Author: Njih Favour
Using public transport is a struggle for people with disabilities. People who depend on wheelchairs and other assistive devices say they often wait for hours because many taxis don’t stop to pick them up. Others say they are charged an additional fee for their wheelchairs. Even when they do manage to get a taxi, people with disabilities face additional challenges. They have to navigate long distances using wheelchairs or crutches in busy city environments. Hlengiwe Mngadi, founder of Siyaphambili Manysuwa Disabled Organisation “We often become victims of crime if we have to walk long distances from the Pinetown CBD, which…
By Dr Patrick Ngassa Piotie, Chairperson of the Diabetes Alliance In South Africa, diabetes is no longer a looming threat — it is already here, claiming lives every day. According to Statistics South Africa, diabetes is now one of the leading causes of death based on death notification certificates. That sobering fact alone should have triggered a national reckoning. Yet when it comes to knowing how many South Africans are actually living with diabetes, we are left with guesswork rather than certainty. For years, the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) Diabetes Atlas has been the most widely cited source of diabetes statistics.…
Residents of Donnelly Road in Durban are in a standoff with the eThekwini Municipality over delays in moving them into a low-cost housing project that was completed in June of 2024. The project, located in the Bluff area, consists of 76 newly built rental flats that were declared “practically complete” in June 2024. It is part of a municipal rental housing initiative, with rent set at R850/month for a one-bedroom unit and R1,800/month for a two-bedroom unit. Over 60 families are currently living in a run-down building across the road from the new housing project. Residents say the living conditions are unsafe and…
Buyi Mngwengwe (36) is from Intshanga, a village west of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal. Growing up, she would often see elderly women suffer, struggling with hunger and isolation while raising grandchildren. Many of these women had no one to help them take their medicines and exercise. “Over the years, very little has changed,” Mngwengwe tells Health-e News. In February 2025 she started a non-profit organisation called Ayiko Ngami (It’s not about me) to help the elderly in her village to improve their health, nutrition, and overall well-being. Subscribe to our newsletter Ayiko Ngami’s initiative provides daily low-impact exercise sessions tailored to…
Head of health Lesiba Malotana, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi and Health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko. (Graphic: Spotlight. Images: Gauteng Health/X) Comment & Analysis 19th September 2025 | Spotlight Editors The courts have spoken. The health ombud has issued devastating reports. The Auditor-General has again put damning evidence on the table. Civil society has protested. Yet, the devastating crisis in Gauteng’s health system shows no sign of improvement. The rot in Gauteng appears to be deepening. Nowhere is this more evident than in the province’s health department, which remains trapped in a cycle of institutional decay and administrative failure. The consequences are…
This project is funded by: The recent sexual assault of a 13-year-old boy at a church shelter in the Limpopo border town of Musina is a stark reminder of the systemic vulnerabilities that place children at risk. Police arrested a 24-year-old woman on a rape charge, and further investigations are ongoing. The caretaker at the shelter where the incident happened wouldn’t speak to Health-e News, but sources in the community said that the woman and the boy were living at the shelter. “There are basic safeguards that must be followed, such as separate sleeping areas, background checks on staff, and…
Last month, a video of a nurse at Livingstone Hospital in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape went viral on social media – but not for the reasons one might expect. The video shows Benjamin Ngqaza (56) in the middle of a hospital ward, dancing and leading nursery rhymes, much to the delight of the young children occupying the beds in the ward. This is Nurse Benjamin Ngqaza, he entertains children admitted in the paediatric ward in his free time. What a hero 🙌🏽😂♥️ pic.twitter.com/ToHutUb1q1— 🇿🇦TheGreatDlamini🇿🇦 (@Phislash) August 3, 2025 Health-e News caught up with Ngqaza, who is affectionately known as…
Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko is the MEC for Health and Wellness in Gauteng. (Photo: GautengHealth/X) News & Features 17th September 2025 | Ufrieda Ho Activists say the Gauteng Department of Health’s late appeal to a court judgment that compels it to act on cancer treatment backlogs is raising more questions about what the department believes it stands to lose from not doing as the courts have ruled. There are growing concerns and questions about why the Gauteng Department of Health is hellbent on legal appeals rather than compliance to two court orders that direct the department to clear cancer treatment and services…
Nomhle Mashiyana, whose 14-year-old daughter Nomthandazo died on 4 July 2023, believes bullying at school pushed her child to suicide. She recalls an incident where her daughter was violently assaulted by a group of girls, who ripped out parts of her hair. Despite efforts to transfer her daughter to another school, the teen ultimately took her own life before the move could happen. “The school failed my daughter,” Mashiyana says, reflecting on the tragedy. Nomhle says Nomthandazo was bullied over her appearance and ultimately attacked by a group of eight learners after she confronted one of them. She says a…
National Health Insurance is a scheme that aims to address healthcare inequity in South Africa. (Photo: GCIS) News & Features 16th September 2025 | Jesse Copelyn Since President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the NHI Act into law last year in May, eight different groups have challenged it in court. One common argument is that it is irrational and unreasonable to restructure the health system when there’s no money to do so. In this feature, Spotlight dissects how the argument is being applied, and whether it has any chance of success. Earlier this month, the Western Cape Government filed papers with the…