhekisisa.org/author/sipokazif/November 16, 2024
- Sipokazi Fokazihttps://bhekisisa.org/author/sipokazif/November 11, 2024
- Sipokazi Fokazihttps://bhekisisa.org/author/sipokazif/September 19, 2024
August has been an incredible month for Bhekisisa. With 360 000 unique visitors and just under 430 000 pageviews, our traffic went through the roof. Read our monthly newsletter to find out what we were up to in August — and what our top five stories were.
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/January 17, 2025
- Mia Malanhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/mia/November 28, 2024
- Mia Malanhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/mia/November 25, 2024
- Mia Malanhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/mia/November 22, 2024
South Africa spends too much money on medical malpractice lawsuits and wants to pursue new ways to settle these cases out of court. Find out how mediation can help solve these disputes quicker and save the health department money.
Zano Kunene is a health journalist at Bhekisisa.
- Zano Kunenehttps://bhekisisa.org/author/zanokunene/December 12, 2024
- 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
On 22 August South Africa’s second — and highly controversial — presidential health compact was signed by the government and various sectors. The second compact is controversial because prominent organisations that served on the steering committee of the drafting of the first compact refused to sign it.
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/January 17, 2025
- Mia Malanhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/mia/November 28, 2024
- Mia Malanhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/mia/November 25, 2024
- Mia Malanhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/mia/November 22, 2024
Compromise isn’t a word favoured by the Health Minister, Aaron Motsoaledi, when it comes to rolling out universal healthcare, despite objections from some of the ANC’s coalition partners. Mia Malan sits down with Motsoaledi to find out how he plans to deliver National Health Insurance amid legal challenges, little money and a system that needs fundamental fixing.
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/January 17, 2025
- Mia Malanhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/mia/November 28, 2024
- Mia Malanhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/mia/November 25, 2024
- Mia Malanhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/mia/November 22, 2024
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
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 17, 2025
- Yolanda Mdzekehttps://bhekisisa.org/author/yolanda/December 3, 2024
- Yolanda Mdzekehttps://bhekisisa.org/author/yolanda/November 28, 2024
- Yolanda Mdzekehttps://bhekisisa.org/author/yolanda/November 25, 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
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/January 17, 2025
- 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
Even if it means the end of the government of national unity, the bit in the NHI Act that says medical aids will effectively cease to exist, won’t be scrapped, says Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi. But the Act could be adapted to allow everyone — including asylum seekers and undocumented migrants — to get HIV treatment.
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/January 17, 2025
- Mia Malanhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/mia/November 28, 2024
- Mia Malanhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/mia/November 25, 2024
- Mia Malanhttps://bhekisisa.org/author/mia/November 22, 2024