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Community health workers didn't just provide at-home HIV testing. They went into schools to help teach young people sexual and reproductive health and encourage boys to get medically circumcised.

Today, this rural KZN community is about to make global headlines. Find out why

Small town, big goals: Eshowe has become one of the first SA communities to put enough people on HIV treatment to reduce new infections in the area.
Young girls pose with boxes of Marlboro cigarettes.

New smoke signals: Is Big Tobacco using influencers to illegally punt new products?

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Could companies’ wooing of social media influencers be just a clever ploy to get around the country’s tobacco advertising ban?
Doctors and nurses were held at gunpoint to stop giving patients treatment.

Hospitals close in Mpumalanga as doctors and nurses fear for their safety

Health workers in the province demand security cameras and personal panic buttons at hospitals because of crime and attacks on nurses and doctors.
A South African study may have proved to the scientific community that Depo-Provera does not fuel HIV risk. Now

Could your birth control increase your risk of HIV? Science finally has an answer

But new science doesn't change the fact that women still have too few options when it comes to contraception.

The three biggest fights looming for the National Health Insurance

Who will control the country's healthcare purse and who will be left out? Find out and read why some are likely to be sceptical in the country's quest for more equitable access to high-quality universal healthcare coverage.
#MeatFreeMondays: A collection of fruit, vegetables, spices and juices.

Fiber, flatulence & fortified foods: This is your body on veganism

From Badu to Beyonce: Some of your favourite celebs have toyed with it but is going vegan right for you? Veganism, the plant-based diet which...

Could a National Health Insurance Fund be just months away?

The time for talk is over, said Zweli Mkhize in his first budget speech as health minister. But if you thought that Cabinet's approval of the National Health Insurance Bill was the end of discussions, here's why you’re wrong.

Five things you need to know about the new National Health Insurance Bill

Parliament released the NHI Bill this morning. Here is how healthcare in South Africa is likely to change.
The International Partnership for Microbicides' dapivirine vaginal ring

One step closer to protecting yourself from HIV with a vaginal ring

A monthly vaginal ring loaded with antiretroviral medication ould reduce women’s risk of contracting HIV, becoming the first long-acting form of PrEP.
The Bhekisisa team

It’s official: Bhekisisa is going solo

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Today, we set out on our own after calling the Mail & Guardian home for more than half a decade.
Condoms are common contraceptives used to prevent pregnancies.

The five best contraceptives backed by science

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The right choice of contraceptive is crucial. Science can help you to choose one that's right for you.

Getting ready for baby: Why some couples should consider genetic counselling

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For some South African parents, genetic counselling could help catch birth defects early enough to treat them affordably — that is, if they can get it.
South Africa is the first country in the world to use ATM-like machines to dispense chronic medication.

These ATMs have swopped bills for pills. Here’s why

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Meet a South African getting her HIV medication at the press of a button.

You, the NHI and the changing face of your medical aid

South Africa’s National Health Insurance Bill was released this morning. Here’s how it will affect you.

Dancing with the devil: UCT stubs out tobacco-funded unit

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Can Tobacco money ever be washed clean? Most researchers at the University of Cape Town say no.

South Africa delays rollout of new blockbuster HIV drug

Stocks of the new treatment are already on the shelves of some clinics — but lingering concerns over a possible low risk of birth defects associated with this new antiretroviral have stalled the country’s switch to better medication for a second time.