Could where you live shape the healthcare you get in a climate crisis?

Over the course of three stories, we dived into thousands of data points to get a sense of what scientists’ models say South Africa’s future climate might look like. In our final piece today, we look at how different places compare when it comes to healthcare in the face of extreme weather.

Death, dignity and palliative care at Groote Schuur

The palliative care team at Groote Schuur Hospital fields questions about death and dying that the rest of the health system struggles to answer. Here’s why getting those answers right takes an entire network of people.

Ebola is back. So are the double standards 

Is history repeating itself — just four years after the COVID-19 pandemic — with the United States demanding an Ebola quarantine camp for Americans in Kenya? In May, the Kenya High Court ordered the US centre to temporarily close down, warning it will expose the public — in a country without a single confirmed Ebola case from the current outbreak — to unacceptable risks.

Why storms that used to happen every 50 years are hitting more often

Climate scientists agree that intense downpours and heavy storms will likely happen more often and become more unpredictable in the future. But can every extreme weather event be pinned on climate change? We look at what past data and future predictions say.

How to use the anti-HIV jab — and where to find it

The six-monthly anti-HIV jab, which prevents HIV through sex, is now stocked for free at 360 government clinics in six of South Africa’s provinces. So how does the jab work, how do you know if you need it, and where can you find it? We’ve got you covered with answers to 13 questions.

Meet the specialist your medical aid often won’t pay for

Specialist family physicians complete the same type of postgraduate training as paediatricians, psychiatrists and surgeons. So why do private medical aids limit their ability to practice what they trained for?

Is SA making good on its climate promises? Our sums say ‘yes’ — at...

With a R3.8-billion boost to help South Africa move away from fossil fuels like oil and coal for producing energy, how well is the country doing in keeping its promise to help the world’s temperature stay at manageable levels? Bhekisisa takes a look at the data.

You’ve got 30 seconds: What scientists need to know before going on air

Broadcast journalists move quickly. Two editors explain how scientists can recognise the moment, shape the story and get their work on the media agenda.

What years of war, cyclones and displacement have wrought on the people of northern...

Northern Mozambique has been absorbing what humanitarian groups call “multiple shocks” for years. Conflict, cyclones, cholera, displacement; each arriving before the last has been processed, each landing on a health system already buckling. What happens to people's minds in conditions like these? And who is there to help?

Misinformation is coming for the anti-HIV jab. Let’s get ahead of it

A new HIV prevention injection could change the course of the epidemic — but only if people trust it. Research shows we can pre-empt the false claims already forming around it. The window is open now.

Rising resistance: How to tell stories about superbugs

One in six infections globally is now caused by germs resistant to the most commonly used antibiotics. In Africa, that figure is closer to one in five. Here's what journalists need to know about superbugs, and where to find the stories.

The HIV prevention jab scientists hoped for is finally here. Now comes the hard...

On June 5, South Africa is about to begin one of its most important HIV prevention drives in decades. The country will start to roll out an HIV prevention injection that has to be taken only twice a year. Will the launch become more than a symbolic event that shows what serious HIV prevention leadership looks like at a time when donor funding is shrinking and global uncertainty is growing?

Health Beat #38 | Let’s not wait for the NHI: What these teams do together...

As the National Health Insurance Act stalls in court, Health Beat looks beyond policy to the people and partnerships keeping the country’s public health system going. From remote villages to a top university hospital, our team explores success stories built on world-class care, in the absence of world-class resources.

Girls in SA get free HPV jabs. Boys don’t. Find out why they should

From throat and anal cancers to reduced fertility, the human papillomavirus poses serious risks to men that go largely undetected and unvaccinated. South Africa vaccinates girls, but boys are left out.

Western Cape was flooded this week. These researchers are studying how deadly storms —...

When climate disasters strike Africa, the physical damage is obvious. But we’re only beginning to understand the psychological toll. Here’s why Western definitions of trauma can miss so much, and how one group of researchers are trying to get a better picture.

Somebody call Hasina, the brain behind our LEN roll-out

By all accounts, Hasina Subedar is who you call when you need to roll out, well, anything new in public health. Known for her grit, grace and humour, the non-conformist middle child from Pietermaritzburg started out as a nurse 30 years ago. She is now responsible for getting the game-changer medication for HIV prevention into 360 clinics around the country.