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Opinion

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.

What if you could report gender-based violence at … your local supermarket?

In the time of COVID-19, social distancing measures can make it harder to report and screen for gender-based violence (SGBV). In South Africa, we've taken chronic medication pick up out of clinics, maybe it's time to time to do the same for the reporting of SGBV.

Why medical aids are so expensive

Greater collaboration and sharing of information between stakeholders will lead to reductions in costs.
Give a young woman as little as R100 a month and what does it buy her? School supplies

Could R100 a month be enough to keep South Africa’s young women HIV free?

In a world hemmed in by patriarchy and poverty, cash transfers could be the missing link in SA’s HIV prevention programmes.

Figures & feelings: How trust can help repair a broken health system

More than two decades ago, an unthinkable genocide rocked Rwanda. What happened next could be a study in how to remake a health system from its ashes and why metrics are a mix of evidence — and trust.
(Baz Ratner

This country has upheld its ban on gay sex. Here’s why it could be...

“The failure to decriminalise consensual same-sex relations will undermine Kenya’s aim of reaching universal health coverage,” UNAids says.
Boys prepare fishing boats for night fishing in Lake Tanganyika at sunset.

Fishing and family planning – how the two are linked

Sometimes, delivering mixed messages is a good thing, as an integrated project in the Lake Tanganyika region has proved.
It is too much insulin – a hormone the body produces in response to eating carbohydrates – that packs on the kilograms and makes us fat.

Obese SA has to get a move on

There is a simple way to combat chronic lifestyle diseases, and that is to eat properly and exercise.
Post-partum pregnancy can be prevented through correct contraceptive use.

Five African states help women prevent pregnancy right after birth

Postpartum or after birth family planning can reduce one in three maternal deaths, one in 10 infant deaths and one in five child deaths.
Junior doctors lives stand still as they wait to be paid after the human resource staff failed to capture their details to the payroll system on time.

Health systems innovation is the path to better health

New health discoveries are often not immediately accessible or affordable to the average individual, particularly in low and middle-income countries.
Women queue outside of a Malawian health facility for healthcare for their children. Moving rape crisis centres out of central hospitals in Malawi and into clinics closer to communities might increase the number of people who use them

Mother and child health must improve

Increasing access to health services will prevent many mothers and newborn babies from dying.
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.
There is no vaccine for hand

Explainer: Why children are at risk of hand, foot and mouth disease

Hand, foot and mouth disease is a viral infection that can affect infants and young children.

Scientists are working to fast-forward COVID-19 research, but not at the expense of ethics

Two-dozen experimental COVID-19 vaccines are now in human clinical trials, according to the World Health Organisation. It usually takes more than a decade to develop a new vaccine — but just because we’re expediting research to curb the new coronavirus doesn’t mean we can leave communities behind.
Unhealthy situation: The Eastern Cape health department shocked the community by shutting down the village clinic in Lusikisiki

Clinic victory – A shot in the arm for people’s rights

If the community stays vigilant, lives will be improved for many years.
The 2016 World Aids Day special report focuses on what it will take to reach the 90-90-90 targets to end the Aids epidemic by 2030.

What will it take to end Aids by 2030?

Scientific advances mean nothing if people are too ashamed and feel too judged to seek them out.
As good as a trainer... well

How to get the most out of your gym membership

Finally, go where you've always feared to tread at the gym with these four tips.