News
Mpumalanga health backtracks on doctor salary cuts
20 Jan 2025
The Mpumalanga Department of Health caused outrage among newly appointed doctors after attempting to significantly reduce their salaries by cancelling overtime contracts. – The Citizen (17 Jan 2025).
[READ MORE]
Concerns about Ozempic for weight loss
20 Jan 2025
South Africans considering to lose weight may choose from awide range of options ranging from viral food trends on social media to the rise of weight-loss injections and personalised nutrition plans.
[READ MORE]
Chinese doctors question quality of generic drugs
20 Jan 2025
“Senior doctors in China are concerned about the quality of domestic generic drugs that have replaced Western brand-name medications in hospitals,” reported Bloomberg (20 Jan 2025).
[READ MORE]
Brain tumour link sparks concern over popular contraceptive
20 Jan 2025
The SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) has recommended updating the safety warnings for the popular contraceptive injection Depo-Provera to include the potential risk of meningioma. - reported News24 (20 Jan 2025).
[READ MORE]
Minister of Health denies shift in ANC’s NHI policy
14 Jan 2025
On 14 Jan News24 reported that Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi dismissed claims that the African National Congress (ANC) has altered its stance on the National Health Insurance (NHI), saying that neither the ANC nor the government has such a plan.
[READ MORE]
Life Healthcare backs collaboration to tackle healthcare crisis
27 Nov 2024
Life Healthcare CEO Peter Wharton-Hood has backed a call for greater collaboration between the government and private healthcare providers to address South Africa’s pressing healthcare challenges. This follows a proposal by Netcare CEO Richard Friedland, who suggested adding healthcare as the fourth pillar in an existing government-business partnership focused on revitalising the economy.
[READ MORE]
Discovery Life claims back to pre-Covid levels
19 Apr 2024
“Discovery Life distributed R10.3bn to its clients, a decrease from the R11bn paid the previous year,” reported Business Day (19April 2024)
[READ MORE]
Hundreds of websites found selling fake weight-loss drugs
16 Apr 2024
Reuters reported on 15 April that the cybersecurity company BrandShield has shut down over 250 websites selling counterfeit versions of popular drugs used for weight loss and diabetes treatment within the GLP-1 class.
[READ MORE]
RAF bid to appeal judgment on claim requirements
06 Dec 2023
On 5 December 2023 the Pretoria High Court rejected the Road Accident Fund’s (RAF) request to reconsider a previous verdict from November, reported Business Day.
“The ruling mandated eliminating the stringent new requirements for filing claims outlined in a 2021 board notice.”
[READ MORE]
Covid-19 vaccines: ‘Health Department squandered the opportunity’
07 Sep 2023
“Health activists are right to draw attention to this grossly unfair situation. (Covid-19 vaccine deals) But the far bigger scandal is that the Health Department squandered the opportunity after spending an estimated R14-bn on Covid-19 jabs and belatedly filling its warehouses with enough doses to vaccinate the nation” – Business Day (7 September 2023).
[READ MORE]
EDITORIAL: Health Minister must halt care crisis
20 Jan 2023
NHI, the government’s plan for universal health coverage, rests heavily on nurse-led care. Yet where these nurses will come from is a mystery. – Editorial (
Business Day 20 January 2023).
[READ MORE]
Study raises concerns about quality of hospital meals
12 Jan 2023
According to a study of meals served at Cape Town hospitals the food served to hospital patients are way below the health department “ration scale” and patients’ energy requirements, reported
Financial Mail (12 January 2023).
[READ MORE]
Health Minister’s comment provides ‘some comfort to medical scheme industry’
15 Jun 2022
Health Minister Joe Phaahla’s comment that NHI will be implemented step-by-step - gradually phasing out the role of medical schemes in the private sector - should provide some comfort to these private healthcare services, according to Business Day (15 June 2022)
[READ MORE]
Activists demands change in intellectual property laws
10 Nov 2021
Activists from Fix the Patent Laws Campaign (FTPL) urged government to change intellectual property laws to allow more people to access lifesaving medicine for serious ailments such as cancer, HIV, Covid, tuberculosis, mental health and diabetes.
[READ MORE]
Vaccination slashes Covid deaths and ICU stays
10 Nov 2021
Bloomberg reported on 9
th November that an Australian study found that people who are fully vaccinated are 16 times less likely to end up in intensive care wards or to die from Covid-19 than those who have not been immunised.
[READ MORE]