Threads

Short Form

Abortions have been legal in South Africa for over 20 years

‘They made me feel like a murderer’: Stigma endangers women seeking legal abortions

Bontle Mabe turned to a loan shark to fund her abortion after she was turned away for five days in a row at her local clinic.
Tens of thousands of men crisscross Zimbabwe as long-haul truck drivers and the risks they face aren't just on the road.

Go inside the trucker craze fuelling a blackmarket in dangerous ‘sex enhancers’

The products themselves could be dangerous and are likely to encourage high-risk sexual behaviour.
There are fewer than 10 paediatric heart surgeons in South Africa's public health sector - forcing tiny patients to wait months for surgery.

When the tiniest hearts break: Behind SA’s shortage of paediatric heart surgeons

The country can't produce its own paediatric heart surgeons. But that may be beginning to change, starting in Cape Town.
Zanele sits alongside her 13-year-old son

How to tell your child you have HIV

More than three decades into the HIV epidemic, some conversations haven't become any easier. This is one of them.
In East and Southern Africa

Meeting men halfway: Clinics are going mobile to reach the toughest patients

For decades, we’ve struggled to solve the riddle: How do you get reluctant men to test for HIV. Could we finally have an answer?

‘My mom was too scared to check what was wrong. In the end, doctors...

Early screening for cervical cancer can be a lifesaver but are nonprofit organisations enough to fill the gap in KZN's crumbling system?
The community of Mbyo

‘My neighbour murdered nearly all of my family, but now we are friends’

Thanks to a pioneering project survivors and perpetrators of the Rwandan genocide now live side by side in 'reconciliation villages'.
The paramedics don’t care about us. If we mention that the person has overdosed they won’t come, they won’t help us, especially if you are black.

#SliceofLife: ‘She made a joke out of my friend’s death’

When Mark died, emergency services left his body on the pavement in central Pretoria for hours.

Could better health for your baby come in a cardboard box?

All the rage in Finland, 'Moses baskets' could soon be coming to South African shores.
Graffiti on a wall in Diepsloot where a penis is likened to an AK47. The Sonke Change found that men are about three times more likely to rape or beat a woman if they are a problem drinker.

Nine factors that make a man more likely to rape or beat a woman

Men who abuse women have often been victims of maltreatment themselves resulting to the intergenerational cycling of abuse.
|A recent study in Diepsloot in northern Johannesburg shows that 56% of a sample of 2600 men have raped or beaten a woman. Most said they have done so more than once. (Delwyn Verasamy

‘I will rape them personally, those drunkard women in the short dresses’

In this township, alcohol makes violent men close to three times more likely to rape a woman.Brown Lekekela heads over to the flipchart that...
Aisha Danyaya recovers from surgery in the Children’s Hospital in Sokoto, Nigeria. The disease can be fatal. (Adavize Baiye, MSF)

Inside the flesh-eating disease you’ve probably never heard about but should

Less than 15% of patients seek out care for this vicious form of gangrene.
Health worker Jackline Atieno has vaccinated more babies under the age of one year since the Masogo Health Centre started sending SMS reminders to parents and caregivers.

Paying for change? Trial offers cash to parents willing to vaccinate babies

Researchers have shown that monetary incentives lead to infants being immunised on time.
Much of the sugars consumed today are “hidden” in processed foods that are not usually seen as sweets.

How much sugar do you drink?

Half a litre of Coke contains 10 teaspoons of sugar – almost the entire recommended daily sugar allowance. But fruit juice is as bad.
Most South Africans have the TB germ - so why aren't they sick?

Finding South Africa’s missing TB patients

For many tuberculosis (TB) patients, the road to a cure begins with a simple test.Today, South Africa is rolling out the world’s best technology...
A Stats SA report stated that only 24.4% of deaths in 2015 were of married people

Do single people wind up dead sooner in South Africa?

A recent article suggested that single South Africans can live longer by getting married, based on Statistics SA mortality data.