Medical Brief News Updates

A modelling study commissioned by the National Department of Health into the impact of the Pepfar funding cuts has revealed that this could result in another 150 000 to 295 000 HIV infections in SA by the end of 2028 – unless the government covers some of the defunded services.… Read more »

Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi says the public health sector will be boosted, in anticipation of the NHI roll-out, with new clinics and half a dozen new academic hospitals. Three of those will replace long-standing temporary structures, he said, while six will be constructed in areas previously without academic hospitals. The… Read more »

Not for the first time, Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has blasted heads of state who fly to other countries when they need medical help, telling the G20 ministerial dialogue in Johannesburg on Monday that African leaders continue to prefer dying in foreign lands because they don’t trust healthcare systems… Read more »

Migrant care is exerting huge pressure on the Gauteng Department of Health and the system is completely overwhelmed, Ministers have admitted, yet public hospitals and clinics have no option but to treat foreign nationals. After complaints from residents about long queues, medicine stockouts and understaffing, Deputy Health Minister Joe Phaahla… Read more »

Members of the World Health Organisation reached a landmark agreement yesterday on how to learn from Covid-19, which killed millions of people in 2020-22, and prepare the world for future pandemics. Reuters reports that sticking points on the road to the deal included how to share drugs and vaccines fairly… Read more »

Desperation is driving illicit deals and trades involving cash for kidneys, with global syndicates stretching from Kenya to Germany and involving billions of dollars, according to a months-long investigation by German media outlets Der Spiegel, ZDF and DW. The collaboration traced the paths of organ sellers and buyers, spoke to whistleblowers… Read more »

A landmark study presented this week at the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) in Vienna has revealed that more than 3m children worldwide died in 2022 from antimicrobial resistance (AMR)-related infections. The findings underscore the urgent need for both regional and global strategies to control paediatric… Read more »

The Groote Schuur Hospital Emergency Funds for Emergency Surgeries project – which has raised more than half a million rands, and which was launched this week in anticipation of the Easter weekend – will provide surgical teams with resources for additional emergency procedures over peak periods, the facility says. Through… Read more »

The DA in Gauteng has called for a review of ballooning hospital security costs, with MPL Jack Bloom saying the exorbitant amounts could rather be diverted to improve patient care, and that cartels could be involved in the awarding of the inflated and highly lucrative contracts. In a written reply… Read more »

French healthcare workers and families of colleagues who killed themselves have filed a legal complaint against two government Ministers over “deadly working conditions” in public hospitals which they say are causing suicides. The country’s public hospitals have drastically slashed spending over recent decades, with doctors and nurses having since complained… Read more »