FACE TO FACE: Prof Naeemah Abrahams on breaking feminist stereotypes and “fighting through research and analyses”

Posted in: Healthcare system, Healthcare Workers, Latest

Professor Naeemah Abrahams, who heads the SAMRC’s Gender and Health Unit has been working in the field of gender-based violence (GBV) for thirty years. Activism always underpinned her research, which has focused on post-rape care, intimate partner femicide, and the interface between GBV and HIV. Biénne Huisman sat down with her to talk about her work, her feminism, and getting men to interrogate their perceptions of masculinity.

FACE TO FACE: Prof Naeemah Abrahams on breaking feminist stereotypes and “fighting through research and analyses”

OPINION: Conversations about sex – we must do better for young people

Posted in: HIV/AIDS, Latest, SRHR

Conversations with young people about sex can lead to safer sexual behaviour, like delayed sexual debut, the use of condoms and other contraceptives, and having fewer concurrent sexual partners but we need to give learners and young people clear and reliable information so that they can make informed choices relating to their health, writes Julia Chaskalson.

OPINION: Conversations about sex – we must do better for young people

Face to Face: Prof Helen Rees on SAHPRA, women’s rights, and her appetite for justice

Posted in: COVID-19, Healthcare system, HIV/AIDS, Latest, Reproductive Health

As a rebellious teenager growing up in the British town of Harpenden, Professor Helen Rees would sneak out to attend anti-apartheid talks. Today, she is a renowned scientist and chair of South Africa’s medicines regulator. Biénne Huisman chatted to Rees about her career, prioritising women’s reproductive health, and her role at the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority.

Face to Face: Prof Helen Rees on SAHPRA, women’s rights, and her appetite for justice

In-depth: Good sexual and reproductive health services on paper, but implementation gaps remain

Posted in: Access to Medicines, Child health, Edition 6: HIV & teens, Healthcare system, Healthcare Workers, HIV/AIDS, Latest, Reproductive Health, SRHR

Though South Africa has in some respects done well in the provision of sexual and reproductive health services for adolescent girls and young women, significant gaps remain. Tiyese Jeranji takes an in-depth look at the current policy landscape and asks how well the implementation of the policies measures up to their lofty ambitions.

In-depth: Good sexual and reproductive health services on paper, but implementation gaps remain

Women in Health: Being a midwife is a calling, says founder of Black Women Arise

Posted in: Healthcare system, Latest, Provinces, Reproductive Health, SRHR

Being a midwife is not a career for her, says Sebabatso Tsosane – it’s a calling. Refilwe Mochoari spoke to Tsosane – a midwife, lecturer, and founder of the Free State-based organisation Black Women Arise – about her passion to empower women with knowledge about their sexual and reproductive health as part of Spotlight’s Women in Health series.

Women in Health: Being a midwife is a calling, says founder of Black Women Arise

In-depth: Fewer meds stockouts at SA clinics, but contraceptives often not available

Posted in: Access to Medicines, Healthcare system, Latest, Reproductive Health, SRHR

South Africa is seeing fewer medication stockouts than in previous years but contraception shortages continue to be a problem in the country, according to a new report from the Stop Stockouts Project. Injectables, the most widely used method in South Africa, accounted for three-quarters of contraception stockouts reported. Aisha Abdool Karim unpacks what this means for women’s sexual and reproductive health.

In-depth: Fewer meds stockouts at SA clinics, but contraceptives often not available

Women in Health: How Daphney Conco dreamed of wearing a graduation gown and did it

Posted in: Healthcare system, Healthcare Workers, Latest

Dr Daphney Conco is passionate about sexual and reproductive health rights – access to abortion in particular – and that is why she is now at the forefront of research on access to abortion services in South Africa. Tiyese Jeranji spoke to her about her work, her passion for research, and how as a little girl in rural KwaZulu-Natal she dreamed of wearing a graduation gown.

Women in Health: How Daphney Conco dreamed of wearing a graduation gown and did it

Are youth-only clinics the answer to better healthcare for young people?

Posted in: Child health, Edition 6: HIV & teens, Healthcare system, HIV/AIDS, Latest, Reproductive Health, SRHR

Special youth clinics appear to be an effective means of providing healthcare services to young people who otherwise might not engage with healthcare services. But is building more youth clinics realistic given our resource constraints, or is it better to focus on making ‘normal’ clinics more youth-friendly – or should we be looking beyond clinic-based healthcare services altogether? Tiyese Jeranji investigates.

Are youth-only clinics the answer to better healthcare for young people?

Opinion: COVID-19 has been hard on kids, more support is needed

Posted in: Child health, COVID-19, Healthcare system, Latest, Mental Health

A rise in teenage pregnancies and gender-based violence coupled with the loss and uncertainty related to COVID-19 are all stressors fuelling the mental health burden the pandemic will leave on children, especially girls. If not adequately addressed, argues Kholofelo Mphahlele, the mental health consequences for a generation of children and young people could far surpass the immediate health and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving harmful long-term social and economic consequences in its wake.