In a decisive move, newly appointed Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has affirmed his commitment to pushing forward with the African National Congress (ANC)’s controversial National Health Insurance (NHI) initiative. This is despite facing legal challenges and political opposition within the new government of national unity. In an interview , Motsoaledi did not extend any conciliatory gestures to the private healthcare…
Category: Archive
Every Health Matters article, newest first. Use the search or browse by month to find older reporting.
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Health Department allocates R62.2bn budget for 2024/25
The National Department of Health has been allocated a budget of R62.2 billion for the 2024/25 financial year, representing a 3.5% increase from last year’s R60.1 billion. Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi tabled the Health Budget vote in the National Assembly yesterday. Motsoaledi outlined that 79% of the budget is earmarked for communicable and non-communicable diseases (R25.4 billion) and hospital…
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Keready brings health services to rural Eastern Cape’s youth
In Bizana, a small town in the Eastern Cape, the Oliver and Adelaide Tambo Regional Hospital bustles with hundreds of children. The vibrant scene, filled with children in various school uniforms, signals the start of a two-day health outreach event organised by Keready, an organisation providing mobile health services to remote communities. Children, some arriving from over 100km away, gather…
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Judge rules officials responsible for Life Esidimeni tragedy
The Life Esidimeni inquest has concluded, finding former Gauteng MEC for health Qedani Mahlangu and the former head of Gauteng’s mental health services, Dr Makgabo Manamela, responsible for the deaths of patients transferred from private facilities to inadequately prepared NGOs eight years ago. Summarising her judgment, Judge Mmonoa Teffo said that Ms Qedani Mahlangu and Dr Manamela created the circumstances…
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Alarming trends in mother-to-child HIV transmission
The South African National AIDS Council (Sanac) has set an ambitious goal to ensure that at least 95% of children infected with HIV are tested and linked to treatment and care. This initiative comes amid ongoing concerns about rising HIV infection rates among infants, particularly in the Tshwane district. The City of Tshwane’s health department recently highlighted the persistent issue…
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Low long-term adherence to weight loss drugs
A recent analysis of US pharmacy claims has revealed that only one in four patients prescribed Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy or Ozempic for weight loss continued using the medications two years later. The study, which provides a comprehensive view of real-world patient experiences, showed a steady decline in usage over time. The analysis, conducted by Prime Therapeutics and Magellan Rx Management,…
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Small private hospital groups granted regulatory exemption
The Department of Trade, Industry, and Competition has granted an exemption to small private hospital groups from specific competition regulations for the next five years. This move aims to create a more balanced industry landscape, which Mediclinic, Netcare, and Life Healthcare currently dominate. The Competition Commission said that these three major groups control 83% of the private healthcare facilities in…
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Competition Commission and J&J reach TB drug agreement
The Competition Commission has reached a landmark agreement with Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and its subsidiary, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, under which J&J will not enforce its patent on a crucial tuberculosis (TB) drug in 134 low- and middle-income countries. Additionally, J&J will reduce the drug’s price for South Africa’s Department of Health by approximately 40%. This decision not to enforce the…
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Momentum’s outlook on NHI implementation
As the new cabinet begins its term, the African National Congress (ANC) is expected to advocate for the National Health Insurance (NHI) Act in its current form, according to Ethicore, a political lobbying company representing Momentum. Ethicore shared this prediction during Momentum’s recent annual thought leadership seminar in Cape Town. Momentum, one of the nation’s largest insurance and medical scheme…
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Cyberattack on NHLS disrupts patient care
Health workers, despite the challenges, are tirelessly working to mitigate the severe impact of a cyberattack on the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS), significantly hindering patient treatment. Doctors at two major state hospitals in Johannesburg report that critical medical procedures have been postponed due to the NHLS’s inability to upload test results online since the cyber hack on June 22.…
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Roche sues over alleged misuse of trade secrets
Roche has filed a lawsuit in the California federal court against Stanford University and medical technology startup Foresight Diagnostics, alleging that Foresight misappropriated its genetic-sequencing trade secrets to develop competing cancer-detection products. In the complaint, Roche claims that Stanford University professors Maximilian Diehn and Ash Alizadeh, whose technology Roche acquired in 2015, secretly established Foresight while serving as consultants for…