Short Form

Short Form Journalism by the Bhekisisa Team

Irrigation farming in a Malawian village has helped ward off malnutrition and starvation

Water-fed gardens in Malawi ward off starvation – for now

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The government's focus on small-scale irrigation has given hope and sustenance to some districts.
Water shortages in South Sudan force residents to rely on water vendors.

Juba’s water vendors make a living, but it’s a cut-throat business

Water pumped from the Nile is the only option for 98% of the residents of South Sudan's capital.
Displaced people carry water containers on their heads at Tomping camp

South Sudan: From war to water crisis

The start of the rainy season in the war-torn country could spell a cholera outbreak.
Codeine products are available over the counter in South Africa. But codeine is addictive and the products can be abused.

Is codeine Africa’s drug of choice?

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Common cough, flu and pain medicines can be addictive. Codeine addiction is an increasingly well-known problem in South Africa.
South Africa legalised abortion decades ago but a lack of information on where to get one and health workers willing to terminate pregnancies still stand between people and safe abortions.

Cruel dilemma: To terminate or not to terminate

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The joy of motherhood is killed by a moral and ethical dilemma when doctors advise termination of a pregnancy.
Children's lives are saved in Libya by doctors who can do heart surgery in countries without decent health systems.

Libya’s war kills little children in need of heart surgery

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The country's health system is ravaged, but a team of volunteer doctors visit regularly: operating on the desperate and training local medical staff.
Pregnant woman

Solar power, text messages fight maternal deaths in rural Cameroon

Solar power, solar electricity and mobile technology are helping to reduce the rate of maternal mortality in Cameroon.
Ben Brown takes Truvada

‘I’ve taken control of my life by taking the HIV prevention pill’

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A revolutionary antiretroviral prophylaxis is helping all people, no matter their sexual orientation. A cheaper generic will soon be on the shelves.
Young people in Uganda can go to youth-friendly clinics for sexual health problems.

Youth-friendly sexual health clinics put Ugandans at ease

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Clinics dedicated to young people are ideal but the poor nation struggles to provide at least a basic service for those who can't access them.
Maternal mortality in Uganda continues to be a development challenge.

Save a little money, save a little life

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A grassroots Ugandan health initiative has significantly reduced maternal deaths.
Cataract surgery will become part of Madagascar's universal healthcare programme.

Truth about cataracts is plain to see: They can be treated

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More developing countries are offering sight-saving surgery in their public health systems, but specialist eye surgeons are in short supply.
Bikers travel to health communities to deliver TB treatment.

Bikers go full throttle to speed up TB cure in Zimbabwe

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A programme with the health department sees motorbikes being used to deliver drugs to people in far-flung places who can't afford the fare.
Keneth Ndua demonstrates his stove invention

Ndua’s stove keeps a lid on cholera in Kenya

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Women said they couldn't afford to boil water and cook, so a local inventor rolled up his sleeves.
An Apostolic woman walks along train tracks on her way back from a mountain prayer session.

Mothers and babies at risk in Apostolic church ‘birth camps’

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Leaders of Zimbabwe's Apostolic sects are warming to the idea of women giving birth at health clinics.
Remote: Zodwa Zulu*

It’s only 32km to the state clinic, but for the poor that’s a world...

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Some residents in rural towns in Mpumalanga have to chose between buying food or going to the doctor.
Goodness Mbatha says the Treatment Action Campaign protested about conditions at Mamelodi Hospital.

Labour contracts stall upgrades to Mamelodi Hospital

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The Gauteng health department has admitted to problems at the facility, seen by the public protector.