Author: Njih Favour
This project is funded by: Over 800 households in Muungamunwe Village, Ward 3, in Limpopo’s Makhado Municipality aren’t connected to the power grid and live in the dark. The village has never had electricity. A few families have managed to install small solar systems at their own expense. But the power generated by these solar installations is only enough for powering lights and charging cellphones. Those who have no solar system have to walk about 2.5 kilometres to the next village just to charge their cellphones. Not having electricity means forgoing basic amenities like having a fridge. Muungamunwe residents say…
This project is funded by: The Free State health department has officially opened wards and sections of the National District Hospital in Bloemfontein that were gutted by a fire in July 2024. Despite a year-long investigation, the cause of the fire is still unknown. It’s suspected it may have been caused by a cigarette. “We are still not sure what caused the fire. We are still waiting to hear from law enforcement agencies. But we only hope that the ordeal doesn’t repeat itself,” says Health MEC Viceroy Mahlasti, who was addressing the media at the hospital’s Gateway Clinic this week. …
This project is funded by: For years, residents in the mining community of Nyakallong in Allanridge in the Free State have been living with the overflow of polluted water from the Voelpan Dam, which is used to store waste from the nearby Harmony Target 1 mine. This has made living conditions hazardous. According to a 2023 community monitoring report, the rising dam levels have submerged the power station, flooded streets and caused nearby houses to collapse. The report, which was supported by the Benchmarks Foundation, states the water spilling into people’s houses is contaminated with toxic substances. Tests done on…
Pastor Moses Vilane lives in Masakane. In the background is the Duvha Power station, one of 12 coal-fired power stations in Mpumalanga owned by Eskom. (Photo: Thom Pierce/Spotlight) News & Features 4th August 2025 | Sue Segar Emissions from power stations and dust from coal mines in South Africa’s “energy mecca” are making many people in the area sick. For the first article of a new Spotlight special series, writer Susan Segar and photographer Thom Pierce travelled to Mpumalanga to get first-hand accounts of what people living in the Emalahleni local municipality are going through. If you drive along the…
This project is funded by: Walk into almost any salon in South Africa, from the polished studios in shopping malls to the busy hair and nail spots tucked between shops near a taxi rank and the scene is alive. The chatter between clients and stylists, the sharp smell of acetone and hair products filling the air. But behind the beauty, there’s a side many don’t see. For the people who spend long hours in these spaces, hairdressers, nail technicians, and beauticians, the very products that create glamour can quietly chip away at their health. Relaxers, acrylic powders, strong dyes, sprays,…
The Department of Health in Limpopo has suspended the 24-hour services offered at Sambandou Clinic, in Tshitavha Village, 25km outside of Thohoyandou, after a patient assaulted a nurse. According to a senior staff member, who spoke to Health-e News on the condition of anonymity, the patient went to the clinic in the early hours of Sunday, demanding immediate attention. “The man came in with a cut to his head and demanded that the nurse leave the patient she was attending to and look at him first. But the nurse was still busy helping someone who was struggling to breathe and…
The Nelson Mandela-Fidel Castro medical training programme was launched in 1996, and the first group of South African students went to Cuba in 1997. (Photo: Shutterstock) Comment & Analysis 29th July 2025 | Ufrieda Ho The Nelson Mandela-Fidel Castro medical training programme has been controversial from the start. It’s had high points, low points and many say it should have an end point. Almost 30 years since the Cuba-SA doctors’ training programme was launched, it still divides opinion. This year only Gauteng and North West interviewed candidates for the bursary programme that sends students from South Africa to be trained…
This project is funded by: It’s been seven months since 17-year-old Busisiwe Tonana died by suicide after learning that she had failed grade 10 in December 2024. Her sudden passing brought attention to the issue of mental illness among young people in the small mining town of Nyakallong in the Free State. Goitsimang Manone, who lives down the road from Busisiwe’s family, says the tragic passing has made her more aware of the pressures her own children might be facing. “I’m worried about my children’s well-being, especially when they get their reports. I fear that if they’re not doing well,…
Two years after the Limpopo Department of Health handed over 35 new state-of-the-art ambulances to Siloam Hospital, patients in the Vhembe District continue to experience delays that put their lives at risk. On Monday, 21 July, a pregnant woman from Ha Maelula gave birth on the side of the road after waiting more than three hours for an ambulance. According to her family, they called for help at 16:00 and were told it would arrive by 19:00. When there was still no ambulance by 19:30, they rushed her to the hospital in a taxi. “She delivered on the side of…
#InsideTheBox is a column by Dr Andy Gray, a pharmaceutical sciences expert at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and Co-Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre on Pharmaceutical Policy and Evidence Based Practice. (Photo: Supplied) Comment & Analysis 28th July 2025 | Andy Gray For over 20 years, the law has required that the Minister of Health issues regulations to govern the advertising of medicines in South Africa, but as yet no such regulations are in place. In his latest #InsideTheBox column, Dr Andy Gray considers what this means for the marketing of medicines in the country. Anyone who has travelled to…