Bhekisisa

Women’s mortality rates have been on the decline since 1950. But progress for men has been much slower. Here’s why lack of action among policymakers has led to trailing improvements in deaths among young men aged 10 to 24 years old.

December holidays are upon us and so are family braais, going to the movies and sports events. But is it safe to do these things? Well, yes and no. It depends how many people there are, how far they’re sitting from each other and how much ventilation there is.

Europe tried putting clearer labels on food to get people eating healthier. But the same approach won’t work in South Africa. Here’s how to get people away from processed food and find healthier, affordable alternatives.

There’s less demand for human ivermectin in South Africa when the country is in between COVID waves. But nobody is tracking how many people may be using the animal formulation.

Africa is building up its own vaccine manufacturing capacity which will make the continent less dependent on wealthy nations for vaccine supply.

The majority of South Africa’s public hospitals have a problem with tracking the costs of patient care, this study found. This poses a problem for the country’s plans for a National Health Insurance as hospitals could operate at a loss and face reimbursement challenges.

South Africa has enough unused doses of Pfizer vaccines to immunise half of the country’s 6.5-million children aged 12 to 17. This means matriculants will be protected as they sit their final school exams. But they’ll only be getting one dose of the two-shot vaccine.

Pregnant people are more likely to fall very ill with COVID-19 than those who are not pregnant. This is why experts recommend pregnant people get vaccinated. We answer four questions about how the jabs work during and after pregnancy.

As South Africa considers booster vaccines for some, the United States medicines regulator has approved the “mix and match” use of COVID vaccines. Data shows those who got Johnson & Johnson to begin with are better off with a Pfizer or Moderna jab in round two.

Pregnancy can be a time of joy - and sadness. Many pregnant women and mothers of infants in lower-income communities acknowledge feeling depressed during this time. Here’s how community health workers helped alleviate this.