Bhekisisa

Three in four employed people surveyed by the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (Sadag) said their bosses expected them to do the same amount of work despite consistent power cuts. Many feared that continued load shedding will lead to job losses and derail attempts to turn around the country’s struggling economy. Mia Malan speaks to Sadag’s Cassey Chambers for Bhekisisa’s monthly TV programme, Health Beat.

What do researchers, experts and policymakers think of South Africa’s new five-year action plan for HIV, TB and STIs?

Pharmacy expert Andy Gray is the “insider’s insider” in South Africa’s public health sphere. Get to know him better here.

From scouring science journals to social media, Mohale Moloi does whatever it takes to find a great story. Here’s how a typical day goes for Bhekisisa’s Health Beat producer.

Ozempic contains a synthetic version of a hormone our bodies create. It is used to treat diabetes but also reduces the appetite of people who use the drug. Watch this for more.

For grandmothers across Côte d’Ivoire, climate change has had unexpected consequences. Once abundant with crop life, sustenance farming has become an unpredictable nightmare in the country’s villages. Young people of working age are now leaving villages in droves — without their children.

Bayanda Maseko lost 2 000 chickens and more than R100 000 he invested in his farm in 2022, all because of loadshedding. Maseko says psychological support is needed in an industry where “it's every man for himself”. He speaks about the impact of these losses on his mental health in the March episode of Bhekisisa’s television show Health Beat.

More than half of people in South Africa who are already sick with tuberculosis may not realise it because they don’t have any of the symptoms often linked with the disease, such as coughing and weight loss.

As a multimedia reporter, our Yolanda Mdzeke spends a lot of time behind the scenes. She’s often staring at a screen. Watch this video to find out how she gets the job done.

Johnson & Johnson won’t be allowed to extend its patent on a life-saving TB drug in India, opening the door to cheaper generics for governments that buy the medicine from companies in that country.