‘Let’s pray you’ll be okay’: My escape from a backyard drug rehab
By Zano Kunene South Africa plans to roll out treatment for opioid addiction to all government health facilities by 2028, according to a draft of the country’s sixth HIV action…
STI home tests could be coming to SA’s free medicine pick-up points
By Zano Kunene Big changes are coming to South Africa’s fight against sexually transmitted infections, according to a draft of the country’s fifth HIV action plan. Free home tests for…
Ozempic: A hashtag & a helpful effect collide & drain global stocks of a diabetes drug
By Zano Kunene Medicine shortages are common. But what happens when a shortage of an effective medication happens because people who the medicine isn’t intended for are drying its stocks?…
[WATCH] How does testosterone treatment help transgender men?
Testosterone treatment can help ease psychological distress for transgender men because it results in changes that make them feel more at home in their bodies, such as a beard and…
This HIV doctor is changing how he treats overweight patients. Here’s why
By Joan van Dyk, Danny Booysen HIV doctor Francois Venter explains why the treatment of obese people reminds him of the bad old days of the HIV epidemic. STANDARD END…
Zimbabwe targets HIV-positive women for cervical cancer screenings
By Hazel Marimbiza in BULAWAYO THE government says it has increased its efforts to combat cervical cancer by launching screening programmes for HIV-positive women. This comes after research by the…
How to keep people on HIV treatment during a flood
By Zano Kunene, Yolanda Mdzeke What happens when there’s a natural disaster, like a flood, and people living with HIV aren’t able to take their chronic medication? Watch to find…
Schools reopen under hygiene measures in Malawi’s major cities after delay due to cholera
BLANTYRE — Schools in Blantyre and Lilongwe, two major cities in Malawi, have reopened after the government demanded all classes suspended in the two cities for two weeks following an…
These doctors want to work in SA’s rural hospitals. But there’s no money to hire them
BY Mia Malan, Mohale Moloi and Linda Pretorius A scholarship programme has been producing doctors for South Africa’s understaffed rural hospitals since 1999, but provinces don’t have the money to…
Health Beat #4 | Can the NHI fix SA’s health budget blues?
BY Mohale Moloi, Dylan Bush, Yolanda Mdzeke, Jessica Pitchford, Mia Malan, Ntuthuko Gumbi This story was produced by the Bhekisisa Centre for Health Journalism. Sign up for the newsletter.