Videos

About two in five wastewater systems in South Africa are falling apart. Their dysfunction has disastrous effects. It exposes people to dirty water that can carry diseases like cholera. This episode of our monthly television show, Health Beat, looks at water safety and explores how climate change makes disease-causing germs spread faster.

On our 10th birthday, we’ve grown from a three-person health desk at the Mail & Guardian to an independent media organisation with a staff of 20 full and part-time employees. Today, we have an average of two million annual pageviews and we’ve expanded from print-only stories to television and podcasts. Want to know more? This seven-minute video has it all.

Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital’s radiation waiting list gets longer each year because of too few staff to operate life-saving cancer equipment. This episode of our monthly television show, Health Beat, puts these problems to the health department. Mia Malan asks if the National Health Insurance scheme can fix the country’s broken health system.

South Africa’s drinking water comes from rivers and dams, but it’s cleaned at water treatment works. Here’s how it’s done.

Teen girls and young women in Africa are up to eight times more likely to contract HIV than their male peers. Biology, unequal access to education and bad laws all play a role in this. Find out more from this short video.

On November 7, Bhekisisa celebrated 10 years of health reporting. Policymakers, researchers and activists joined us in marking this milestone. We also sat down to discuss the twin threats of climate change and health.

The appointments for the heads of two more of the five directorates of the National Health Insurance (NHI) were approved on Monday. These two positions will oversee user and service provider management and healthcare benefits and provider payment design. In the latest episode of Bhekisisa’s monthly TV show, Health Beat, Mia Malan asked the health department’s Nicholas Crisp and Sasha Stevenson from Section27 how the NHI will play out.

Mia Malan founded Bhekisisa in 2013. Since then the centre’s staff has grown from 3 to 20 full and part-time employees. Here’s what she’s had to do to make this happen.

Experts at COP28 have warned that the climate crisis threatens to put us back in the fight against HIV. Floods and droughts will make it harder to adhere to daily treatment and to access HIV prevention medication, and will increase the demand for transactional sex.

Since fewer people are using condoms, we need more ways to prevent HIV. HIV prevention pills are free at government clinics, but the catch is that you have to take them every day. A two-monthly jab and monthly vaginal ring could change the game, but can the state afford them? Watch this Health Beat episode to find out.

Playtime isn't just about fun and games - find out why it's an important part of young children's development.

Sex workers in South Africa want their profession decriminalised, a view supported by many medical professionals and civil society organisations.

If the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill is passed in its current form, your medical aid will disappear in its current form. It’s not clear how the NHI will be funded, but raised taxes will be unavoidable — and the scheme will likely want your medical aid premium.

When health workers discriminate against people with a higher chance of getting HIV, the virus spreads like wildfire because such groups become less likely to use health facilities. Our Health Beat team asked transgender people about the service they get at government clinics and the health department about what happens to a doctor or nurse who refuses to help patients.

Abortions can be done using two methods. One is called a medical abortion and the other is surgical, which involves a small procedure. When a pregnancy is past 12 weeks only doctors are allowed to do it. We speak to Marie Stopes SA about how a surgical abortion works and what you can expect.

Health workers, this is your cheat sheet to detecting and treating #cholera in your patients. Watch this video for the details.