News and analysis

Heroin withdrawals: Could this drug be the answer?

Five steps in five years. A to-do list to help SA kick its heroin...

South Africa plans to make opioid substitutes such as methadone available at all state clinics and hospitals over the next five years. Methadone helps wean people off drugs such as heroin. Here are the five things the government needs to do to get this right.

By the numbers: What load shedding does to your mental health

Three in four employed people surveyed by the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (Sadag) said their bosses expected them to do the same amount of work despite consistent power cuts. Many feared that continued load shedding will lead to job losses and derail attempts to turn around the country’s struggling economy. Mia Malan speaks to Sadag’s Cassey Chambers for Bhekisisa’s monthly TV programme, Health Beat.

Should the state hire SA’s field health workers permanently? Unions and the health department...

The government is currently looking at giving community health workers a minimum wage and setting working conditions. While unions have rejected this process, Nicholas Crisp, head of the NHI, says it may be a better solution to these workers’ employment problems than having permanent government positions.

What’s behind the Big Tobacco job cuts? A guide to SA’s illegal tobacco trade...

British American Tobacco in South Africa says 200 of its workers will be out of a job soon, but public health researchers argue they’re using misleading figures to back the retrenchments.
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The sugar tax is working. Now double it

While the world focuses its attention on COVID-19, there is another illness draining the health system’s resources – diabetes. The cost of diabetes-related blindness and kidney failures is being overlooked too, these health advocates say.

How South Africa’s COVID vaccine injury fund will work

In the rare event that you experience a severe side-effect as a result of COVID-19 vaccines, this fund will pay you out.

How your medical bills may change under the National Health Insurance

Many private hospitals will be opening their doors to more patients but does that mean you’ll be stuck at the back of the queue?
Seven out of 10 South African women say that a lack of sexual intimacy in their relationships makes them feel depressed.

Lack of sex leaves women depressed, says survey

Seven out of 10 South African women say that a lack of sexual intimacy in their relationships makes them feel depressed.

Why SA women with postpartum depression go unhelped

The social and economic factors faced by women do not disappear once they become pregnant. Without additional support those problems get much worse and can be bad for their families too.

Burn them — Here’s what happens to expired COVID vaccines

Vaccines don’t last forever. When they reach their expiration date, the jabs need to be disposed of in a way that ensures they aren’t retrievable. A waste management company explains how this is done.

The eerily sophisticated system behind selling human organs

Selling human organs illegally involves everything from trafficking to people trading their kidneys or part of their livers voluntarily. The World Health Organisation says only 10% of people needing organ transplants get them.
Could the Presidential Health Summit reveal new developments with regard to the NHI? Find out as we stream live from the meeting.

​Does SA’s private healthcare sector only provide care for 16% of the population?

Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi's long-touted claim may be misleading, reports Africa Check.
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Three for three: Understanding the 3 COVID variants circulating during SA’s third wave

Which variants have been detected in South Africa and how do they differ? Each form of the virus has slight changes and therefore behaves slightly differently and could impact what the epidemic looks like. We break it down.

A skin expert busts 11 Black skin myths

The world of beauty and skincare is littered with myths and misinformation about Black skin. This extract from aesthetician Diya Ayodele’s book “Black Skin” busts some of the most common beliefs that stop people with Black skin from getting good information.
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Q&A: State patients in private hospitals — what’s the deal?

Government hospitals are likely to run out of beds before the end of July. The health department is in the process of signing deals with the private healthcare sector for additional beds at set prices. But how does this work in practise? We’ve asked Nicholas Crisp, one of the health department’s chief negotiators.

Could rural students solve SA’s doctor dilemma?

South Africa is training more doctors than ever but there isn’t enough money to employ them, leaving about 14% of hospital posts for doctors vacant while 20% of doctor positions at clinics were empty in 2021 as well.