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Features

Still running: Irene van Niekerk at her home in an informal settlement in Krugersdorp.

Teenage mums need support, not censure

Stigma can ruin the lives of young mothers, but there is support available that can keep their futures bright.
Years of cocaine abuse led his life to ruin

Life’s precipice puts addiction into perspective

Three drug addicts tell their stories of devastation, desperation and, finally, the long road to recovery.
John Edward says he was once a sceptic too.

Getting closure from the other side

Psychics such as John Edward are 'mostly harmless' and often quite helpful to the living, experts say.
Gifted: Dembe Ndou keeps the pupils and teachers entertained with her beautiful voice and extraordinary skill on the keyboard.

Autism and its uncommon angels

Dembe Ndou learned to play piano in no time at all, but simply chatting is a complex challenge.
Ray of hopelessness: A health practitioner will see you after you have waited at least 170 minutes. Probably longer.

Publicly waiting for x-rays, privately abandoning all hope

In the state sector, not everyone is equal. Some of us have to pay an arm, a leg and a full working day.
In Pondoland

Man severely beaten for speaking out about his penis amputation

Three people have been arrested after a Pondoland initiate who lost his penis and spoke out about it in public was beaten for "shaming the custom".
Men

Violence, pregnant teenagers and booze at De Aar’s end of the world

Alcohol abuse breeds apathy and joblessness, and fuels abuse in an ever more vicious cycle.
Sipho Gceya* lost part of his penis after a botched circumcision

Play gives initiates who lost their manhood a voice

A Johannesburg director has taken up the continuing tragedy of botched circumcisions.
We feature three HIV positive women in their 40s who fit the profile of a typical M&G reader.

HIV: Not one of us can say, ‘never me, never mine’

We feature four HIV positive women in their 40s who fit the profile of a typical M&G reader.
Jeremy Acton is prepared to go to prison for using dagga. His party intends to pressure the state to legalise it.

Is SA ready to turn over a new leaf?

Cannabis may well have beneficial properties, but experts warn that smoking it is still bad for your health.
Time enough: Klara Buntzen* has been waiting for her medical exam date for months.

HPCSA’s inertia sinks foreign medics

Badly needed and eager to work here, their efforts are being thwarted by a bureaucratic quagmire.
Shortcoming: Most sexual enhancers sold off the shelf have never been scientifically tested

The downside of sex ‘enhancers’

There are many off the shelf products to help your sex life, but little is known about them – and their effects.
Digitial umbilical cord: More women are using their cellphones to get health updates on their pregnancy via Mxit Reach.

Help is at hand for connected moms

Simple phone services are stepping in to help women who can't seek clinical advice in person.
Impressed: Researcher Ché Makanjee is counselled before his HIV test at Charlotte Maxeke hospital.

Private sector lags in HIV testing

Government facilities are trumping their larnier colleagues in providing HIV services.
Clinical associates such as Arthur Setlhapelo can do basic procedures

Healthcare heroes heal the system

Clinical associates are changing the medical sector by freeing up doctors to do more.
The Eastern Cape has the highest reported rate of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder in the world.

How to wean moms off the bottle

Women in South Africa are waking up to the dangers posed by fetal alcohol syndrome.