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The National Health Insurance (NHI), for which membership will be compulsory, is a funding scheme that aims to address healthcare inequity in South Africa. The scheme will do this by creating a fund that the government will use to buy healthcare services at set fees from accredited public and private health providers. The NHI Bill was passed in the National Assembly in June 2023. It has to go to the National Council of Provinces for approval.

HomeArticlesCancer Crisis: Where are South Africa's radiation oncologists? Find out

Cancer Crisis: Where are South Africa’s radiation oncologists? Find out

Everyone knows about KZN’s cancer crisis but no one is talking about the other provinces that operate on just one radiation oncologist — or less.


There is not a single radiation oncologist left in Limpopo or Mpumalanga, according to an annual survey conducted by the South African Society of Clinical and Radiation Oncology. 

In fact, half the country’s provinces may be relying on just nine radiation oncologists in Gauteng as cancer services in five provinces buckle.

Gauteng has long been a beacon of hope for cancer patients, catering for the sickest of the sick from across almost half the country — but what happens when Gauteng oncology services begin to fail?

Read more here and find out.

Joan van Dyk was a health journalist, senior health journalist and news editor at Bhekisisa between 2017 and 2023.

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