Multimedia

Cervical cancer affects more Black women in South Africa than any other race. Why? They mostly use state health facilities which means less screening and delayed surgeries. In this month's Health Beat, we find out why cervical cancer is a political disease and travel to a Tshwane clinic where a nurse is convincing parents to get their girls vaccinated against this type of cancer.

Is the water in your tap safe? What about cleaning that in storage tanks? In this Health Beat interview, Mia Malan speaks to environmental scientist Ayesha Laher about the state of South Africa’s water systems, how you can test your water for germs and what you should do if your water isn’t clean.

How much water is in 16 Olympic-sized swimming pools? The same volume as what runs through Tshwane’s Rietvlei water treatment plant’s processes before it reaches household taps. Eunice Mokoena, a lead engineer at the facility, takes you on a tour via our TV team.

As extreme weather events such as storms and floods linked to climate change disrupt water and sanitation systems, we can expect to see diseases like cholera, which spread through dirty water, pop up more often — and affect more people. In this interview for Bhekisisa’s monthly TV show, Health Beat, Mia Malan spoke to infectious diseases expert Tom Boyles about the link between climate change and disease outbreaks.

The Emfuleni local municipality needs over R600-million to fix its broken wastewater plants. An activist in one township worries that cholera may spread because people can’t afford the soap needed to stay safe. In this Health Beat episode, we take you to Bophelong, a township south of Johannesburg, and show you what dirty water does to people's health.

Men who have sex with men have a 28 times higher chance of getting HIV through sex than heterosexual men. And transgender women’s odds of getting HIV via sex is 14 times higher than non-transgender women. We break down why.

About two in five wastewater systems in South Africa are falling apart. Their dysfunction has disastrous effects. It exposes people to dirty water that can carry diseases like cholera. This episode of our monthly television show, Health Beat, looks at water safety and explores how climate change makes disease-causing germs spread faster.

Teen girls and young women in Africa are up to eight times more likely to contract HIV than their male peers. Biology, unequal access to education and bad laws all play a role in this. Find out more from this short video.

The appointments for the heads of two more of the five directorates of the National Health Insurance (NHI) were approved on Monday. These two positions will oversee user and service provider management and healthcare benefits and provider payment design. In the latest episode of Bhekisisa’s monthly TV show, Health Beat, Mia Malan asked the health department’s Nicholas Crisp and Sasha Stevenson from Section27 how the NHI will play out.

South Africa’s drinking water comes from rivers and dams, but it’s cleaned at water treatment works. Here’s how it’s done.

If the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill is passed in its current form, your medical aid will disappear in its current form. It’s not clear how the NHI will be funded, but raised taxes will be unavoidable — and the scheme will likely want your medical aid premium.

Imagine finding out you have cancer but your medical aid won't cover your treatment because of another health condition. This was the case for Louise Turner just as she was starting a new job. Our TV team takes you to see what cancer care looks like in two health systems — one public and one private.

Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital’s radiation waiting list gets longer each year because of too few staff to operate life-saving cancer equipment. This episode of our monthly television show, Health Beat, puts these problems to the health department. Mia Malan asks if the National Health Insurance scheme can fix the country’s broken health system.

Soft drink manufacturers in SA have been paying a “sugar tax” since 2018 to encourage them to decrease how much sugar goes into their drinks. We show you how to calculate the sugar tax paid on a can of Coke in this short video.

How does the health department deal with doctors and nurses discriminating against patients who have a higher chance of contracting HIV? Teaching them about being sensitive and trying to understand the cause of the issue, says Thato Chidarikire, acting head of HIV programmes at the department. Mia Malan found out more during this interview for Bhekisisa’s monthly TV show, Health Beat.

A new study from hospitals in South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria and Tanzania shows the number of women who die because of bleeding after vaginal birth can be slashed by more than half. Watch this video to find out how.