Author: Njih Favour

Digital indluencer Zuki Lamani and FAST PrEP youth reference engagement facilitator Siwe Mphambaniso. (Supplied) News & Features 17th March 2025 | Biénne Huisman Elzette Rousseau from the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation told attendees at the top HIV conference in the United States about a project taking HIV prevention services to schools in Cape Town. Biénne Huisman visited one of the sites to find out how it works. Beside a cluster of gum trees at Woodlands High in Mitchells Plain, colourful trucks parked on the school grounds bring contraceptives, services for sexually transmitted infections, and three types of PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis)…

Residents of Muswani Village, in the Collins Chabane Local Municipality, in Limpopo’s  Vhembe District are struggling to access basic health services because there is no clinic in their area.  For more than 30 years the community’s pleas have fallen on deaf ears. A resident, who asked not to be named, says they’ve been asking for a clinic since the 1980s – but nothing has been done. “Our [ward] councillor promised to help, but now he is not interested. It is like they [government] are not taking us seriously.” The municipality’s Integrated Development Plan (IDP) shows plans to build a clinic…

Residents of Mbaula Ranch and Phalaubeni villages in Limpopo’s Mopani District have been waiting since 1996 for the Limpopo Department of Health to build them a clinic. The villages have grown to over 1000 households, and residents are raising concerns about prolonged healthcare neglect. Accessing healthcare is expensive. A round-trip taxi fare for the 14km trip to Makhuva Clinic costs R22. Frequently, they are referred to Nkhensani Hospital in Giyani, 58km away. This costs them almost R100 for a round trip.  For the elderly, who rely solely on their SASSA pension grants, transport is a significant expense that forces them…

While South Africa still receives some PEPFAR funding, many beneficiaries are worried this support may soon come to an end. (Photo: Ashraf Hendricks/GroundUp) News & Features 13th March 2025 | Jesse Copelyn After the US slashed global aid, the South African government stated that only 17% of its HIV spending relied on US funding. But some experts argue that US health initiatives had more bang for buck than the government’s programmes. We look past the 17% figure, and consider how the health system is being affected by the loss of US money. In the wake of US funding cuts for…

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has boosted the health budget to support the equitable provision of public health services including free primary healthcare. During his budget speech on Wednesday, Godongwana said R28.9 billion has been added to the health budget to keep 9 300 healthcare workers in public hospitals and clinics. Here’s what civil society thinks of the health budget allocation.   Subscribe to our newsletter Section 27 welcomes the budget and believes that the health department has been allocated its highest allocation since the COVID-19 pandemic. The health budget enjoyed a 7.8% increase from last year’s R277.2 billion to R298.9 billion. …

A significant portion of South Africa’s health expenditure goes towards paying wages and services. This was a key focus in the budget speech delivered by finance minister Enoch Godongwana on Wednesday.  “Last year alone, the public sector health system lost close to 9,000 health workers. We did not have the money to retain or replace them even after reprioritising funds budgeted for consumables and medicines,” Godongwana told Parliament.  This is a significant blow to a sector that provides vital services to over 80% of the population.    “R28.9 billion is added to the health budget, mainly to keep about 9 300…

When Klaas Ledwaba’s family admitted him to the psychiatric ward of  Philadelphia Hospital in Dennilton, Limpopo last week, they didn’t expect that just a few days later, he would be dead. Ledwaba, 33, was shot and killed at the weekend in a gruesome attack. But the circumstances surrounding his death are unusual.  Gruesome attack According to sources, in the early hours of Saturday, 8 March, another patient in the ward, a 45-year-old man, allegedly went into a rage and started attacking those around him. Police were called to de-escalate the situation, but were met with a gruesome scene.  “A male…

One of Johannesburg’s oldest hospitals, Helen Joseph, is in disarray. Lack of security, non-payment of food service providers, dirty linen piling up in the corridors, decaying infrastructure and poor governance and leadership are just some of the challenges highlighted in two reports released by the Health Ombud and Office of Health Standard Compliance (OHSC) during a media briefing on 10 March.  The reports share the findings of an investigation prompted by a Facebook Live video by former broadcaster Thomas Holmes, also known as Tom London. In the video, which went viral on social media, London complained about disrespectful hospital staff,…

Parents whose children attend Dr AT Moreosele Secondary School in Mabopane, north of Pretoria, say the toilets at the school have been out of order since March last year. Around 2000 learners, they say, are expected to use toilets with no running water.   “The toilets are not working, they are filthy and always blocked. There is no privacy as most of them do not have doors. To add salt to injury, children have to bring water from home to drink as taps run dry after the lunch break. When we ask why, the principal tells us the water bill is…

The BRILLIANT Consortium was awarded about R829 million in 2023 to develop an HIV vaccine. (Photo: Gerd Altmann/Pixabay) News & Features 10th March 2025 | Catherine Tomlinson A groundbreaking project to study potential HIV vaccines in several African countries has been derailed by an abrupt cut in funding from the United States government. As a result, several promising vaccine candidates might not be tested in clinical trials. A group of leading African researchers trying to develop effective vaccines against HIV is trying to figure out how to salvage their ambitious research after losing funding due to the Trump administration’s cuts…