Luvuyo Mehlwana looks back at the performance of public healthcare services in the Eastern Cape over the last five years – a term characterised by leadership instability, infrastructure problems, financial short-falls, and of course the COVID-19 pandemic.
Condom distribution in South Africa has dropped dramatically over the last five years, finds a Spotlight analysis of data recently published in the Health System Trust’s District Health Barometer.
South Africa is at the forefront of TB control efforts, striving towards improved health outcomes, argues Dr Priashni Subrayen.
Over the last four years South Africa has taken large strides in making HIV prevention pills available at public sector clinics, but uptake has not been as good as some may have hoped. Thabo Molelekwa asks several experts why this might be.
World TB Day is marked in the same week that South Africa celebrates Human Rights Day. A human rights based approach to TB mirrors a public health approach, argue Ingrid Schoeman, Sasha Stevenson, Janet Giddy, Renier Coetzee, and Petula Pienaar.
A massive and long-awaited study of an experimental tuberculosis vaccine has kicked off in South Africa. Marcus Low reports.
Non-communicable diseases are killing more and more people in South Africa yet the government missed out on raising a total of more than R15 billion for prevention efforts, argues Dr Evelyn Thsehla.
Spotlight visits Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital and sees progress for the struggling hospital but also the reality that there’s a long road ahead to undo what a health ombud report suggests has been years of neglect and poor management.
A patient-centred health system will remain an illusion under the NHI unless the public health system is ramped up to better serve users and a clear path is outlined for public-private partnerships, argue Bernard Mutsago and Haseena Majid.
The worsening climate crisis poses a threat to women and girls and their access to healthcare in the country. Matshidiso Lencoasa argues that although the ongoing climate crisis is daunting, it can serve as an opportunity for budgeting and policy-making processes to centre the most vulnerable and protect women’s right to healthcare.
Dr Ncumisa Jilata’s journey from a childhood classroom in Mthatha in the Eastern Cape to becoming the youngest neurosurgeon in Africa may have begun with a glass of water. Laura Owings spoke to her about her journey, what drives her and succeeding in the male-dominated field of neurosurgery.
Pharmacists do much more than stand behind a counter dispensing medicine. These professionals have a key role to play in the health care system and the overall well-being of people. Tiyese Jeranji spoke to a community pharmacist and pharmacists in the public health sector to understand their role and the challenges they face.
