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Why the HLM matters: The world cannot afford to lose this moment

The UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting on HIV/Aids is set to address the alarming decline in political will and funding, which threatens to unravel decades of progress in HIV…

The electronic cigarette industry arrived in the country with lots of hype and no regulation more than a decade ago. Today, the vape industry is thriving, with no guardrails in place and a growing teenage addiction problem. Photo: Olena Bohovyk/Pexels

The nicotine Wild West: How SA birthed the next generation of nicotine addicts

More than a decade after electronic cigarettes arrived in South Africa with no regulation, the vape industry continues to thrive unchecked, leading to a growing teenage addiction…

Dirco spokesperson Chrispin Phiri. (@Chrispin_JPhiri/Twitter)

Dirco disputes international claims over migrant deaths in SA

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) is challenging international statements on the recent wave of violence targeting foreign nationals in South…

Ebola is back. So are the double standards

Just four years after COVID-19, the US is demanding an Ebola quarantine camp in Kenya, while Western countries impose travel bans on African nations. This article explores the…

A scene from the floods that killed more than 450 people in KwaZulu-Natal in April 2022 shows the damage. (Delwyn Verasamy)

Study: Linking climate change to health doubles support for public action

New research shows that health-based climate messaging significantly increases public support for government action, especially in South Africa where concern over children and…

The refusal to allow the cruise ship to dock in Cape Verde is an expression of the post-Covid-19 post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from which the world suffers. Photo: Cruisemapper

A cruise ship, hantavirus and global PTSD

The memory of the Covid-19 shock shapes how governments and publics react to any new outbreak with even a hint of international spread

Unsafe supply: Qwa Qwa residents use river water to do their laundry. They also collect water from the river for their homes. Photo Delwyn Verasamy

No freedom without water

Across South Africa, communities are marking Freedom Day under the weight of an escalating water crisis, where unreliable supply, contamination and ageing infrastructure continue…

High-risk areas are concentrated in townships and informal settlements, including Khayelitsha, Crossroads, Philippi and Gugulethu.

1.9 million Cape Town residents face high to very high air pollution risk, new UCT research reveals

More than 40% of Cape Town’s population is exposed to high or very high air pollution risk, according to a new UCT study that reveals sharp environmental inequalities across the…

Of the 848 wastewater treatment plants assessed nationwide, 396 are in a critical state, while only about a quarter are performing at a standard that meets regulatory requirements. Photo: Delwyn Verasamy

‘We have the skills but not the system’: Water Institute of Southern Africa on SA’s wastewater crisis

Nearly half of South Africa’s wastewater treatment plants are in a critical state, with untreated sewage polluting rivers and dams

Complex organised crime networks are fuelling a health crisis that is getting worse and addiction treatment isn’t keeping up.

Here’s how to make drug addiction a health issue, not a criminal one

Experts say South Africa’s contradictory approach to drugs — treating addiction as both a disease and a crime — is fuelling a worsening crisis in places like Westbury, where…

In recent years, research Wright and colleagues led has highlighted how prolonged heat exposure places outdoor workers, children, older people and low-income communities at increased risk of dehydration, heat stress, respiratory illness and other adverse health outcomes. The risks are expected to intensify as temperatures continue to rise. (Envato Elements)

Extreme heat is becoming Southern Africa’s defining climate and health threat, report warns

Extreme heat is no longer a future problem. A major new report warns it is intensifying inequality, illness and climate vulnerability across Southern Africa and the worst-hit are…

In recent years, research Wright and colleagues led has highlighted how prolonged heat exposure places outdoor workers, children, older people and low-income communities at increased risk of dehydration, heat stress, respiratory illness and other adverse health outcomes. The risks are expected to intensify as temperatures continue to rise. (Envato Elements)

Urban heat hits poorest areas hardest, new street data shows

A new global platform maps urban heat at street level, showing how exposure is rising and falling disproportionately on poorer communities, while giving cities tools to test…

The sulphuric stench that drifted over large parts of Johannesburg last week – described by residents as reeking of “rotten eggs”, “cat urine” and “burning sulphur” – has dissipated.

“Rotten egg” smell over Joburg highlights toxic air pollution risks

Air pollution in the Highveld Priority Area threatens lives and violates environmental rights, as hydrogen sulphide levels recently spiked over Johannesburg

‘Not us’: Sasol in Secunda. The company says all its emissions monitoring shows levels well within the limits authorised in its atmospheric emissions licences. Photo: Supplied

Residents mull source of pong

People have been reporting strong sulphur odours causing headaches and eye irritation. The city is monitoring air quality while authorities investigate potential Highveld emissions

Some Randburg suburbs have gone more than two weeks without refuse collection. (X  Yamkeleka Manjeya
@manjeya_wendy)

Refuse collection uneven in Randburg as Pikitup and workers trade blame

Some Randburg suburbs have gone more than two weeks without refuse collection as Pikitup and striking casual workers trade blame over service disruptions at the Randburg depot

Some electrical oils may contain polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) — toxic, man-made chemicals linked to cancer and a range of other health problems, the department of forestry, fisheries and the environment said on Friday.

Environment department warns against using transformer oil on the body over toxic PCB risks

The department has issued a public health warning after reports that transformer oil is being used for medicinal purposes in some communities

In circulation: Highly hazardous pesticides, including Terbufos, flood informal markets where they are sold
illegally as cheap, effective pest control. Picture: File

SA moves to ban deadly pesticide

Given the rate of deaths in 2023 and 2024, averaging one every second day, a delay of six months or more could mean up to another 100 deaths

Four toilets, built in 2013 by the organisation Candice Andisiwe Sehoma founded, are still flushing, although floods of raw sewage flow daily through the streets of Alexandra. (Sean Christie)

Building toilets, fighting TB: Candice Andisiwe Sehoma’s life of activism

From discontinued insulin pens to overpriced TB drugs, meet the young South African holding drug makers to account on behalf of patients

Tiny stowaways — disease-carrying ticks — can be hidden beneath the armoured scales of pangolins, the world’s most illegally trafficked mammals.

Hidden hitchhikers: Ticks on trafficked pangolins pose health threats

Scientists warn that ticks carried by trafficked pangolins may spread pathogens across continents, affecting people and animals

According to a survey, 85% of managers reported that their clinics faced staffing shortages, though only one in five blamed these on the US President’s Emergency Plan For Aids Relief cuts

Clinics short-staffed after Pepfar funding cuts

According to a survey, 85% of managers reported that their clinics faced staffing shortages, though only one in five blamed these on the US President’s Emergency Plan For Aids…