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Codeine abuse is a habit, but how should South Africa deal with it?
All codeine products might soon require a prescription, taking them out of the reach of people needing only a mild pain killer.
Why linking pads to sex may speak volumes about how we stigmatise menstruation
Anna Dahlqvist reflects on a short history of a messy 'problem', or how the world taught you to fear your period.
HIV treatment: Where are the men?
Our failure to adequately engage men with health services reduces the effectiveness of the many impressive, new HIV prevention breakthroughs.
Melinda Gates on what’s best for children
Family planning is not a luxury to everyone. Melinda Gates talks about why she has dedicated so much of her time to helping women plan their families.
Don’t believe the hype: Why increases to the health budget on paper don’t translate...
Legal claims against the department now amount to more than half of some provincial health budgets. Less money now will only mean more claims later.
Eating to survive: How to know if your party is taking hunger seriously
David Harrison breaks down five ways in which hunger among children can be decreased and explains why it’s important to hold the party you plan to vote for accountable to do something about food insecurity.
Old lessons, new pandemic: ‘We showed up to do COVID-19 testing & communities told...
Globally, medical male circumcision projects have pivoted to become part of the COVID-19 response. Find out what this means for programmes on the ground.
How one policy change could curb two airborne epidemics in South Africa
South Africa must make dramatic shifts in its COVID-19 prevention strategies to include new evidence that SARS-CoV-2 spreads mainly through the air.
The cost of skin cancer: South Africa is spending more than it should
Sunny weather in South Africa makes skin cancer a risk for many people.
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.
‘I’m a smoker — and I want stricter tobacco control’
Civil rights activist Koketso Moeti has been smoking for over 20 years. Yet she supports South Africa’s new Tobacco Bill, which bans indoor smoking, including vaping, in public buildings. Here’s why.
Are penis enlargements worth your while?
Endowment policies differ, but most people agree that "enlargement" promises much, delivers little.
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.
Mia Malan: Eight lessons COVID taught me about journalism
During a crisis such as the COVID pandemic, people have simple demands of the media: how to protect themselves, which government rules they have to follow, and what the future holds. Mia Malan gives eight lessons COVID holds for newsrooms.
Would you screen yourself for cervical cancer at home?
When South Africa introduced self-tests for HIV, far more people knew their status and were put on treatment. The same could happen for cervical cancer, argues this cancer advocate, and the country already has the networks, testing capacity and funding in place to make a project like this work.
Doctors must be taught how to be better counsellors on lifestyle choices
People who smoke and drink too much, don’t exercise and eat unhealthily are likely to suffer from non-communicable diseases, such as heart disease.