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Opinion

The Bhekisisa Centre for Health Journalism is based in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Bhekisisa is one of only a few media outlets in the Global South specialising in solutions-based narrative features and analysis. We not only uncover problems but also critically evaluate the solutions meant to fix them. It’s an approach we also take with our opinion pieces.

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The situation of detainees in remand is so bad

Overcrowded jails deadly, inhumane

The situation of detainees in remand is so bad, it exceeds the punishment of incarceration.
An estimated 6.8 million people in South Africa are HIV positive.

HIV researchers, citizens must be part of decisions

If the progress we see today is anything to go by, it means we are closer than ever to having an HIV vaccine.
Women queue outside of a Malawian health facility for healthcare for their children. Moving rape crisis centres out of central hospitals in Malawi and into clinics closer to communities might increase the number of people who use them

Mother and child health must improve

Increasing access to health services will prevent many mothers and newborn babies from dying.
The HPCSA's competency is now being investigated by Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi.

Headache a day helps HPCSA keep media at bay

The council issued an incorrect media statement on its Tim Noakes hearing on Friday. But its media blunders are not new.
Done with hiding in the bathroom: Demelza Bush has come to terms with the fact that she is neither a man or a woman.

Genderqueer: Existing outside the binary

When Demelza Bush was a little girl, she knew she wasn't. And they weren't a boy either.
There is evidence to suggest that TB itself is a risk factor for developing diabetes.

Comment: Do we take state help for granted?

SA’s disability allowance eases the financial and emotional burden of people with tuberculosis.
Over the past decade

Teenage mothers are not ‘terrorists’ who need to be punished

But few will to listen to researchers who refute society’s accepted notion that teenage pregnancy is damaging to the child, mother and society.
Justice came too late: Thembekile Mankayi died six days before a court awarded him compensation for falling ill with lung disease

Miners seek justice over killer dust

Workers afflicted with silicosis and/or TB launch historic class action lawsuit for compensation.
At least one in four children in Africa is still not receiving the vaccinations they need.

Measles threat puts Ebola to shame

The disease is outfoxing prevention efforts, thanks in part to vaccination myths.
We can get polio out of Africa this year and out of every country in the world in the next several years, say Bill and Melinda Gates.

Gates Foundation makes ‘Big Bet’ for the future

Philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates released their annual letter on Thursday. In it, they predict what the world would look like by 2030.
Santie Pretorius lost more than 100kg after undergoing bariatric surgery

My controversial 100kg revolution

Santie Pretorius details her weight loss journey, which included surgery, in a new book.
Life: Pelagie Nyirambarushimana and her child Francine Niyonshuti at the Central University Hospital of Kigali. Rwanda has made drastic improvements in reducing child mortality.

Good health without the fear of ruin

Twenty years after the genocide, Rwanda’s health system is showing drastic improvements.
An estimated 6.8 million people in South Africa are HIV positive.

HIV fight requires wisdom

The health minister and UNAids are jumping the gun by not consulting activists.
Minimal: Many elements in clinical care are routine and should be standardised.

Simple logic saves patients’ lives

Doctors and nurses don't need a miracle drug to prevent the massive number of premature deaths.
Wasteland: Health services in rural areas are often not up to the task required of them.

Care is cast aside beyond the city limits

Primary healthcare barely exists outside our urban centres, and apartheid-ordained inequality is stark.
Junior doctors lives stand still as they wait to be paid after the human resource staff failed to capture their details to the payroll system on time.

Health systems innovation is the path to better health

New health discoveries are often not immediately accessible or affordable to the average individual, particularly in low and middle-income countries.