[ad_1] Whenever rain clouds gather over her village, Ntombenhle Ndlovu finds herself checking the weather forecast again and again, bracing for what might come next. When the rain finally starts, she steps outside to feel the first droplets on her skin, measuring their intensity before she can breathe a little easier. Ntombenhle Ndlovu is coping with the aftermath of floods in KZN in 2022. (Photo: Supplied) “It has become a natural instinct. If I don’t do this, I get very anxious until the rain stops.” The mother of two and community activist from Embo, a village south-east of Durban, was…
Author: Njih Favour
[ad_1] With several important developments on the horizon, 2026 is set to be another eventful year in healthcare. (Photo: Shutterstock) Comment & Analysis 19th January 2026 | Marcus Low From the limited rollout of a new HIV prevention jab to developments with new weight loss medicines, to high-stakes court cases relating to National Health Insurance (NHI), 2026 is set to be another tumultuous year in healthcare. Here are nine stories that Spotlight will keep a close eye on. 1. How will things go with the local rollout of a new HIV prevention jab? Given the high rates of HIV in South Africa, the biggest HIV story this year is likely to be the rollout…
[ad_1] A nurse at Thabong Clinic in the Free State was assaulted by a male patient on the morning of Friday 16 January. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the nurse relayed the incident to Health-e News. “He acted familiar, like someone who knew me before today. But for me, it was a totally new person who came to the clinic for the first time. I jokingly said to him I’m going to drag my feet when it’s his turn,” she says. “When I asked for patient IDs, he said he did not have one. I ignored him, thinking he was…
[ad_1] A community-based programme is offering mental health support to adolescents and young people in Orange Farm, south of Johannesburg. The initiative, run by the non-profit organisation Tiko, provides psychosocial support to young people aged 15 to 24 through group therapy sessions and individual counselling referrals. “Mental health is still viewed as something ‘foreign’ in many parts of the community,” says Olga Rikhotso, Tiko’s ecosystems manager for Johannesburg. “Yet it affects both girls and boys and sits at the centre of many social challenges we see.” The organisation runs HIV, sexual and reproductive health, and gender-based violence programmes in seven…
[ad_1] Many people across South Africa face challenges when trying to access healthcare, such as long waiting times, discrimination, buildings that are hard to access, and language barriers. (Photo: Shutterstock) Comment & Analysis 15th January 2026 | Benni Mudau, Khuselwa Dyantyi, and Tendai Mafuma Vigilantes have unlawfully prevented people they deemed to be foreign nationals from accessing public healthcare services. SECTION27 health activists map out the implications of a Gauteng High Court judgment delivered at the end of last year, explaining that it obliges the state to take active and coordinated steps to remove barriers hindering people’s access to healthcare.…
[ad_1] This project is funded by: This week marked the start of the school year for learners across South Africa. Parents in Soshanguve Block KK, north of Pretoria, had an extra school preparation task on their hands — reinforcing a make-shift bridge. For hours parents and community members endured the foul smell of a sewage-contaminated river, hauling rocks to rebuild the crossing that learners use to get to school. According to community leader Tebogo Mlambo, this has been going on since 2011. “Despite numerous promises from six Executive Mayors, no meaningful action has been taken, and our fear is that…
[ad_1] South Africa’s oral disease burden is a neglected crisis. (Photo: Shutterstock) Comment & Analysis 14th January 2026 | Bulela Vava The new board members for the Health Professions Council of South Africa have an opportunity to tackle the growing oral disease crisis by dealing with regulatory gaps and inequity, as well as making decisive reforms to the industry, argues Dr Bulela Vava. The Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) has formally inaugurated its 12 professional boards for the 2025–2030 term, an administrative milestone that ordinarily passes quietly. Yet these appointments demand deeper attention, particularly for oral health. Two…
[ad_1] Two months after it was opened for public use, the Borwa Clinic in Tweespruit, Free State, has yet to hire additional staff. The new, bigger facility still relies on the same workforce that manned the old, smaller building. The state-of-the-art facility was set to provide a range of essential primary healthcare services, including immunisation, family planning, HIV counselling and testing, and chronic disease management. However, the community of Borwa is worried that the clinic still has the same number of workers as the old clinic. Tshepo Namane, a resident of Borwa, says he thought the clinic would hire more…
[ad_1] President Cyril Ramaphosa addresses the nation in 2021 on developments in the country’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo: GCIS) Comment & Analysis 13th January 2026 | Janet Giddy South Africa had several “family chats” in which President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. He should do the same for tuberculosis, argues Dr Janet Giddy of the advocacy group TB Proof. Recently, I was flying home and got chatting to the stylishly dressed woman in the window seat next to me. We asked each other the sort of questions that traveller’s often do.…
[ad_1] South Africa has among the highest rates of gender-based violence and femicide in the world, with one in three women experiencing physical and/or sexual violence at some point in their lives. Violence against women is a long-standing issue in the country. President Cyril Ramaphosa’s declaration of gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) as a national disaster ahead of the G20 Leaders Summit in November 2025 is just one of the high-profile commitments the government has made to deal decisively with the problem. Activist and co-leader of the #NotFitForPurpose campaign, a civil society movement challenging the National Council Act as inadequate,…