Opinion

Done with hiding in the bathroom: Demelza Bush has come to terms with the fact that she is neither a man or a woman.

Genderqueer: Existing outside the binary

Opinion Dylan Bush - April 10, 2015

When Demelza Bush was a little girl, she knew she wasn't. And they weren't a boy either.

Bad science goes up in smoke: Why smokers were never protected from COVID

Opinion Mark Shrime - October 6, 2021

Early pandemic research pointed to smokers not being at risk of severe COVID-19. This turned out to be false. Here’s why the slow pace of science means it’s easy for people to latch onto extraordinary claims despite a lack of strong evidence.

Pneumonia kills more than 1.3-million children a year. But with this vaccine two out of every three children under five are immunised against pneumonia.

When it comes to vaccines, there really is safety in numbers. Here’s why

Opinion Keith Klugman - September 4, 2018

Turns out it takes a village to raise a child but also to protect them.

Critical care: A local clinic is being built in Mvezo

Too much stick, not enough carrot

Opinion Daygan Eager - July 24, 2014

The state’s proposed certificate of need will not address inequities in rural healthcare.

An 8% above-inflation hike could mean South Africans would smoke 22-million fewer cigarette packs over a four-year period.

#Budget2019: How this could have netted the country 17.1-billion — & saved lives

Opinion Kirsten van der Zee and Savera Kalideen - February 20, 2019

Find out why Mboweni's R1.14 hike won't be enough to cut smoking, save lives or bring in much-needed cash.

Medical student Inati Mcapazeli studies a chest x-ray at Cape Town’s Brooklyn Chest Hospital on World TB Day 2012.

We can achieve a TB-free South Africa, but it’s time to pick up the...

Opinion Yogan Pillay - March 23, 2017

Today, SA is seeing fewer new TB cases and deaths than ever before.

Malegapuru William Makgoba's scathing investigation helped blow the lid of the Life Esidimeni tragedy. Read what it taught him.

This man blew the lid off the #LifeEsidimeni tragedy. Read what it taught him.

Opinion Malegapuru William Makgoba - August 16, 2018

When we got our independence, we did not ask ourselves what kind of ethics this new country needed. SA’s health ombud reflects on his first big case.

Forensic nurse Beatrice Mongale demonstrates how child survivors of sexual violence often use dolls to describe their experience at the Kgomotso Care Centre in Boitekong township in Rustenburg.

This is why some rapists will never face justice

Opinion Amir Shroufi - November 28, 2017

For survivors, any hope of justice depends on the presence of doctors and forensic nurses. The catch? These are few and far between.

The HPCSA's competency is now being investigated by Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi.

Headache a day helps HPCSA keep media at bay

Opinion Mia Malan - April 16, 2015

The council issued an incorrect media statement on its Tim Noakes hearing on Friday. But its media blunders are not new.

Catholic priest: Why it’s wrong to open our churches

Opinion Russell Pollitt - May 31, 2020

Is it responsible to allow religious gatherings during level 3 lockdown? This church leader says no — there are safer ways to provide people with spiritual support during the COVID-19 epidemic.

Research shows that drug-resistant TB accounts for a quarter of the 10-million deaths that might be associated with antimicrobial resistance by 2020.

This kills more than 700 of us each day. Now, the UN wants to...

Opinion Yogan Pillay - October 11, 2018

In a historic first, the UN just held a high-level meeting on TB. There was one on lifestyle diseases too. But did these sittings achieve anything?

SA & India took a stand for COVID-19 patients everywhere. Here’s why African leaders...

Opinion Candice Sehoma - December 7, 2020

Developing nations have the capacity to scale up their responses to the COVID-19 pandemic but they're continually hamstrung by barriers set up by Big Pharma.