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The Bhekisisa Centre for Health Journalism is based in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Bhekisisa is one of only a few media outlets in the Global South specialising in solutions-based narrative features and analysis. We not only uncover problems but also critically evaluate the solutions meant to fix them. It’s an approach we also take with our opinion pieces.

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The gold industry is appealing the decision to compensate mineworkers for damages sustained due to silicosis acquired on the mines.

Gold industry’s appeal in miners’ silicosis class action is shameful

Widows and children stand to inherit damage claims from the mining industry, but their decision to appeal doesn't bode well.
At least one in four children in Africa is still not receiving the vaccinations they need.

SA must close the immunisation gap that parallels class

Vaccines take centre stage in times of crisis but outside of public health emergencies they do not always get the attention they deserve.
Discovery Health CEO Jonathan Broomberg responds to allegations that the scheme could have made arrangements to waive a waiting period to cover a returning member's pregnancy.

‘Without waiting periods, medical aids couldn’t survive,’ Discovery says

Would you join a medical aid if you were perfectly healthy? Most won’t. That’s why we need waiting periods, says Discovery CEO Jonathan Broomberg.

When violence begets violence: Men, trauma & HIV in South Africa

Young men living in urban informal settlements have experienced a huge amount of violence and trauma in their own lives. This may not come as a surprise to some, but within the HIV research world, it is rarely discussed.
The road to life-saving treatment starts with a test and that's where men fall behind

Why does HIV kill more men than women?

In 2016, 60% of women of 15 years or older living with HIV were on treatment. Less than half their male peers could say the same.

Winning the COVID vaccine race: Why the TRIPS waiver is just the beginning

Waiving COVID vaccine intellectual property rights is a start, but ending the pandemic also requires that drug companies share the know-how of how to produce their jabs and that more countries develop the capacity to produce shots.
You can't treat what you can't count: No one knows how many people inject drugs in east and southern Africa.

Southern Africa’s missing drug users: We can’t treat what we don’t count

No one really knows how many people inject drugs in east and southern Africa and that's a bigger problem than you think.
How your period could be messing with your mental health

Suicide and the violence of our words

What if we thought of suicide as the outcome of a terminal illness instead of the outcome of an action?

What will the future of COVID-19 testing look like?

Our COVID-19 response can take a leaf out of our HIV strategy book. For a start, to focus on testing people in the hardest hit districts and concentrate on vulnerable populations.

COVID-19 has increased hunger in SA. So what works best to improve access to...

South Africa’s expansion of social grants during lockdown was a good move — new evidence shows such cash transfers are effective in reducing food insecurity. But the country may need more of these and may also have to increase their amounts.
Solidarity: Sanac says government must urgently address police abuse of sex workers including the use of the workers' possession of condoms

HIV vaccine – closer than ever

We are not there yet, but experts are optimistic about a jab to prevent HIV coming to market in the near future.
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Ticket to ride: How the coronavirus outbreak could change air travel

When a pandemic strikes, scientists are left scrambling to find new vaccines to curb it. The latest coronavirus outbreak may become a testing ground for how to roll out new jabs quickly at the most unlikely of places.
South African patients qualify for HIV treatment if their CD4 count – a measure of a person’s immunity – is 350 or lower.

SA could turn dread into capital

HIV diplomacy can be used to help the country become a better, more influential global citizen.
Far cry: African countries have more than their fair share of healthcare issues.

Africa-China alliance can only benefit healthcare

China has reduced childhood deaths and illness from diseases that were once widespread.
Protection needed: Malaria kills more than a million poeple in the world every year - mostly children and preganant women

Our leaders must keep their word

Though progress has been made, Africa must continue the fight against Aids, TB and malaria.
After a fake news story spreading myths about medical male circumcision went viral

​Zimbabwe mixes medicine and tradition for safer circumcision

Zimbabwe has successfully won the support of chiefs and their people by combining a respect for tradition with safe, modern procedures.