Author: Njih Favour

Pharmacists are relatively more accessible than other healthcare professionals in South Africa. (Photo: Shutterstock) Comment & Analysis 11th November 2025 | Vincent Tlala Medicines are among the most powerful tools in healthcare, but they also come with risks. As we mark #MedSafetyWeek, Mr Vincent Tlala, registrar and CEO of the South African Pharmacy Council, argues that the safe use of medicines is a shared responsibility, and is not only up to pharmacists. We rely on medicines to prevent illness, manage chronic conditions, or save lives in emergencies. However, medicines can cause harm when they are not used as prescribed, when…

It’s a balmy afternoon in Mtubatuba, in northern KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), and the local taxi rank is abuzz with activity. Drivers are calling out their routes while others rev their engines, getting ready for departure to various destinations. Amid the noise of hooting taxis and hawkers selling fresh fruit, mielies, and takeaways, 54-year-old driver Dumisani Ngubane wipes his windscreen and looks toward a white mobile clinic parked a few metres away, the words “AHRI” displayed in bold blue along its side. Dumisani Ngubane utside AHRI mobile clinic. “Having this clinic inside the rank has made our lives so much easier,” he…

Hypertension, which occurs when someone’s blood pressure is higher than normal, causes a range of life threatening complications. (Photo: Shutterstock) News & Features 10th November 2025 | Elri Voigt Hypertension – a condition where blood pressure is consistently higher than normal – is poorly managed in South Africa. Remarkable findings from a study in rural KwaZulu-Natal suggest a compelling alternative to the current model of clinic-based care – using community healthcare workers to monitor people’s blood pressure in their own homes. Often described as a “silent killer”, high blood pressure – also called hypertension – is a major contributor to…

Residents of Theunissen in the Free State say Masilo Clinic has been without running water for three years. The filling up of the Jojo tank at the facility has allegedly been inconsistent for over a decade.  Patients are forced to walk with buckets to fetch drinkable and flushing water.  Palesa Breda, a pregnant patient, says she is forced to bring all the water she would need while at the clinic. “Each patient is supposed to bring their own water to drink and use in the toilet. We need urgent intervention,” she says.  Community leader Manasi Motseoile says the ongoing water…

Three years ago, Zibuyile Ntuli’s life turned upside down. In  April 2022 she lost her home and six of her immediate family in one fell swoop when KwaZulu-Natal experienced some of the worst flooding on record. Close to 500 people lost their lives, over 4000 homes were destroyed, and 40 000 people were left homeless. Only one body from Ntuli’s family was recovered and buried. The rest remain unaccounted for.  “The pain is unbearable,” she tells Health-e News. “I almost collapsed when police told me earlier this year that they were officially closing the case, meaning they would stop searching…

Researchers from South Africa and Indonesia have joined forces on an ambitious study on asymptomatic TB. (Photo: Shutterstock) News & Features 6th November 2025 | Elri Voigt Over the last decade, there’s been growing evidence that people can have TB without having any symptoms. But there is still much uncertainty over how such asymptomatic TB functions in the body and how infectious it is. An ambitious study, set to be conducted in South Africa and Indonesia, is trying to find some answers.  Tuberculosis (TB), a diseased caused by a tenacious bacterium, has plagued the world for many centuries, with no…

For over three weeks, Jubilee District Hospital in Hammanskraal, north of Tshwane, has been facing a severe water crisis – part of the broader water supply problems due to infrastructure issues and cable theft.  The hospital’s water shortage has resulted in patients being unable to bathe, access clean drinking water, or use functioning bathrooms. Patients and staff describe conditions at the facility as unhygienic and inhumane.  “The wards are dirty and they stink, and there are uncontrollable flies. The toilets are not clean enough,” says a patient who wished to remain anonymous. Another patient told Health-e News his wound was…

Jaishree Raman, National Institute for Communicable Diseases South Africa, Botswana, and Eswatini are among 25 countries identified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as having the potential to eliminate malaria by 2025.  But now this goal is out of reach. And it’s slipping further away.  The Africa Centres for Disease Control recently raised the alarm over the unexpected and significant increases in malaria cases and deaths in several Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries, including Eswatini and Botswana.  South Africa has not experienced any recent malaria outbreaks, but it has also not managed to stop the local transmission of malaria.…

The cancellation of US aid funding to South Africa is harming the country’s HIV response. (Photo: Ahmad Ardity/Pixabay) Comment & Analysis 4th November 2025 | Marcus Low and Nathan Geffen The number of HIV viral load tests is significantly lower than expected, according to an analysis of data from the National Health Laboratory Service which Spotlight and GroundUp obtained through the Promotion of Access to Information Act. The number of HIV viral load tests recorded by the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) is significantly less than expected since February 2025. We are aware of no compelling reason to explain this…

An estimated 56 000 people died of TB in South Africa in 2023, according to the most recent WHO figures. (Photo: Shutterstock) News & Features 3rd November 2025 | Biénne Huisman Evidence has been mounting that poor nutrition impacts both someone’s risk of falling ill with TB and how well they do once ill. But as the World Health Organization (WHO) releases new guidelines on TB and nutrition, it is unclear to what extent the South African government is ready to invest in providing people with nutritional support as part of the fight against TB. That TB and malnutrition often…