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The Bhekisisa Centre for Health Journalism is based in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Bhekisisa is one of only a few media outlets in the Global South specialising in solutions-based narrative features and analysis. We not only uncover problems but also critically evaluate the solutions meant to fix them. It’s an approach we also take with our opinion pieces.

What makes a good op-ed? What can I expect from the editing process? Who do I pitch a possible opinion piece to? Get the answers to all these questions along with some handy writing tips here before you make a submission.

A sarmie, a sweet and a cigarette? How to make sure Africa doesn’t become...

Smoking in the west is declining. So the tobacco industry is looking to untapped markets in lower-income countries to hook new smokers.
The United Nations will bring together 192 countries for the fourth high-level meeting on tuberculosis in 2018.

United Nations’ first high-level meeting on TB could usher in a new world order

The global body heeds calls by SA health minister Aaron Motsoaledi for high-level meeting on age-old killer.

Employed vs. unemployed: Who is more likely to test HIV positive?

You’re far more likely to be offered an HIV test at a government health facility than at your GP or workplace clinic. Here’s why — and what the consequences are.

Karoo dust, diet & diabetes: Why ‘lifestyle disease’ is an unfair label 

Diabetes is different from other non-communicable diseases, this author says. It can’t be spread in a literal sense — instead, it is often forced upon people by factors beyond their control. What happens when you have no say on your genetics or all you can afford is processed food?
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Why doesn’t SA use this bargaining chip when it makes deals with drugmakers?

A two-monthy HIV prevention injection could be too expensive for the department of health to buy even though the country participated in drug trials...
You can't treat what you can't count: No one knows how many people inject drugs in east and southern Africa.

Southern Africa’s missing drug users: We can’t treat what we don’t count

No one really knows how many people inject drugs in east and southern Africa and that's a bigger problem than you think.
Decriminalising sex work could prevent between a third and almost half of all new HIV infections globally in the next 10 years among workers and clients.

I’m a nurse and this is why SA should decriminalise sex work

Why would humanitarian workers support the call to decriminalize sex work? Sometimes bombs, floods aren't the only threats to our patients.
Birth control: Which one's best for you?

Could your favourite birth control put you at risk of HIV?

A Cape Town study could finally provide the answer to whether there is a link between the shot and HIV infection risk.
pregnancy crisis centre

How US anti-abortion groups are funding South Africa’s ‘pregnancy crisis centres’

In 2018, Bhekisisa investigated anti-abortion pregnancy crisis centres in South Africa. Now, an investigation reveals the US right is backing some centres.
A health worker hides their face while holding a placard detailing shortcomings at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in 2014. This year

Healthcare in protest: The state should heed the desperation

Violent protests at health facilities haven’t only uncovered failings, they have revealed the interconnected nature of the rights we aspire to live
Could MDMA one day come of the rave scene and into mainstream psychology? Emerging research may be a step in that direction.

Could this drug one day come out of the club and onto your therapist’s...

Ecstasy users are more empathetic than those who take other drugs – even when not on it.
Thermal screening

The dubious value of fever screening: Why measuring for surface temperature won’t help curb...

Apart from being unreliable, fever screening can create a false sense of security and pose an infection risk to thermometer operators.
Diary of a young

‘HIV is my unwanted pregnancy’

If you are a man who has sex with men, the HIV prevention pill just keeps getting better. Find out how.
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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 for the most vulnerable become the perpetrators of sexual harassment?
Coronavirus screening

Four reasons to be hopeful about South Africa’s coronavirus testing plan

In a grim news cycle, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize’s announcement yesterday that the country is evaluating rapid tests for the new coronavirus is something to celebrate.
The health department has proposed accrediting public hospitals to provide c-sections as a way of improving the safety of the procedures across the country.

This is putting SA’s women in the grave, so what’s the health department doing...

Pregnancy in South Africa is getting safer, but still not safe enough. Here’s what the health department says they’re doing about it.