The business of love: Why condom factories and job creation could go hand-in-hand
Every year, the continent falls 3-billion condoms short of what it needs. Could investing in condom factories be the answer — and create jobs...
Pathologies of pleasure: What they don’t teach you in medical school
Tlaleng Mofokeng is a doctor, writer, radio and TV presenter as well as an internationally-renowned health activist. She’s made it her life work to...
It’s official: Bhekisisa is going solo
Today, we set out on our own after calling the Mail & Guardian home for more than half a decade.
I remember the...
After Echo: ‘Life for young women navigating puberty is gruesome’
We've proven Depo Provera doesn't make it easier to contract HIV. But African women are still left with too few contraceptive choices.
Lead in the blood: The poisoning of a generation
By 1927, Anglo American had obtained a controlling interest in a decades’ old lead mine north of Lusaka. Today, the mine may be closed,...
When violence begets violence: Men, trauma & HIV in South Africa
Young men living in urban informal settlements have experienced a huge amount of violence and trauma in their own lives. This may not come...
Will the National Health Insurance Bill go far enough to prevent corruption?
The National Health Insurance Bill was released on 8 August but a look at how well our mothers – and our finances – do in the public health sector does not bode well. Uncover the figures and the power structures that will shape the future of healthcare in South Africa.
What did this former Sars official know about Big Tobacco’s dodgy dealings?
State capture was a godsend for tobacco dealers, writes former Sars official Johann van Loggerenberg in his latest book, which may shed new light...
How do you stop a hospital heist? Appoint a plunder-proof board
The way South Africa’s health sector is governed leaves hospitals exposed to corruption. Hospital chief executive officers are political appointments, and so are the people at the accountability bodies and regulators such as the Office of Health Standards Compliance that are set up to hold the executives responsible. Independent hospital boards must play this role instead, writes this expert.
Crisis of confidence: How much does the public really trust scientists, doctors and nurses?
Trust isn't only important when it comes to relationships. It's the difference between life or death when it comes to vaccines.
COMMENT
Doctors and nurses have...
The power, the purse strings and the National Health Insurance
The National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill proposes significant shifts in who controls our national and provincial health budgets. Will the draft legislation rob provinces of traditional control, or will it open up new, and more effective ways of making sure money goes where it’s needed most? Find out in the first in "Compass," our new series on South Africa's move to the NHI.
How do we reduce new HIV infections by 60% in a mere three and...
Today, SA boasts the world's largest HIV treatment programme, but 3.2-million people who need ARVs still aren't on them. Here’s how to fix that.
Global health still mimics colonial ways: here’s how to break the pattern
Why it's time we look within for expertise on how to fix Global South healthcare issues.
COMMENT
Imagine this scenario. A couple of newly minted...
Six ways ARVs can help to end Aids by 2030
Science knows more than ever about how to use HIV treatment to prevent new infections but will it be enough to end Aids?
Civil society’s #MeToo moment: ‘We are complicit in creating environments that allow this’
Civil society is supposed to be a watchdog. It’s supposed to fight for what’s right – but what happens when those tasked with advocating...
3 ways COVID sped up SA’s medicine approvals process — and how it can...
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) was forced to speed up its review of new medicines such as vaccines, while still ensuring that they were safe and effective.