Health

Start HIV treatment sooner, study shows

It’s important to start treating people with HIV sooner rather than later, according to the findings of a large clinical study which could change treatment in many countries including South Africa.

Nathan Geffen

News | 27 May 2015

Lukewarm response to new toilets in Khayelitsha

Minister of Water Affairs and Sanitation Nomvula Mokonyane announced in Khayelitsha on Friday the launch of pilot projects of new mobile toilets. But residents’ reactions were somewhat sceptical.

Nombulelo Damba

News | 25 May 2015

We want service delivery, say Marikana residents

Garbage is piling up in Marikana informal settlement. Residents, concerned about their health and the squalor in which they are living, are calling on the City of Cape Town to begin providing services.

Nombulelo Damba

News | 13 May 2015

Presidency silent on sanitary pad promise

It has been four years since President Jacob Zuma promised that sanitary pads would be provided for poor women and girls in South Africa. But repeated attempts by GroundUp to find out what has been done suggest that his promise has not been kept.

Pharie Sefali

News | 12 May 2015

No toilets and not enough water in struggle hero’s birthplace

Residents of Slangspruit in Pietermaritzburg say they are used to the smell of faeces, because they have no toilets.

Ntombi Mbomvu

News | 12 May 2015

Sexologists battle over who is the real deal

Two sexology institutes in Gauteng are in conflict with one another over who is offering a legitimate services versus who is operating illegally. And experts in the field say they are both in the wrong.

Nombulelo Damba

News | 8 May 2015

Detainee tells of shocking conditions for awaiting trial prisoners

After numerous organisations wrote to the Department of Correctional Services, raising their concerns about the bad conditions in the awaiting trial section of Pollsmoor prison, GroundUp exclusively spoke to a detainee in that section, who says nothing has changed.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

Feature | 7 May 2015

How Virginia de Azevedo has improved our health

Dr Virginia de Azevedo, the City Health Manager in Khayelitsha, has become a target of SAMWU strike action which affects ten City of Cape Town run clinics in Khayelitsha.

Lynne Wilkinson

Opinion | 7 May 2015

Community health workers close clinics in Khayelitsha

On Tuesday, striking health workers led by the South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) closed six clinics in Khayelitsha, including Zakhele, Kuyasa, Youth, Mayenzeke, Matthew Goniwe and Luvuyo clinic. They will march to the Civic Centre in Cape Town tomorrow.

Nombulelo Damba

News | 5 May 2015

Gauteng hospital shambles

A doctor at South Africa’s largest hospital, Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital (CHBAH) in Soweto, has described chaotic planning and management that is putting patient care at risk.

Nathan Geffen and Ben Stanwix

News | 4 May 2015

Dying and the law: the Dignity SA case explained

Yesterday Judge Fabricius of the Pretoria High Court handed down an order in the case of Robin Stransham-Ford.

Timothy Fish Hodgson

News | 1 May 2015

More toilets will save South Africa money

For over five years, the Social Justice Coalition in Cape Town has called for expanding access to safe and clean sanitation facilities in Khayelitsha and other townships in the city. Despite the overwhelming need for such services, the municipal government has yet to fulfill its duties to provide them at the requisite scale.

Gregg Gonsalves, Edward Kaplan and David Paltiel

Opinion | 29 April 2015

Maggots, bodies and stench: what Khayelitsha residents say about their toilets

Last Thursday the Social Justice Coalition handed over 500 submissions, written by Khayelitsha residents, on the municipal budget to the City of Cape Town. GroundUp examined a sample of them to find out what residents are asking for.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

News | 29 April 2015

Striking Khayelitsha nurses plan to close all clinics on Tuesday

About 30 nurses protested outside the municipal offices in Khayelitsha demanding certain management officers be removed. The staff accuse the managers of abusing them and making them work under difficult conditions.

Nombulelo Damba

News | 24 April 2015

Khayelitsha residents hand over 600 submissions on City’s draft budget

About 150 Social Justice Coalition (SJC) members, supported by Ndifuna Ukwazi, formed a queue behind a toilet outside the Civic Centre and chanted struggle songs on Thursday, as they waited for their individual submissions on the City of Cape Town's draft budget for the 2015/2016 financial year to be collected.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

News | 23 April 2015

No running water and toilets for Kayamandi hostel residents

A large grey plastic bucket stands nearby one of several doorways in a derelict hostel in Kayamandi near Stellenbosch where Mhlangabezi Jobela has lived for more than 20 years.

Barbara Maregele

News | 15 April 2015