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A tale of two pandemics: Is COVID-19 repeating the mistakes of HIV’s past?
In South Africa, two outbreaks are colliding and one thing may shape the future of both.
The unbearable loneliness of COVID-19
There are no visiting hours for COVID-19 patients. Instead, there’s anxiety, fear, stigma and potential grief. But there’s also — at least some — resilience.
The dark smell of illness: One family’s struggle for news from inside the ICU
You can’t visit family members with COVID-19 in hospital. So how do you find out how they’re doing? Mia Malan from the Bhekisisa Centre for Health Journalism documented
one woman’s story.
Why the public-private partnership to build Lesotho’s only specialist hospital floundered
It was hailed as a revolution in private investment in healthcare in Africa but almost a decade after it was opened, Lesotho’s only specialist hospital takes up almost a third of the country’s entire health budget. Now, we may finally know why.
The lockdown women planning their escape from abusive homes
Cases of domestic violence tick up while shelters lose their income and scramble to get ready for the silent, second crisis of gender-based violence that research suggests will follow the coronavirus pandemic.
Can you pause a pandemic? Inside the race to stop the spread of COVID-19...
Tracing the close contacts of people who test positive for coronavirus disease is a delicate dance. Here’s why these health workers wait for the cover of darkness to take action.
A new kind of chemistry: Why science is rethinking the humble bed net
Disease-spreading mozzies may be getting wise to our best defences, but science is fighting back.
A parent’s place? Meet the women fighting for space at SA’s rural hospitals
Botched births and infections can leave many babies with a life-long inheritance: Cerebral palsy. Many will be dependent on caregivers for their entire lives, but could switching up the way we think about treating the condition provide children and carers some respite?
The long walk back to yourself: How this hospital revolutionised rural rehabilitation
Bhojana Mathunywa was attacked by four men for bag of tobacco. Now, slowly but surely, this team of rural therapists is helping him recover the everyday skills he lost. (Dylan Bush, Bhekisisa)
Teletubbies and friends: Inside the bizarre science behind your child’s favourite show
What makes the world’s most successful children’s TV programmes so addictive – and so strange? Linda Geddes explores the research on kids’ TV, what it’s teaching us about childhood development, and how that can help make programmes for the better.
My many selves: How I learned to live with multiple personalities
Memories, behaviours, attitudes and even perceived age can all switch together as people transition from one self to another.
Headaches, heartaches & pregnancy: Could this stem preeclampsia’s deadly tide?
This silent killer stalks expecting mothers around the world and is one of the leading causes of maternal mortality in South Africa. But still many women can’t name it — or identify its symptoms. But if knowledge is power, is it enough to stem this deadly tide? Ghana is hoping to find out.
Life on a hotter earth: Depression, drought & decolonising mental health
As the climate crisis wears on, it's taking a toll on our mental health and indigenous knowledge systems may hold the key to helping us weather the storm.
Cobras & cures: Why the world is running chronically low on snake antivenom
Millions will be bitten by venomous snakes each year and for many, antivenom will remain painfully out of reach. Here's why.
The magistrate’s tail: How these pets are helping child rape victims get justice
In court, comfort for the tiniest victims of sexual abuse can come from the unlikeliest of places.“All rise,” a voice declares as the...
Meet Zweli Mkhize, the man behind SA’s #COVID-19 response
Can the health minister fix our health system and what will it take? Here’s what Mkhize’s character, views and his past experience as a doctor tell us.