South Africa’s dangerous mix of fake medicines and bogus doctors
Fake and substandard medicines, along with bogus healthcare practitioners, pose a growing threat to patient safety in South Africa.
It is time for SA to get serious about the link between substance abuse and mental health
Substance abuse is both a symptom and a consequence of untreated mental illness, and government needs to urgently step in to confront this dangerous overlap, argues Gauta Mashego of SECTION27.
Participatory democracy: What will be on the line when the country’s highest court turns to NHI in May?
From 5–7 May, the Constitutional Court will hear two of the multiple challenges to the NHI Act. Sasha Stevenson, Executive Director of SECTION27, considers what will be on the line in these first potentially landmark cases that deal with the process that led to the Act.
What the law actually says about migrants’ right to access healthcare in SA
The media has reported several incidents where people were turned away at public healthcare facilities because they did not possess South African identity documents. As related cases slowly grind through the courts, Teri Brown and Thembi Mahlathi of SECTION27 connect the dots between what the law says and what people are experiencing.
As NHI stalls, the real debate is about trade offs
Healthcare funding is always about trade-offs, writes Thoneshan Naidoo, CEO of the Health Funders Association. The hardest question in healthcare is not what we would like to provide, he argues, but what we can provide sustainably, fairly and at scale.
After centuries, TB is still the bridesmaid, never the bride
The wins are there but the underlying reality remains, writes Professor Kogie Naidoo as she likens TB to a bridesmaid awaiting its turn to garner attention. The analogy is relevant given the overwhelming number of new TB infections and deaths each year globally for a disease persistently sitting in the shadow of other communicable and non-communicable diseases.
To eliminate TB, we need to make testing more accessible and affordable
New TB tests have massive potential for South Africa’s struggle to get to grips with the age-old disease. Making the most of these new tests will require both ambition and smart implementation, argue Gaurang Tanna and Dr Yogan Pillay.
The fight against TB is also the fight for human rights
The persistence of TB is a reminder that medical solutions alone are not enough. Renier Coetzee and Ingrid Schoeman write that the disease thrives in conditions shaped by social injustice, including poverty, overcrowded housing, under-resourced health systems, and unequal access to care.
The hunt for a new TB vaccine: Why we are now so close, and why it matters
The only tuberculosis vaccine we have is a century old and offers only limited efficacy in children. With leading South African researchers involved in the pivotal clinical trials of three new tuberculosis vaccine candidates, we are on the verge of a major breakthrough, writes Associate Professor Angelique Kany Kany Luabeya.
A new TB dashboard can help boost testing. We need to make the most of it
The new government TB dashboard is a step forward for transparency and accountability in South Africa’s response to the ancient, but still deadly, disease. It is critical that we use it wisely to boost our testing efforts, argues a group of South Africa’s leading TB activists ahead of World TB Day on March 24th.
Goodbye Ufrieda Ho, keeper of Jozi and wordsmith of the people
Journalist Ufrieda Ho passed away of cancer on 9 March 2026. In a career spanning three decades, she wrote for The Star, Daily Maverick, Spotlight, and many other publications.
NHI pause should be used to build stronger healthcare foundations
Universal health coverage cannot succeed with fragmented systems, weak data, and largely symbolic participation. A recent court-ordered pause to NHI implementation offers a chance to build the foundations properly, argue Dr Haseena Majid and Professor Mogie Subban.