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[LISTEN] Who cares if we vape ourselves to death? Part 3
To many, especially young people, vapes look good, feel good and taste good. But are they any less harmful than conventional cigarettes? A Bhekisisa podcast explores the world of vaping.
[LISTEN] How easy is it to quit vaping? Part 2
At first, vaping seemed like a useful innovation in a world where cigarettes are becoming unacceptable. But is it a safer alternative? Bhekisisa’s podcast “Vape Universe” explores — and enters the world of those who are hooked.
[LISTEN] Is vaping just as bad as smoking? Part 1
With vapes being punted as an alternative to smoking, Bhekisisa’s three-part podcast looks at how the new trend shapes South Africans’ nicotine habits and how hard it is to give up, despite claims that e-cigarettes can help you ditch conventional smokes.
[WATCH] How methadone and clean needles could turn around SA’s drug crisis
With a daily dose of medically supervised methadone, some drug dependents in the City of Tshwane are giving up their needles and heroin. Although the health department will launch pilot programmes at two clinics this year, most public clinics don’t offer methadone, and private medical aids won’t cover it. Could expanding this project save lives and cut the cost of healthcare?
[WATCH] How Soweto is fighting ill health from gold mine dumps
In Snake Park, Soweto, Thokozile Mntambo and local volunteers are researching the health impacts of a massive gold mine dump looming over their community. Decades of mining on the Witwatersrand left behind toxic waste that residents say leads to illnesses and birth defects.
[PODCAST] Will Trump cut funds for SA’s HIV programmes?
On 20 January, Donald Trump will be inaugurated as the new US president — for the second time. An international HIV expert says a Trump administration will question South Africa’s decades-long partnership with the US government’s Aids fund, Pepfar.
Health Beat #25 | Will SA’s new climate change laws save our beaches —...
The Health Beat team visits a community suffering the health effects of living near mine waste and finds out whether our new Climate Change Act will make a difference to those affected by air pollution.
[WATCH] How a youth centre is fighting Westbury’s drugs and gangs
In Westbury, Johannesburg, drugs and gangs overshadow daily life, trapping new generations in addiction and crime. While police crackdowns bring short-lived relief, the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime tells Health Beat that affordable rehabilitation and medical treatment for drug dependents are better investments.
Health Beat #24 | Why does SA treat drug addiction as a criminal, rather...
Health Beat examines South Africa’s drug policy and finds out why policing and health are operating in silos, instead of following our National Drug Master Plan.
[WATCH] How this Soweto project rolls out its own NHI
For the past decade, the Chiawelo Community Practice (CCP) in Soweto has tested how primary healthcare that starts within communities through things like exercise...
Is there hope for changes to the NHI Act?
By the end of October, Business Unity South Africa (Busa) will submit a proposal to President Cyril Rampahosa with solutions to their concerns about the National Health Insurance Act. This follows a September meeting with the president. But is there hope for change? In this podcast, Mia Malan asks Ramaphosa’s special advisor, Olive Shisana, and Busa CEO, Cas Coovadia, what to expect.
[WATCH] A change of heart: Why this patient’s opinion of state hospitals changed after...
Will patients be able to get quality healthcare from public hospitals once the National Health Insurance is in place — whether for lifesaving operations like heart surgery or routine check-ups for things like blood pressure or diabetes? Bhekisisa’s Health Beat team talks to a patient and his doctor at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital about their experiences — and what state hospitals can offer if run well.
Health Beat #23 | What the NHI could be — if run well
Our Health Beat team takes you on a tour of some Gauteng hospital success stories — from an NHI-like project, the Chiawelo Community Practice in Soweto, to the lifesaving cardiothoracic surgery unit at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital.
Health Beat #22 | Aaron the Outspoken: Do all roads lead to NHI?
Compromise isn’t a word favoured by the Health Minister, Aaron Motsoaledi, when it comes to rolling out universal healthcare, despite objections from some of the ANC’s coalition partners. Mia Malan sits down with Motsoaledi to find out how he plans to deliver National Health Insurance amid legal challenges, little money and a system that needs fundamental fixing.
[WATCH] This centre is a home to special needs kids — but it ends...
The Boikanyo Mentally and Disabled Children Centre in Temba in northern Gauteng is home to kids with cerebral palsy, autism and Down’s syndrome. But when they turn 18, many have nowhere to go.
Health Beat #21: Eight years later — what does psychiatric care look like after...
Has psychiatric care in our government health system improved eight years after Life Esidimeni during which 141 mental health patients died because of negligence? Health Beat visits a community mental health organisation, talks to Section27, the Gauteng government and a counselling organisation, Heal SA, to find out.