Misinformation and a lack of government trust threaten SA’s vaccine programme
Health
Posted inMedia
Social media is a valuable tool for improving health awareness in Africa
The combination of flexible targetability, low cost and direct communication make for an effective way to improve education and address individual needs
Posted inGeneral
Africa’s development is dependent on young and old
Although it is generally thought that the youth hold the keys to the future, an intergenerational alliance could unlock more potential
Posted inBusiness, Environment
Eskom’s emissions are not compatible with the South African constitution
The government must not cave to Eskom’s demand that it be exempt from air pollution rules. Furthermore, the power utility needs to stay true to the principles of its own just transition strategy
Posted inNews/Politics
Us paradoxical humans: Embrace it at a time of possible mass deception
Even if most of the time we toe the conventional line there are some circumstances, such as during a so-called pandemic, when we must say, thus far but no further
Posted inHealth
Some Covid-19 habits are not to be sneezed at
The past few months have demonstrated how much misery can be avoided with better hygiene habits — and that it is entirely possible to work from bed
Posted inGeneral, Health, Lifestyle
Lost causes
Okay, I might as well get it out in the open. I’m a loser. Luckily, most of the things I misplace turn up somewhere, sometime, and then it’s like Christmas at chez Foster. Some of my items that go AWOL are repeat offenders, and my bunch of house keys with the large magnesium and flint […]
Posted inGeneral, Health
Public health in SA: Crying out for help, but who is listening?
By Louise Carmody I was one of over a hundred people who gathered last week in the University of the Free State auditorium, as communities shared their experiences with an independent panel of three commissioners. Treatment Action Campaign and Section 27 convened the panel to investigate the real situation of public health care services in […]
Posted inEquality, General
Crime, capital and economic apartheid
In the book Blank: Architecture, Apartheid and After (edited by H Judin and I Vladislavic; David Philip Publishers, Cape Town 1998), Lindsay Bremner’s contribution, “Crime and the emerging landscape of post-apartheid Johannesburg” (pp. 48-63) uncovered the roots of racial segregation in the origins of Johannesburg as a gold mining camp in 1886. During the apartheid […]
Posted inHealth, News/Politics
‘Why would anyone want to become a doctor?’
By Dr Owen Wiese I remember very clearly an incident during my community service, when I walked into the trauma unit at a day hospital in Cape Town one morning and found a patient lying on the trolley, bleeding profusely from a knife wound. I picked up the patient’s file and read: stab wound to […]
Posted inEnvironment, News/Politics
Eskom and Sasol put a low price on life
By Alex Lenferna How much is a human life worth? How much is our future and that of our children worth? Well, the answer to both is “not too much” if Eskom and Sasol’s pollution-friendly tactics are anything to go by. Allow me to explain. On paper, South Africa has some pretty decent environmental legislation […]
Posted inLifestyle, Media
The National Drug Master Plan: More bark than bite?
In August of last year the department of social development released the latest incarnation of South Africa’s National Drug Master Plan, the NDMP 2013-2017. The national press responded with deafening silence. Considering, however, that it will play a central role in both defining and guiding the South African government’s responses to the production, distribution, and […]