Menopause in SA: Women want answers, not ‘old granny’ labels
Across the country’s townships and rural clinics, women are breaking inherited silences to redefine reproductive ageing on their own terms. Joan van Dyk reports.
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El Niño is here. Are KZN clinics ready?
With El Niño conditions expected to bring a hotter, drier summer, Spotlight asks whether the KwaZulu-Natal government is ready to keep health services running and protect vulnerable communities during the extreme weather that may be on the way. Christina Pitt reports.
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Donated mpox vaccine stock will be deployed as needed, says health dept as cases climb to 26
Twenty of this year’s 26 confirmed mpox cases came after August, concentrated mostly within the Western Cape. Elri Voigt looks at how the virus has changed and how much of the donated vaccine is left.
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Why the Northern Cape’s only public cancer doctor for kids left for the private sector
Dr Liezl du Plessis tells Biénne Huisman about the public sector paediatric oncology unit she established in Kimberley, and how a broken system forced her to abandon this dream. She now pursues her passion treating children and teenagers in Pretoria’s private sector.
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The health department should explain when boys will be considered for HPV vaccination
South Africa’s health department should assess the inclusion of boys in its public human papillomavirus vaccination programme. This assessment, argues Professor Colleen Aldous, should account for the protection boys could gain, the cost of delivering it, and the work still required to reach girls who miss vaccination and women who need cervical screening and treatment.
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Our dashboards track South Africa’s HIV and TB response over time.
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6.1m
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145k
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74%
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Why the Northern Cape’s only public cancer doctor for kids left for the private sector
Dr Liezl du Plessis tells Biénne Huisman about the public sector paediatric oncology unit she established in Kimberley, and how a broken system forced her to abandon this dream. She now pursues her passion treating children and teenagers in Pretoria’s private sector.
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The many long journeys to get cancer treatment far from home
The road to cancer treatment in South Africa often involves many encounters with healthcare workers and long journeys far from home. From pink iPhone covers to pink embroidery yarn, and cornstarch, Biénne Huisman hears the stories of people from vast corners of inland South Africa, and beyond, who travelled to Bloemfontein for specialist medical attention…
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Amid the many challenges, there are also “major wins” such as that with cervical cancer
In recent decades, we’ve seen massive advances against several types of cancer. In a still unfolding example, South Africa’s massive HPV vaccination campaign is set to slash cervical cancer rates in the coming decades. Biénne Huisman unpacks the details in part 3 of a Daily Maverick and Spotlight special series on cancer in South Africa.
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Perspectives
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The health department should explain when boys will be considered for HPV vaccination
South Africa’s health department should assess the inclusion of boys in its public human papillomavirus vaccination programme. This assessment, argues Professor Colleen Aldous, should account for the protection boys could gain, the cost of delivering it, and the work still required to reach girls who miss vaccination and women who need cervical screening and treatment.
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We need more public sector doctors, yet many newly qualified doctors can’t get work
South Africa has a healthcare worker crisis. Those in power need to face it and think bigger about how to address it, argues Spotlight editor Marcus Low.
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Who will pay for the palliative care promised in South Africa’s next policy?
As South Africa is piecing together a new policy document on palliative care services for people with life-limiting and life-threatening illness, Motlalentoa Motsoane argues that making people’s lives better will depend on details like accurate costing, sufficient funding, and effective referral systems.
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