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Unpacking the myths and misunderstandings in the Covid-19 vacuum

Health Philip Machanick - 12 Jul 2020

The basics of epidemiology will help explain why some of the believable but incorrect propositions about the pandemic are wrong.

Locally built ventilators ready in two weeks as Covid cases rise

Coronavirus Athandiwe Saba - 7 Jul 2020

The companies making the non-invasive devices, which will create jobs and are cheaper than other types, include car and diving manufacturers

Gauteng health MEC Bandile Masuku’s first rule: Don’t panic

Coronavirus Sarah Smit - 2 Jul 2020

As Gauteng braces for its Covid-19 peak, the province’s MEC for health, Bandile Masuku, is putting his training to the test as he leads efforts to tackle the impending public health crisis

This simple model shows the importance of wearing masks and social distancing

Coronavirus Jeyaraj Vadiveloo - 29 Jun 2020

This simple actuarial model uses general guidelines, rather than data and assumptions about Covid-19 specifically, to simulate the effect of safety protocols

Q&A: 9 things to know about Africa’s first Covid-19 vaccine trial

Coronavirus Mia Malan - 24 Jun 2020

In about a year we’re likely to know if a candidate vaccine we’re beginning to test this week is effective against a virus that has devastated our country

Transgender rights activists champion telemedicine

Coronavirus Carl Collison - 14 Jun 2020

Little or no access to certain health treatments is nothing new for trans people. But Covid-19 has made it worse, they say, and now is the ideal time to reconsider telemedicine

Why the public-private partnership to build Lesotho’s only specialist hospital floundered

Health Pascalinah Kabi - 13 May 2020

It was hailed as a revolution in private investment in healthcare in Africa, but almost a decade after it was opened, Lesotho’s only specialist hospital takes up almost a third of the country’s entire health budget. Now, we may finally know why

Lockdown escape: Strained services struggle to rescue abused women

Article Joan Van Dyk - 23 Apr 2020

After Easter there was an uptick in domestic violence cases in the country. Shelters have lost income and social workers are having to field as many as 1000 calls a day from women who are now stuck at home with their abusive partners

Can you pause a pandemic? Inside the race to stop spread of Covid-19

Article Joan Van Dyk - 26 Mar 2020

Tracing the close contacts of people who test positive for coronavirus disease is a delicate dance. Here’s why these health workers wait for the cover of darkness to take action

Forced sterilisation is ‘inhuman’

Article Shaazia Ebrahim - 6 Mar 2020

According to the Commission for Gender Equality’s latest report, this practice is a direct attack on HIV-positive women

The vax revolution will be filmed

Article Matthew Du Plessis - 6 Mar 2020

New tech is poised to help vaccines last longer and reach many more people with far less fuss

Rethinking the mosquito net

Article Melody Schreiber & Laura Lopez Gonzalez - 28 Feb 2020

Disease-spreading mozzies may be getting wise to our best defences, but science is fighting back with a new kind of chemistry. But will advances be able to outpace nature?

Long walk to recovery: This rural hospital revolutionised rehab

Article Joan Van Dyk - 12 Feb 2020

A road accident, a bad fall, a stabbing. A single moment and a traumatic head injury can change everything in your life, leaving you to relearn the basics — walking, talking, grasping. When the unthinkable happens, rehabilitation services can be the start of the journey back to a semblance of the life you once had. If you can access them

As climate crisis bites, cricket-eating goes global

Article Ann Mikia - 31 Jan 2020

Farming insects requires less water than cattle rearing and they emit fewer greenhouse gases. Here’s why you should make them part of your diet

Prevent the next flu pandemic

Article Elhadj As Sy - 22 Oct 2019

The ability to contain outbreaks exists but states ignore the international treaty for health security

Collusion, competition and corruption — A new Rx for better healthcare?

Article Laura Lopez & Gonzalez 1 - 4 Oct 2019

The three Cs: Collusion, competition and corruption. There’ll be a renewed push to safeguard your money when it comes to healthcare, but will it work?

Consumers get the short end of the private healthcare stick, commission finds

Article Thando Maeko - 30 Sep 2019

Competition Commission reveals anti-competitive practices in private healthcare

The power, the purse strings and the NHI

Article Russel Rensburg - 20 Sep 2019

The NHI Bill proposes major shifts in who controls our national and provincial health budgets. Will the draft legislation rob provinces of control?

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