Author: Njih Favour
19 Nov South Africa, PATH, and Wellcome launch world’s first AI framework for mental health at G20 Social Summit [Embargoed] Johannesburg, 19 November 2025 – As artificial intelligence (AI) increasingly enters the mental health space, from therapy chatbots to diagnostic tools, the world faces a critical question: can AI expand access to care without putting people at risk? At the G20 Social Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa announced a landmark national effort to answer that question. The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) and PATH, with funding from Wellcome, have launched the Comprehensive AI Regulation and Evaluation for Mental…
“My daughter was hurt while she was supposed to be safe.” These are the words of Patricia Williams from Geluksdal in Ekurhuleni, who claims that her four-year-old child, Ava, was assaulted while under medical care at Pholosong Hospital in Tsakane. The family opened a case of assault at Tsakane Police Station on 6 November 2025 and is demanding full accountability. Ava has hydrocephalus, a severe neurological condition in which fluid builds up in the brain. On 2 November, she was admitted to Pholosong after having an epileptic episode. On 5 November, Patricia came upon a shocking scene. Subscribe to our…
After birth, moms and babies are required to visit healthcare facilities for essential services like immunisations, postnatal care and HIV testing. (Photo: Shutterstock) News & Features 19th November 2025 | Elri Voigt In South Africa, many mothers and their babies have to visit the clinic more than 10 times in the first six months of the postnatal period. Early findings from an ongoing implementation science project suggests we can get this down to five. The hope is that the new approach will also help reduce HIV transmission from mothers to their babies. Over the last two decades, South Africa has…
Globally, 82 million girls and 69 million boys face sexual violence each year. In South Africa, gender-based violence (GBV) remains a persistent and deeply rooted crisis. A survivor-centred short film, My Justice, My Voice which premiered in Cape Town, ahead of the upcoming G20 Summit in Johannesburg, brings this crisis into focus through the stories of three women who are speaking out to demand real accountability and change. The film My Justice, My Voice: Speaking up to end childhood sexual violence, made by the Brave Movement, survivors, Rays of Hope and On Our Radar, shows how often abuse happens within…
As heavy rains fell over Gauteng this past weekend, a video posted on social media showed patients sitting in what looks like a hospital waiting room, with their feet resting on benches. The room is flooded and more water is gushing in from the windows. (screenshot from video) Flooding incident circulating on social media Posted to X (twitter) on Sunday 16 November, the caption accompanying this video reads: A video purporting to show severe flooding at Garankuwa’s Dr. George Mukhari Academic Hospital’s outpatient pharmacy waiting area in Tshwane, sparked widespread panic and concern. Health-e News visited the facility on Sunday…
People living with HIV are at an increased risk of developing anal cancer, particularly if they have compromised immune systems. (Photo: Bild von Tung Lam/Pixabay) News & Features 17th November 2025 | Elna Schütz South Africa has the world’s largest population of people living with HIV, which both heightens the risk of anal cancers and their severity. However, neither the collection of data nor the efforts for prevention and screening are in line with the likely impact. Experts say significant change is needed. “Almost everyone has an anus,” Dr Daniel Surridge, a colorectal surgeon at Joburg Colorectal, says with a…
Civil society organisations are intensifying calls for President Cyril Ramaphosa to declare diabetes a public health emergency, citing the need for urgent government intervention and resources to prevent the growing number of deaths caused by the disease. Up to 350 stakeholders, including academics, civil society organisations, industry representatives, and government officials, presented a unified front this week at the Diabetes Summit, demanding immediate action on what they describe as a spiralling health crisis. According to Summit convener and Diabetes Alliance chair Dr Patrick Ngassa Piotie, diabetes is a leading cause of death and poses a heavy burden on the country’s…
Comment & Analysis 14th November 2025 | Spotlight Spotlight has launched a new HIV dashboard and graph generator based on outputs from the Thembisa model. Our hope is that this dashboard will help the public and people working in healthcare to find important HIV numbers more easily. There is much reason for pessimism when it comes to healthcare in South Africa. Most provincial health departments struggle to file clean books, long queues and shortages of healthcare workers are the order of the day at many clinics, corruption is a pervasive problem, and in at least one high profile case, someone…
As calls for reforms in diabetes care mount, advocacy organisations are calling for a change in thelanguage used by healthcare practitioners. Diabetes South Africa says that labelling diabetes a lifestyle disease creates stigma against patients and leaves many blaming themselves for testing positive for diabetes. “There is a sense of judgment and condemnation patients feel when they hear that their lifestyle is what led them to being diabetic”, says Margot Mc Cumisky, national manager at DiabetesSA. Speaking to Health-e News at the sidelines of the Diabetes Summit held this week, she says a language shift starts with education about the…
Anyone can get sick with TB, as it is caused by bacteria that spreads in the air and mainly invades the lungs. (Photo: Silvio Ross/Pixabay) News & Features 12th November 2025 | Marcus Low Around 54 000 people died of TB in South Africa in 2024 and 249 000 fell ill with the disease, according to new estimates from the World Health Organization (WHO). Around 54 000 people died of TB in South Africa in 2024, according to figures released on Wednesday alongside the WHO’s latest World TB Report. This continues a slow downward trend in TB deaths in recent…