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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.
This three-legged potjie doesn’t wobble. NHI lessons for deep rural South Africa
For years, this mother in the rural Eastern Cape had to travel across a river and walk for two hours to get to a clinic. Then, her community teamed up with a nonprofit and the provincial health department to change that. These days, the furthest she has to walk to get her newborn to a nurse is five minutes.
From symbols of illness to signs of solidarity: The other disease masks could curb
We now have the chance to use our new mask-prowess to curb the spread of TB as well — but only if we consider keeping masks woven into the fabric of our lives after the COVID pandemic has passed.
Poverty, violence and stress: Why South Africa’s young people are anxious
A study in eThekwini in KwaZulu-Natal found that poverty and violence drive generalised anxiety disorder among youth living in urban informal settlements.
Is the HIV prevention pill a ‘magic bullet’?
PrEP is not a magic bullet. But we won’t end the HIV epidemic without it.
Did government waste R127-million on a condom no one wanted?
Activists warn new data shows government may have invested millions into the wrong female condom and may be on the verge of doing it again.
Confused about the NHI? One of SA’s leading health economists breaks it down for...
Think you know what the National Health Insurance is all about? Diane McIntyre is one of South Africa's leading health economists and contributed to policy proposals for an NHI in the country. She explains how the NHI may change how healthcare is funded and delivered in South Africa in this edited extract from the Health Systems Trust's 2020 edition of its annual South African Health Review.
Curious about what the National Health Insurance will cover? Then you’ll want to read...
What will the National Health Insurance pay for? It’s the question on everyone’s mind when it comes to the move set to redefine how healthcare is financed and managed in South Africa. We give you a behind-the-scenes look at the development of a framework that will help guide policies in this edited extract from the Health Systems Trust's latest Health Review.
How do you stop a hospital heist? Appoint a plunder-proof board
The way South Africa’s health sector is governed leaves hospitals exposed to corruption. Hospital chief executive officers are political appointments, and so are the people at the accountability bodies and regulators such as the Office of Health Standards Compliance that are set up to hold the executives responsible. Independent hospital boards must play this role instead, writes this expert.
Medical male circumcision offers a gateway to HIV testing and medical check-ups
Circumcision can prevent thousands of HIV infections by 2030 at a relatively low cost, but the uptake has been slower than expected.
A plea to parents: Listen to trans kids, not moral panics
The moral panic arising from unproven concepts such as rapid onset gender dysphoria (ROGD) has made trans lives unliveable. Despite the lack of scientific evidence, ROGD has bolstered claims that coming out as trans during adolescence is a sudden unhappiness about your birth-assigned gender brought on by a social trend.
Redefining risk: When it’s okay to be HIV-positive and have sex without a condom
HIV-positive people who have very low levels of HIV in their blood can’t sexually transmit the virus. Here’s what it means for you & SA.
A confusing COVID caseload: Why Africa’s missing numbers show a different side to the...
African countries are still struggling for COVID-19 vaccines. One reason for this is the misconception that the continent wasn’t hard-hit by the pandemic. But the numbers tell a different story.
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.
Has our COVID fight crippled our efforts to fight HIV and TB?
During the HIV pandemic, doctors were traumatised by the government’s indifference towards patients’ lack of access to treatment. In the case of COVID-19, some physicians say, they have to cope with the devastating consequences of most of the country’s health resources having been allocated to one disease.
Why you might battle to find a doctor to deliver your baby in SA
Could the legal profession be behind the droves of gynaecologists leaving their jobs?COMMENTMedico-legal litigation has exploded. As of March 2016, claims against the health...