June 23, 2023
South Africa: Taking a Spoon to a Knife Fight - Is SA Ready for Rising Obesity Rates?
Experts describe rising obesity rates in South Africa as an "urgent crisis", "a tsunami" - even an "epidemic" - that is costing lives, not to mention billions of rands. Tackling… Read more »
June 22, 2023
South Africa: Right of Reply - Reducing the Surgical and Cancer Treatment Backlogs Is an Urgent Priority
Recently an opinion piece was published on this platform bemoaning what the author described as a "... lack of urgency" to tackle the backlog of cancer treatment in Gauteng,… 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 19, 2023
South Africa: Can South Africa Meet Diabetes Targets, and Would We Know If We Did?
South Africa has the highest prevalence of diabetes in Africa, according to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF). In 2021, an estimated one in nine adults in the country had… Read more »
June 15, 2023
Africa: In-Depth - What It Means to Build Genomics Capacity in Africa
South African scientists - notably, the team headed by Professor Tulio de Oliveira - were thrown into the global spotlight through their pivotal role in detecting and monitoring… Read more »
June 14, 2023
South Africa: Hospital Histories - 151 Years Later, the Drumming of Little Feet At Brooklyn Chest Hospital
As Dr Julian te Riele unlocks a steel gate, excited young voices yelp, "Doctor, doctor, doctor!" Soon after, little bodies are huddled and pressed around his legs. Read more »
June 13, 2023
South Africa: Community-Based Testing Boosts Diagnosis of Infectious TB, Study Finds
Every year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), tens of thousands of people who fall ill with tuberculosis (TB) in South Africa are not diagnosed. Globally, of the… 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 09, 2023
South Africa: Worrying Lack of Urgency As Gauteng Health Sits On Money Earmarked to Outsource Urgent Cancer Treatment
It is almost three months since - partly through the efforts of SECTION27 and Cancer Alliance - money was made available to the Gauteng Health Department to outsource radiation… Read more »
June 08, 2023
South Africa: In-Depth - Are Measles, Mumps, and Diphtheria Outbreaks Harbingers of Worse to Come?
So far this year the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) has issued reports on three different outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases - measles, mumps, and… Read more »
June 07, 2023
Africa: Professor Soraya Seedat On the 'Workings of the Brain' and the Realities of Psychiatry
Behind Professor Soraya Seedat's desk in her office on the University of Stellenbosch's Tygerberg campus in Parow, hangs a striking gold-framed painting by a patient diagnosed with… Read more »
June 06, 2023
South Africa: Is SA On Track to Solve Its Nursing Crisis?
Nurse shortages and the training of nurses in South Africa were in the spotlight at a two-day conference on the future of nursing hosted by the South African Nursing Council (SANC)… 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 »
May 23, 2023
South Africa: New Policies Aim to Integrate Mental Health Support Into HIV Services
South Africa has both high rates of HIV and mental health conditions. Around 13.2% of people in South Africa are living with HIV, according to the latest estimates from Thembisa,… Read more »
May 29, 2023
South Africa: Interview - Dr Lebogang Phahladira On His Journey From Studying By Candlelight to Winning a Major Schizophrenia Research Award
In his Twitter biography, 40-year-old Dr Lebogang Phahladira describes himself as "a rookie clinician-researcher who keeps trying and trying". Now, he is just back from Toronto,… Read more »
May 26, 2023
South Africa: Groote Schuur Hospital Clears Backlog of 1 500 Surgeries
Much of South Africa's public health sector is plagued by long waiting times for surgery, a situation that was made much worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, an inspiring project… Read more »
May 08, 2023
South Africa: Ramaphosa Proclaims 'Health Revolution' At Second Presidential Health Summit
The Presidential Health Summit held on Thursday and Friday last week set out ten key areas targeted for intervention to meet the South African government's objective of advancing… Read more »
May 05, 2023
South Africa: Analysis - 21 Months Later, What Progress Has Wagner Made in the Eastern Cape?
For years, the Eastern Cape Department of Health has made the headlines, often for the wrong reasons. From rat-infested hospitals and newborn babies dying in overcrowded and… Read more »
May 04, 2023
South Africa: 'That Iron Suitcase Saved My Life' - Retired Nurse Reflects On 37 Years of Service
When Boitumelo Motsei became a nurse, she didn't expect that she would also have to learn to ride a bicycle or drive a donkey cart. Read more »
May 03, 2023
South Africa: In-Depth - SA's Obesity Problem and the Promise of New Weight Loss Medicines
Obesity is a complicated public health issue that can be devastating on both the societal and the individual level. On one hand, it costs our economy millions and is a strain on… Read more »
May 02, 2023
South Africa: Eikehof Care Home - a Refuge for Many Cancer Patients On Treatment Far Away From Home
Even on a grey winter's day, the Eikehof care home in a quiet Athlone cul-de-sac in Cape Town is sun-washed and bright. In the kitchen, general assistants Tania Mazamebela and… Read more »
April 18, 2023
South Africa: Access to Sufficient Colostomy Bags Still Hit-and-Miss At Gauteng Hospitals
Six months after Spotlight first reported on the plight of stoma patients experiencing shortages of colostomy and urostomy bags at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital (CHBAH)… Read more »
April 11, 2023
South Africa: What New STI Prevention Findings Mean for SA
Last year, Spotlight reported that taking a widely available antibiotic after condomless sex can reduce the risk of contracting three different sexually transmitted infections… Read more »
April 13, 2023
Africa: Major Study Turns Spotlight On Formula Milk Industry
The scientific evidence that exclusive breastfeeding is best for infants is very strong. Yet, some baby milk formula companies continue to use questionable methods to create demand… Read more »
April 14, 2023
South Africa: Oral Health Services for Persons With Special Needs Still Lacking
In a landmark ruling earlier this year, the Bhisho High Court ruled that the Eastern Cape Department of Health would not need to make lump sum payments for future medical expenses… Read more »