Bhekisisa
latest news & developments
More HIV funding cuts are coming for SA. This time it’s a slow fade, but with clear risks
The Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria will start to cut its grant support to South Africa in just two years, with its final grant ending in eight years. Some…
Bending the curve: What a decade-long roll-out of the anti-HIV pill can teach the world
What can the roll-out of a two-monthly HIV prevention injection learn from how the daily anti-HIV pill was introduced? Create demand, make the jab easy to get hold of and ensure…
No easy fix to SA media money crisis
The closure of the New Frame, which sought to chase quality over clicks, is a cautionary tale of the pitfalls of donor funding
Obstetric violence: The hard labour of delivery
Health workers in dysfunctional settings may abuse birthing patients as part of a strange rite of passage, and low-income women with less agency are more likely to suffer…
PODCAST| Want to live longer? Here’s an exercise guide for young and old
Should you exercise a lot, or a little? Should it be in the morning or at night? Follow this easy guide to heart health
Black don’t crack: An expert busts 11 Black skin myths
The beauty and skincare world is littered with myths and misinformation about Black skin. This extract from aesthetician Diya Ayodele’s book ‘Black Skin’ busts some of the most…
Need an abortion? Find clinics you can trust here
This database shows you where you can find safe family planning services near you. It’s verified two to four times a year by a dedicated team of data capturers and ‘secret…
Vaccine passports, masks and herd immunity. Bhekisisa asks Dr Anthony Fauci
We ask the infectious diseases specialist 18 questions about the Covid-19 pandemic: from how to counter vaccine hesitancy to whether life will ever return to ‘normal’
How rare is very rare? Your questions about blood clots – answered
How rare is rare? How are the blood clots from the vaccine trial unusual? How are symptoms tracked?
‘None of us are okay’: Frustration as South Africa’s GBV initiatives stall
SA is in a rush to roll out its national GBV action plan. But as bureaucracy and the pandemic slow progress, violence against women continues unabated
Covid vaccine: Six things you need to know about the jabs
SA is on the verge of rolling out Covid-19 vaccines, but can we vaccinate children and pregnant women, and which jabs work against the 501Y.V2 variant?
#SayHerName: The faces of South Africa’s femicide epidemic
This is an ode to the women whose names made it into news outlets from 2018 to 2020. It’s also a tribute to the faceless, nameless women whose stories remain untold.
Inside George Mukhari hospital’s second wave
The Bhekisisa Centre for Health Journalism and James Oatway visited George Mukhari academic hospital to document the second-wave realities experienced by doctors and nurses
Infodemic to infowar: The circus of disinformation will spin on
More people have died in South Africa from Covid-19 than have been murdered. This hasn’t stopped a misinformation pandemic from trying to misrepresent that reality
Crime and medicine: How to keep criminals out of our hospitals
There may be no quick fix to making our hospitals safer, but there may be one simple place to start