Our health system: Babies are the “canaries in the mine”
If our hospitals were mines they would be declared unsafe. Unfortunately though our canary-babies and their mothers can’t choose not to go into the mine.
But hey, who cares?
Once upon a time and not so long ago our politicians and senior public servants cared about the lives of other people. They cared about the loss of life. They took personal risks to prevent it. They went to prison. They went into exile. They risked their own security and comfort. That was once upon a time. That was history.
Life Esidimeni: One year after the arbitration
It is one year since the Life Esidimeni arbitration kicked off. Ngqabutho Mpofu reflects on what has happened since and what still needs to happen for true justice to be delivered to those who were wronged.
More black people donating blood in SA
There was a substantial increase in black blood donors in South Africa from 2005 to 2015, while the very small risk of HIV transmission via blood transfusion became even smaller.
About your stimulus, Mr President
Spotlight has written a letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa reminding him of the widespread corruption in the health system and showing where he can look to save some money for his stimulus package.
Money will show how serious the BRICS are about TB
Whether or not the BRICS puts new money on the table for TB research, is a crucial test of whether the United Nations High-Level Meeting on TB represents a new dawn in the fight against TB, or just empty rhetoric.
Building public health system capacity for NHI: Learning from disease-specific successes for system development
Opinion: We are reminded on a daily basis of failures in our public health system: strikes, stock-outs, critical vacancies, vulnerable patients left to die, cancer patients without treatment, dilapidated and poorly equipped facilities, rampant corruption and wholesale capture of provincial health departments. By Helen Schneider, Uta Lehmann, Lucy Gilson
Not forgotten: The sordid story of how Mosebenzi ‘Gupta’ Zwane’s thugs wreaked havoc in a Free State hospital
An article this week by the Daily Maverick’s Ferial Haffajee The sordid story of Mosebenzi ‘Gupta’ Zwane – South Africa’s most captured Cabinet minister reminds us just what a scumbag this former MEC, Minister and still Member of our Parliament is.
Major downward adjustment of SA TB figures by WHO
The dramatically lower rate of new tuberculosis infections and TB deaths in South Africa just reported by the World Health Organisation primarily reflects a change in methodology rather than an actual change in the number of TB cases. Either way, it makes for welcome news.
Dear Mr President, we need to talk about our health system
Four of South Africa’s top public health systems academics last month sent a letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa as the country grapples with finding solutions for our struggling health services.
G23 women respond to Morah’s threats to activist
The Group of 23 women have come out in support of their fellow activist Vuyiseka Dubula, who recently received a threatening letter from UNAIDS Director Erasmus Morah. He demanded she retract a range of statements.
Vuyiseka Dubula statement in response to Morah
Vuyiseka Dubula last week released a statement in response to the threatening legal letter sent by former UNAIDS Country Director to South Africa Erasmus Morah.