September 18
South Africa: How to Save More Mothers From Dying During Childbirth
COVID-19 temporarily reversed South Africa's hard-won reduction in maternal mortality, but the death rate has now stabilised, and hopes are high that the downward trend will… Read more »
August 14
South Africa: New Western Cape Health MEC Mireille Wenger Says Child Health Is Near Her Heart
Mireille Wenger was recently appointed to the Western Cape's top health job. Biénne Huisman chatted to Wenger about health policy, child health, and the challenge of… Read more »
June 13
South Africa: Why Affirming Treatment for Gender Questioning Youth Matters in South Africa
Gender-affirming healthcare for transgender youth has sparked intense debate globally. In South Africa, we need to significantly improve accessibility throughout the country,… Read more »
March 28
South Africa: Focus On Children, Urges President of SA Society of Psychiatrists
There are serious gaps in psychiatry regarding treatment, prevention and care for children and adolescents in South Africa. Offering solutions, Dr Anusha Lachman tells Spotlight… Read more »
November 27, 2023
South Africa: Antibiotic Slashes Risk of Drug-Resistant TB in Kids, Finds Major SA Study
For decades the standard way to prevent people who were exposed to tuberculosis (TB) from falling ill with the disease was to offer them a medicine called isoniazid, taken daily… Read more »
November 07, 2023
South Africa: 'The Situation Is Not Going Away,' Says Inspiring TB Doctor
Dr Juli Switala from Pretoria has treated children in Nigeria, helped fatally ill patients during the 2014 Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone, and has delivered babies at Afghanistan's… Read more »
October 18, 2023
South Africa: Childhood Exposure to Violence Associated With Mental Health Conditions Later in Life, Experts Say
That South Africa has unusually high levels of inter-personal violence is clear from the country's crime statistics and regular news reports about violent crime. The knock-on… Read more »
October 03, 2023
South Africa: 'There's So Much Respiratory Disease and There's So Much to Be Done,' Says Leading Paediatrics Prof
New vaccines to protect infants and unborn babies from contracting highly contagious seasonal Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) were just approved in the United States. Speaking… Read more »
August 31, 2023
South Africa: Breastfeeding While Hungry - Is Enough Being Done to Support Mothers in the Free State?
Earlier this month, from 1 to 7 August, the world celebrated breastfeeding week under the theme - "Enabling breastfeeding: making a difference for working parents". This global… Read more »
July 27, 2023
South Africa: The Complexities of Traditional and Medical Circumcision in the Eastern Cape
There is compelling scientific evidence that Voluntary Male Medical Circumcision (VMMC) is both safe and significantly reduces a man's risk of becoming infected with HIV. While… Read more »
July 19, 2023
South Africa: In-Depth - How Big a Problem Is TB in SA's Schools?
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 304 000 people in South Africa fell ill with tuberculosis (TB) in 2021. Since only a fraction of people who breathe in TB… Read more »
July 12, 2023
South Africa: In-Depth - Children Are Still Dying of Malnutrition in the Free State
Even in 2023, infants under five years in the Free State are still dying from a lack of healthy food. From April to June this year, 21 children in the province died from severe… Read more »
June 21, 2023
South Africa: Sobering Moments At Opening of SA Aids Conference
Amid the festivities during the opening ceremony of the 11th SA AIDS Conference in Durban on Tuesday, there were also several sobering moments. Chief among these was when co-chair… Read more »
June 12, 2023
Africa: Antibiotic-Resistant Bugs Claim Over 200 000 Infants Globally Per Year, Finds Major Study
"The death of a child affects us all. Witnessing the loss of a newborn baby who has sepsis is terribly traumatic, especially so when antibiotics used to treat the child are… Read more »
June 01, 2023
South Africa: Part of Child Protection Is Allowing Children to Be Themselves When It Comes to Gender
South Africa is observing Child Protection Week from 29 May to 5 June to shine a spotlight on the rights of children as enshrined in the Constitution and the Children's Act. The… Read more »
March 27, 2023
South Africa: We Need More Dedicated Investment to Address TB in Children
The theme of last year's World Tuberculosis (TB) Day was 'Invest to end TB' - an apt theme acknowledging the critical shortfall in funding for TB if we are to meet the 2035 goal of… Read more »
December 15, 2022
South Africa: SA to Receive Donation of New Child-Friendly DR-TB Medicines
South Africa's National Department of Health is set to receive a donation of child-friendly formulations of several medicines used to treat drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB). It… Read more »
December 14, 2022
South Africa: Pilot Programme Improving Access to Mental Health Services for Children in Khayelitsha
Earlier this year, the annual South African Child Gauge indicated that child and adolescent mental health services in South Africa are in crisis - mostly due to inadequate… Read more »
December 09, 2022
South Africa: An Open Letter to Us Girls Who Still Shoulder Much of the HIV Burden in South Africa
Dear Adolescent girl, Read more »
December 07, 2022
South Africa: Testing Stool Can Help Detect TB in Children
Most tuberculosis (TB) testing today relies on sputum samples coughed up from the lungs. This makes intuitive sense since pulmonary (or lung) TB is the most common form of TB and… Read more »
September 28, 2022
South Africa: In-Depth - What's Behind the Increase in Malnutrition Deaths Among Free State Infants?
On the day Luleka Gqumeta's baby died, she says she was in the streets begging for food for her and her children. It was October 2020, amid COVID-19-related social restrictions and… Read more »