Healthcare is an issue that at some point touches everyone in South Africa. It is also an issue that will impact who people vote for on the 29th of May. To help voters understand just what parties are putting on the table when it comes to healthcare, Spotlight pin-pointed seven critical healthcare questions and put them to 10 political parties.
My thoughts on health workers as patient advocates stems from my experiences in both spaces – the public sector and civil society.
The Integrated School Health Policy is being implemented in public schools as the integrated School Health Programme (ISHP). The programme’s implementation supports South Africa’s commitment to “Put Children First”, as…
Mental health does not have its own ring-fenced budget and given huge inefficiencies in our mental health spending, we need to be strategic on where and how we spend the little we have. Alicestine October unpacks what a new government-commissioned mental health investment case framework can mean for access to equitable and quality mental health services in the country.
The central goal of the new NSP is prevention. In focusing on prevention, it supports the new ‘test- [caption id="attachment_5156" align="alignright" width="300"] Doris Ntuli (center) stands alongside two of her…
Some experts are calling for mental health reforms in South Africa following shocking figures presented in parliament and a new report on mental health spending.
Once widely hailed, South Africa’s Mental Health Policy Framework and Strategic Plan 2013 – 2020 lapsed last year, with mixed reviews on its implementation from mental healthcare stakeholders. The National Department of Health now says the revised and updated Policy Framework and Plan will be in place in the next financial year. Tiyese Jeranji spoke to experts and activists about what the lapsed policy framework achieved and what to improve.
The recent floods in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape showed us how climate change harms people’s health and healthcare services. On the other hand, modern health care systems contribute to climate change through large greenhouse gas emissions. In the development of South Africa’s National Health Insurance system we have an opportunity to address both these sides of the challenge that climate change poses for health systems, argues Dr Louis Reynolds of the People’s Health Movement SA.
Missed deadlines, non-communication and excuses sum up the overwhelming “responses” from the country’s nine health MECs when Spotlight asked them to reflect on their time in office and what people can expect from them beyond the elections.
The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) reports for Spotlight on some of its recent work in the seven provinces where TAC has branches and provincial structures.
Eight days ago President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a national state of disaster. Spotlight looks back at the last week and listens to what community groups, farm workers, taxi operators and others have to say about COVID-19 and the various measures to prevent or slow its spread.
The latest edition of the South African Child Gauge focuses on child and adolescent mental health and highlights the importance of early interventions for good mental health outcomes. Tiyese Jeranji looked at the report’s findings and recommendations and asked the health department how it will tackle issues highlighted about child and adolescent mental health in the country.
