Author: Njih Favour
17 Jun SAHPRA’s Radiation Control Unit attends Search & Secure Training Cape Town – The Radiation Control (RadCon) Unit of the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) attended a Search and Secure training held by the Office of Radiological Security (ORS) within the USA’s Department of Energy during 19 – 23 May 2025 in Cape Town. The unit underwent training as there were key areas of capacity building and knowledge development identified for Radiation Control to continue to grow, be sustainable, and the overall empowerment of the team – so that the Unit is able to continue to deliver…
28 Sep SAHPRA clarifies that paracetamol is safe to use in pregnancy, at recommended doses Pretoria, 28 September 2025 – The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) wishes to reassure the public that paracetamol remains a safe and recommended option for the relief of pain and fever during pregnancy, when used short-term at recommended doses. Paracetamol is one of the most widely used medicines globally and has been extensively studied for decades. There is currently no scientific evidence that using paracetamol in pregnancy causes attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism. SAHPRA will continue to monitor emerging evidence on the…
While dental decay remains the most common form of oral disease, untreated, it can lead to life-threatening complications. (Photo: Bekky Bekks/Unsplash) Comment & Analysis 25th September 2025 | Bulela Vava We need to confront the racialised and class-based structures that still dictate society’s oral health outcomes, argues Dr Bulela Vava as we head toward the end of this year’s National Oral Health Month. September’s National Oral Health Month arrived as a bittersweet milestone for a nation still grappling with the unshakable legacy of apartheid. Despite significant strides made over the past three decades, for many in South Africa, oral disease…
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…