We are failing young women in South Africa
Thuthukile Mbatha, Guest Editor, Spotlight Note: This is the editorial from a special print edition of Spotlight guest-edited by young people. Every week in South Africa, around two thousand young…
Young women: Seven myths about menstruation and reproductive health
Sexual and reproductive health education being taught in South African schools has left some female learners and young women feeling less confident about the right time to engage in sexual activity, about what to do when their menstrual cycle comes, and even about understanding how contraceptives should be used.
Ambulance bases of shame
An ambulance base has to comply with a certain set of minimum requirements contained in among others the National Health Act. At the end of last year, the Department of…
Health4Sale Part 6: Magashule cleared way for controversial private ambulance company to cash in
Buthelezi EMS netted more than R15-million from two suspect back-dated price increases from the Free State Department of Health, apparently without much scrutiny.
Health4Sale part 5: Controversial private ambulance company in line for new Free State tender
A Gauteng-based ambulance operator, Buthelezi EMS, that is currently the subject of both Hawks and Treasury investigations has scored road and air ambulance contracts in the so-called Premier league provinces amounting to over a Billion Rand since 2013 and they are frontrunners to secure a lucrative new three year tender for Emergency Medical Services in the Free State.
North West doctors release open letter calling for end to closure of health services
Over 70 North West doctors have released an open letter expressing their concern over the impact the ongoing labour action is having on the delivery of health services.
Health4Sale Part 4: Buthelezi EMS running a taxi service, not an ambulance service – Doctors and nurses
Doctors and nurses in the Free State and North West have accused Buthelezi EMS, the private company contracted to run provincial ambulance services, of operating like a minibus taxi and “drop and go” service.
Health4Sale Response: Motsoaledi asks treasury to investigate Buthelezi EMS
Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has asked treasury to investigate the procurement of ambulance services from Buthelezi EMS, a controversial private ambulance company that has been awarded large contracts in the Free State and North West.
Health4Sale Part 3: Mpumalanga department of health broke rules for controversial ambulance company
The Mpumalanga Department of Health has defied guidance from its provincial treasury and acted in contravention of the Public Finance Management Act in awarding a three-year contract to Buthelezi HEMS, a joint venture between a controversial private ambulance company called Buthelezi EMS and HALO Aviation. This has emerged from court documents obtained by Spotlight.
Health4Sale Part 2: NorthWest pays double for dubious private ambulance service
The North West health department has effectively outsourced the bulk of its emergency medical service to a private ambulance company who is submitting hugely inflated invoices every month with very little appetite by officials to stop the looting.
Spotlight joins the dots in this two-part investigative feature Health4Sale.
Health4Sale Part 1: North West blows HIV money on controversial private ambulance service
The North West Department of Health blew over R100-million expressly earmarked for HIV on two controversial private ambulance companies. Serious red flags are also raised by some of the invoices submitted by one of these companies.
Spotlight joins the dots in this two-part investigative feature Health4Sale.
TB response tests Ramaphosa’s commitment to the poor
South Africa has been in the grip of a TB crisis for decades. It is a crisis that has mostly dropped below the radar – socially, politically and economically.