Health-e News

Health-e News Health-e News is a non-profit, online publication focused on pressing health issues in South Africa.

We centre community voices through our network of nationwide community journalists.

A mother says she was denied entry to a Durban clinic while carrying her four-month-old baby.The child had been assessed...
02/06/2026

A mother says she was denied entry to a Durban clinic while carrying her four-month-old baby.

The child had been assessed as high risk after struggling to breathe and had been referred for continued treatment.

She alleges March and March, an anti-immigrant vigilante group, stopped her from entering Addington Gateway Clinic despite her showing asylum documents, her baby's clinic card and Road to Health book.

The group has been blocking non-South Africans from public clinics, hospitals and schools since March 2025.

👇 Full story in the comments
✍️ Phumzile Mkhungo

Polycystic o***y syndrome (PCOS), is a term you may have heard before.But what if the name doesn't tell the whole story?...
02/06/2026

Polycystic o***y syndrome (PCOS), is a term you may have heard before.

But what if the name doesn't tell the whole story?

Experts say the condition has long been associated with fertility problems.

Yet it can also be linked to diabetes, heart disease, skin problems, psychological challenges and other health complications.

Now, a global consortium has renamed the condition to polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS), to better reflect its wider impact on the body.

👇 Full story in the comments
✍️ Ina Skosana

02/06/2026

[WATCH] When most people hear PCOS, they think about irregular periods and fertility problems. But doctors say the condition affects much more than that.

A global group of experts and patients has changed the name from PCOS to PMOS.

Professor Jack Biko a reproductive medicine specialist says the old name did not fully explain what is happening in the body.

Women with PCOS may have a higher risk of diabetes, heart disease, cancer of the womb lining, skin problems and mental health challenges.

The new name is meant to show that this condition can affect many parts of the body, so that people can get the appropriate care.

🔗 More at the link in bio via Ina Skosana.

02/06/2026

[WATCH] PCOS is known as a condition that can cause irregular periods, difficulty with fertility and unwanted facial hair. But doctors say there's much more to it than that.

A global group of experts and patients has changed the name of polycystic o***y syndrome (PCOS) to polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS).

Professor Jack Biko a reproductive medicine specialist says the old name focused too much on the ovaries and "cysts", while missing the bigger health issues linked to the condition.

PCOS can increase a person's risk of diabetes, heart disease, cancer of the womb lining, skin problems and mental health challenges.

The new name is meant to show that this condition can affect many parts of the body, so that people can get the appropriate treatment.

👇 Full story in the comments
✍️ Ina Skosana

At 28, Joyce says managing her diabetes feels like a constant battle.Despite being on treatment, she says it’s very rare...
28/05/2026

At 28, Joyce says managing her diabetes feels like a constant battle.

Despite being on treatment, she says it’s very rare for her levels to be normal.

But unlike most people living with diabetes, doctors still cannot clearly place her condition into Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes.

Instead, they suspect she may have what researchers are now calling 'Type 5 diabetes', a form linked to prolonged childhood malnutrition that may damage the pancreas and limit insulin production.

Experts say the condition may especially affect poorer countries battling malnutrition and food insecurity, including South Africa, where one in four children under five are stunted.

But for Joyce, managing her condition is not just about medication. She says affordable vegetables from Sebenza Garden in Gugulethu have helped her eat healthier and better manage her diabetes.

👇 Full story in the comments
✍️ Via Sipokazi Fokazi.

27/05/2026

[WATCH] When 64-year-old Sbongile Mofokeng from Orange Farm was diagnosed with HIV in 2013, she says she needed more than treatment.

She wanted support and information to help understand what was happening to her.

More than a decade later, she says many older people living with HIV still feel overlooked.

Members of the Lawley elderly community group told Health-e News that clinic talks often focus on conditions like hypertension and diabetes, while HIV education rarely includes them.

"Being elderly does not exclude me from being exposed to HIV or being infected," says 75-year-old Mpumelele Ngwenya.

As more South Africans living with HIV are living longer, some elderly people say they want healthcare support that speaks to their realities too.

👇 Full story in the comments
✍️ Via Lerato Kodisang

27/05/2026

[WATCH] Many elderly Orange Farm residents living with HIV say they feel left out of HIV education and support.

When Sbongile Mofokeng was diagnosed with HIV at 51, she says she was given treatment but struggled to get the support and information she needed to understand her diagnosis.

Members of the Lawley elderly community group say HIV talks at clinics often seem to pass them by.

“Being elderly does not exclude me from being exposed to HIV or being infected,” says 75-year-old Mpumelele Ngwenya.

As more people with HIV are living longer, some older South Africans say they want healthcare services and information that include them too.

🔗 More at the link in bio via Lerato Kodisang.

For Tovhowani Makondo, also known as “Queen Beyonce”, growing up in Hakhakhu Tshifume in Limpopo’s Vhembe District meant...
25/05/2026

For Tovhowani Makondo, also known as “Queen Beyonce”, growing up in Hakhakhu Tshifume in Limpopo’s Vhembe District meant facing bullying, rejection and being insulted for being different.

After dropping out of school in Grade 9, she left home and travelled from place to place searching for work and a way to survive.

During some of the hardest years of her life, she says she slept with men for money to afford food and a place to stay.

In 2014, while admitted to Weskoppies Hospital in Pretoria, Makondo was diagnosed with HIV.

Today, after 11 years on ARVs, she says surviving HIV has given her a new purpose: helping others understand that an HIV diagnosis is not the end.

👇 Full story in the comments
✍️ Via Maandamahulu Muanalo Bele

One man has spent more than three months waiting for surgery after a serious car crash. Another says he has spent more t...
22/05/2026

One man has spent more than three months waiting for surgery after a serious car crash.

Another says he has spent more than three years waiting for proper treatment after his legs were badly fractured.

Behind these stories is a larger problem unfolding in Limpopo’s health system.

According to health spokesperson Neil Shikwambana, the public sector is facing a critical shortage of orthopaedic surgeons, creating long waiting lists for specialist care.

🔗 More at the link in bio via Moyahabo Mabeba.

A car crash in February left one Limpopo man with a broken femur and shin. More than three months later, he is still wai...
22/05/2026

A car crash in February left one Limpopo man with a broken femur and shin. More than three months later, he is still waiting for surgery.

He is one of over 600 people on the waiting list at Polokwane Hospital.

Limpopo Health spokesperson Neil Shikwambana says the public sector is facing a critical shortage of orthopaedic surgeons, leading to long waiting lists for specialist care.

But opposition parties say the problem goes beyond surgeon shortages, pointing to staff shortages, poor infrastructure and under-equipped facilities.

👇 Full story in the comments
✍️ Via Moyahabo Mabeba

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