Monkeypox: Our top 10 questions answered
This week South Africa recorded its first case of monkeypox. Spotlight asked the experts and consulted WHO and NICD documents for answers to our top ten questions about monkeypox.
Unacceptably long wait for surgery in Free State, healthcare workers and patients say
Surgical waiting lists are not unexpected in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, but there are indications that the situation is particularly acute in the Free State, and possibly for reasons that are not directly related to the pandemic. Also, the department of health failed to offer any explanation or details of current surgery waiting lists and waiting times reported by healthcare workers and patients. Refilwe Mochoari reports.
NORTH WEST HEALTH: The hits and misses of the section 100 intervention
The North West Health Department was placed under administration in 2018 following several governance failures and allegations of fraud and corruption that resulted in widespread service delivery protests. Now, almost four years later as the period under administration is set to come to an end, Nthusang Lefafa asks what has improved under administration and what has not.
NHI Lawmakers: Interview with FF Plus MP Philip van Staden
On being a member of Parliament, Philip van Staden from the Freedom Front Plus says he is living his childhood dream. Biénne Huisman spoke to him about his career in politics, his thoughts on national health insurance, his passion for the health portfolio, and his time as a member of the Gauteng Legislature after the Life Esidimeni tragedy.
Positive signs for new TB testing strategy
Under a new tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis strategy, people considered to be at high risk of TB are offered molecular TB tests, even if they do not have any symptoms. A landmark study in 2020 showed that such a strategy can help diagnose more people more quickly. Now, early indications are that it also works in the real world and South Africa’s lab service says they can cope with the increased demand. Tiyese Jeranji reports.
Intimate partner violence in SA – is it getting worse and how do we tackle it?
A third or even up to half of women and girls in South Africa aged 15 and older have either experienced physical or sexual intimate partner violence (IPV). Some experts say South Africa almost has a perfect storm of IPV drivers. Elsabé Brits unpacks some of the recent findings published in a landmark Lancet Psychiatry Commission on interpersonal violence and asks experts how we can address this in South Africa.
INTERVIEW: “Guys, I think that’s a new variant” – de Oliveira reflects on two years chasing the virus
South African bioinformatics expert Professor Tulio de Oliveira was recently honoured with Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people award. Biénne Huisman sat down with him to talk about his part in the discovery of new COVID-19 variants, his chats with the President, and the treasure trove of scientific research excellence in Africa.
ANALYSIS: NHI Bill – clause-by-clause headbutting begins in Parliament
In what is expected to become a verbal minefield littered with the usual ideological quips, the members of Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Health this week started the clause-by-clause deliberations on the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill. Alicestine October assesses the first leg of the deliberations and issues set to pop up in the next round of deliberations, starting with clause 5 of the Bill next week.
Over 3million people on new HIV drug, but not all smooth sailing
In 2019, the Department of Health started providing the antiretroviral drug dolutegravir as part of HIV treatment in the public sector. Three years later, close to 3.2 million people in South Africa are taking dolutegravir every day. Even so, the rollout of dolutegravir hasn’t all been smooth sailing. Elri Voigt investigates how the massive undertaking of switching millions of people to a new drug has gone.
Lives depend on SA finding more stem cell donors
Unathi Mtengwane from Zeerust in the North West needs a compatible stem cell donor for a transplant that could save his life. However, for some patients who can’t find a compatible donor the process can be arduous, expensive, and littered with legal barriers, writes Thabo Molelekwa.
Open letter: Dear Minister Phaahla, the ‘medical tourist mom’ is little more than a convenient myth.
Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla recently announced in Parliament that his department will conduct a study on the treatment of foreign nationals at public health facilities in South Africa. Phaahla singled out foreign nationals (pregnant women) seeking maternity services as the major concern, but the idea of the medical tourist mom is a myth, writes Kholofelo Mphahlele in this open letter.
Opinion: Gauteng health in flames – making it through the fires and fumbles of SA’s richest province
Gauteng is a province of immense potential and tragic recent history. It is a province that has allowed politics to overwhelm the interests of patients, argues Sasha Stevenson in a talk delivered as part of a lecture series hosted by the Steve Biko Centre for Bioethics at Wits University.