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[WATCH] How methadone and clean needles could turn around SA’s drug crisis

  • In Pretoria, heroin and nyaope users are being given clean needles and methadone in a novel way of fighting drug dependence. Methadone is an artificially modified opioid similar to morphine, but people using it have fewer withdrawal symptoms. In a community project funded by the City of Tshwane people like Kgaugelo Baloyi are being weaned off heroin.
  • With this daily dose of medically supervised methadone and counselling from a team at a community programme called Cosup, Baloyi’s life is heading back on track.
  • Without such harm reduction, drug dependents risk HIV and other infections because they often share needles.
  • But while methadone replacement therapy has been proven to work, it’s still unavailable in most public clinics, and private health plans won’t cover it.
  • Expanding programmes like Cosup could save lives and reduce healthcare costs, transforming South Africa’s approach to drug use.
  • The health department will launch a pilot methadone programme at two clinics — one in Mpumalanga and another in North West — this year.

Read the full script for this video here.

Anna-Maria van Niekerk is Bhekisisa’s news editor. She joined the centre after six years as the managing editor of the investigative television show, Carte Blanche. Anna-Maria has an extensive career in in-depth health and human rights reporting and has been named both the Vodacom Journalist (2002) and Discovery Health Journalist of the Year (2010) for exposés on the selling of human body parts for muti in Limpopo and the devastating consequences of HIV denialism.

Jessica Pitchford is Bhekisisa's TV and multimedia editor. She's been a journalist since the early nineties and has reported on some pivotal events in South Africa’s political history, such as the country’s transition to democracy and the work of the Truth & Reconciliation Commission.

Mia Malan is the founder and editor-in-chief of Bhekisisa. She has worked in newsrooms in Johannesburg, Nairobi and Washington, DC, winning more than 30 awards for her radio, print and television work.

Thatego Mashabela is a multimedia producer at Bhekisisa.

Yolanda Mdzeke is a multimedia reporter at Bhekisisa.

An award-winning editor and producer with over 22 years in broadcasting, Floris Kotze tells compelling stories that connect with viewers. Inducted into the South African Guild of Editors, he brings creativity, attention to detail, experience and a sharp eye to every frame.

Ruan Visser is a South African-based freelance director of photography, crafting visual narratives with a keen eye for detail and a love for cinematic storytelling.

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