Author: Njih Favour

The Universal Healthcare Access Coalition (UHAC) argues that the National Health Insurance (NHI) model is fiscally and institutionally unfeasible, stating that there is no scenario in which a single, tax-financed fund can provide full medical coverage for the entire population.  In its current form, the NHI fails to address the critical issues of governance in the public sector and equity in the private sector, the group claims.  Instead, the coalition – which is made up of health professions associations, healthcare funders and advocacy groups – proposes a “balanced, feasible, and sustainable pathway to achieving universal health coverage in South Africa”.   …

Christoffel de Jongh in the tented community where he lives in central Pretoria. He relies on a US funded health facility for his HIV medicines as well as methadone. (Photo: Jesse Copelyn/GroundUp/Spotlight) News & Features 18th February 2025 | Jesse Copelyn A US-funded health facility in Pretoria shut its doors for over two weeks after an executive order by President Trump paused funding. A beneficiary of the centre, who is HIV-positive, said that he hadn’t taken his ARVs in roughly two weeks due to the closure. Many were in the same predicament. The health centre reopened on 13 February after…

21 Nov SAHPRA recalls a batch of YAZ Plus contraceptives due to a quality issue Pretoria, 21 November 2024 – The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) is aware of a quality issue in a batch of YAZ Plus contraceptives (Batch No. WEW96J distributed on 09 and 24 November 2023) which has resulted in the incorrect arrangement of tablets within some packs, thus affecting the efficacy of the affected batch. Instead of containing 24 pink film-coated hormone tablets and 4 light orange hormone-free tablets, the affected packs contain 24 light orange hormone-free tablets and 4 pink film-coated hormone tablets.…

ActionSA has called for the resignation of KwaZulu Natal (KZN) Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane, over her “dishonesty” about medicine shortages in the province.  Earlier this week the department spokesperson, Ntokozo Maphisa, denied reports of a shortage of essential medication in public hospitals and clinics. This came after ActionSA wrote a letter urging Simelane to visit various healthcare facilities to assess the situation.  “We categorically refute these claims. All inspections revealed that sufficient stocks of essential medication are available and accessible to our healthcare facilities,” Maphisa says.  Health-e News spoke to patients and staff at several facilities, who all claim there…

The future of many lifesaving programmes – including several TB research projects – that get funding from the United States is currently uncertain. (Photo: Louis Reed on Unsplash) News & Features 4th March 2025 | Elri Voigt Just over a month after US President Donald Trump implemented a 90-day freeze of all foreign assistance, the future looks very uncertain for tuberculosis research. Among others, a large TB research programme that was worth up to $200 million was axed last week. While it is one of the oldest diseases around, tuberculosis (TB) still kills more people on the planet than any…

22 Nov SAHPRA office closure during the 2024 festive season SAHPRA offices will be closed for the festive season from 12:00 on Tuesday, 24 December 2024 and will re-open on Monday, 06 January 2025. Please note: Dates, placed within brackets for various email addresses, will guide stakeholders to the timeframes that emails will be processed. Dates, placed within brackets for various contacts, will guide stakeholders to the timeframes of their availability to assist with queries. Download PDF Source link

The family of 16-year-old Katlego Ledwaba and members of his local football club at Mogoto village in Zebediela, Limpopo are blaming nurses at Mogoto clinic for his recent untimely death.   On the afternoon of February 12, the teenager complained of shortness of breath during practice with his teammates in the Zebediela Black Pirates football club at their grounds.  Katlego’s family say his death could have been prevented. (Photo: supplied) At around five pm, he collapsed and lost consciousness, according to fellow players and the family.   “My grandson was taken to Mogoto clinic, just a stone’s throw from the football field…

Professor Francois Venter is one of the foremost HIV research scientists in South Africa and hails from the Ezintsha Research Centre at the University of the Witwatersrand. (Photo: Supplied)South Africa faces its worst health crisis in 20 years. Worse than COVID, and one that will overshadow diabetes as a major killer, while pouring petrol on a dwindling TB fire. But it is preventable, argues Professor Francois Venter if our government steps up urgently.Nearly eight-million people have HIV in South Africa; they need life-long antiretroviral medicines to stay healthy. The near-total removal of US government funding last week, a programme called…

29 Nov SAHPRA Offices will be unavailable on 29 November 2024 Please note that SAHPRA Head Office, including Cape Town and Durban Regional Offices will be unavilable today, 29 November 2024 due to the organisation’s Annual General Meeting. If you require assistance, please use applicable contacts from Key Contacts: https://www.sahpra.org.za/key-contacts/ Source link

The Limpopo health department has come under fire for continuing to pay a hefty monthly rental for a rundown building in Polokwane that houses its provincial medicine depot. Despite the building’s deteriorating condition, the department continues to pay R150,000 monthly to the Limpopo Economic Development Agency (LEDA), without a clear long-term plan to address the state of the building. To make matters worse, workers at the facility claim that the department has been paying rent without a valid lease agreement since April of last year.  LEDA did not respond to our media query. Subscribe to our newsletter The medical depot…