Creator
Faranaaz Parker
Faranaaz Parker is a reporter for the Mail & Guardian. She writes on everything from pop science to public health, and believes South Africa needs carbon taxes and more raging feminists. When she isn't instagramming pictures of her toddler or obsessively checking her Twitter, she plays third-person shooters on Xbox Live.
Libya’s war kills little children in need of heart surgery
The country’s health system is ravaged, but a team of volunteer doctors visit regularly: operating on the desperate and training local medical staff.
Truth about cataracts is plain to see: They can be treated
More developing countries are offering sight-saving surgery in their public health systems, but specialist eye surgeons are in short supply.
Angola’s yellow fever outbreak: vaccines desperately needed
Only six out of ten Angolan children have been vaccinated against yellow fever.
User-friendly TB drugs for children could be on their way
The regimen for children is bitter adult drugs, which are taken over an extended period – and it’s worse in cases of drug-resistant tuberculosis.
Quick urine TB test a life-saver, but only in certain cases
There are fears that, because the LAM measure is easily administered, it could be used when conditions call for more detailed analysis.
A jab controls sandfly bite killer fever, but not in South Sudan
Early diagnosis, a simple test, vector curbs and a new medicine is effective in many areas, but South Sudan can’t rely on this treatment.
TB drug priced out of reach
A promising new TB drug is now on the market but doctors say it’s been priced out of reach.
Riah Phiyega: Failure and dashed hopes
South Africans had high hopes when Riah Phiyega stepped into office as national police commissioner last year. Those hopes, it seems, were misplaced.
Mid-term budget speech 2013: Gordhan cuts the fat
Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan has announced sweeping cuts to the pricey perks enjoyed by civil servants.
Teens, feel free to get your freak on
Well, that’s what some people seem to think a recent Concourt ruling on consensual teen sex boils down to. Newsflash: it doesn’t.
Concourt slaps down ‘unconstitutional’ sections of Sexual Offences Act
In a unanimous judgment, judges have declared sections of the Sexual Offences Act unconstitutional as they infringe on the rights of adolescents.
Poverty report indicates Africa is stagnating
An Afrobarometer survey has found that despite economic growth, there has been virtually no change in poverty levels in Africa over the last decade.
Heritage Day: Braai, and braai proudly!
As the debate rages on about the commercialisation of Heritage Day, in the absence of a better suggestion Faranaaz Parker sticks with the chops.
Zuma’s positive reporting call is ‘plain bad news’
Commentators have shredded President Jacob Zuma’s appeal for positive news reporting, saying it is destructive, not patriotic.
Mexico is no mentor for SA press, Mr President
President Jacob Zuma held up Mexico as an example of the reporting South African news organisations should strive for. But what does that mean?