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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.

Myanmar refugee woman being treated at the operation theatre at the Red Cross clinic in Kutupalong refugee camp in Ukhia. (Tauseef)

‘Not every day is perfect, but it’s a bit better’

Humanitarian assistance doesn’t always work right away. That doesn’t mean we should stop trying.

Rape, time & place: How to understand SA’s geography of violence

Simply identifying hotspots doesn’t explain why some places report more gender-based violence than others. This limits our understanding of the problem, and our ability to find a solution.
Ebola healthcare worker protective gear

The world finally has an Ebola vaccine. This is why it’s not enough

The World Health Organisation prequalified Merck's vaccine for widespread use in November but regulatory hoops are just a small part of the fight to get the jab to the places that need it most.
Outspoken advocate: In 2007 Galip Asvat

Men are also ‘corrective rape’ victims

Many men, thanks to social stigmas, are ashamed to report sexual hate crimes – but they are almost as common as they are against lesbians.
Life expectancy at birth is better in Singapore than in many developed countries .

Singapore slings health clues SA’s way

Its health system is comparable to the best in the world, achieved at a fraction of the cost of others.
Telling compelling stories: Amy Green

Crack journalistic team driven by the prospect of telling the continent’s stories

With its expansion to the rest Africa, the Bhekisisa health reporting team is growing.
Fewer than 15 countries on the continent fund more than half of their national immunisation programmes.

Looking to invest in health? Here’s how to make the most of it

Every dollar spent on vaccines brings a 16-fold return on investment — and up to $44 for every dollar if broader benefits are taken into account.
In Nigeria

Inequality didn’t rise from hell: It’s man-made — and there’s nothing like a pandemic...

Why do pandemics such as Aids not automatically end when we have the medicine to control them? Because they play out in a world where inequality frequently prevents drugs from reaching the people who need it most, writes Mia Malan.
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The cruel collusion that devastates young doctors learning how to deliver babies

Health workers-in-training say they feel forced to abuse birthing patients as part of a dark rite of passage on the road to becoming a doctor or midwife. This final year medical student explains how these experiences can shape the country’s future doctors.
A new online tool lets you calculate your chances of falling pregnant via IVF.

Scars of conflict: ‘We should not forget Africa’s women’

Community health workers are bringing healthcare to the homes of HIV-infected pregnant women in rural Cameroon. It has saved many babies.
The country's largest HIV lobby group

‘We can’t accept the new HIV, TB plan’ – Treatment Action Campaign

The country's strongest HIV lobby group won't back South Africa's HIV and TB plan just yet. Here are their demands.

Why we should be making our own COVID medicines, vaccines and supplies

There's been an unequal scramble for COVID-19 vaccines, test kits and medicines that can shorten recovery periods. Wealthy countries have already pre-ordered more than 2 billion doses of vaccines that are still being tested, leaving poorer countries with few options for equal access. But what if we could produce some of the COVID solutions at home?

Past, present and future: What should be shaping Africa’s COVID-19 response

The World Health Organisation estimates that Africa will need up to 25-million respirators monthly. We must ensure that essential medical supplies such as these reach all of our communities. Now, is the time for the continent to leverage existing HIV services to boost COVID-19 testing, isolation, contact tracing and treatment.
A drug could save the lives of premature babies

Yay for SA’s child health policies, nay for outcomes

This week holds the opportunity for us to show that we are serious about having a world where no child is born to die.
About half the country’s population is younger than 15.

Tanzania: 22.8% of teen girls are mothers

Many children between the ages of nine and 12 have had sex. The average woman has about five children.