News

News

Drug-resistant infections killed 3m children worldwide

17 Apr 2025
MedicalBrief reported on 16 April that a landmark study presented at the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) has revealed that more than 3m children worldwide died in 2022 from antimicrobial resistance (AMR)-related infections.
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SAMA calls VAT hikes to fund NHI ‘socially unjust’

17 Apr 2025
Government proposal of a 0.5% rise in VAT as a way to support the National Health Insurance (NHI) Fund have added to concerns from the medical profession and civil society, who suggest alternatives like targeted health levies, closing tax loopholes, and improving efficiency in existing public healthcare expenditure, reported MedicalBrief (16 April 2025)
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‘Gauteng Health buckles under migrant patient overload’

17 Apr 2025
Migrant care puts huge pressure on Gauteng Health and the system is completely overwhelmed, yet public hospitals and clinics have no option but to treat foreign nationals,reported MedicalBrief (16 April 2025).
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Health Department plans six new academic hospitals for SA

17 Apr 2025
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi announced that the NationalHealth Department plans new clinics and 6 new academic hospitals to boost the NHI roll-out, reported TimesLive (16 April 2025)
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Trump’s new directive aims to lower healthcare costs

16 Apr 2025
Reuters reported on 15 April that US President Donald Trump signed an executive order that directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to pursue changes regarding Medicare’s negotiation of drug prices.
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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.
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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)
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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.
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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.”
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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).
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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).
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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, reportedFinancial Mail (12 January 2023).
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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)


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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.


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Vaccination slashes Covid deaths and ICU stays

10 Nov 2021
Bloomberg reported on 9th 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.
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