South African Health Minister, Aaron Motsoaledi says he is expecting a “hurricane of protest” when he unveils the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill and the Medical Schemes Amendment Bill on Thursday. Motsoaledi said that he is not expecting a storm on Thursday, but a “hurricane”. “On Thursday this week I’ll be releasing two bills to […]

A wonderful Good Samaritan in South Africa has donated his kidney to talented artist and wildlife crusader Di Wilkinson… and he did it just in time for Di and her children to celebrate Mother’s Day with joy and newfound hope. It’s now almost three week since the op on 10 May 2018, and Di and […]

The UN’s health Agency has joined forces with the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to launch an Ebola vaccination programme in a quest to decrease the spread of the most recent outbreak in the country’s northwest. The World Health Organisation (WHO) will attempt to vaccinate high-risk populations with close to 8,000 doses […]

Extreme explorer, Cipla Foundation trustee and ambassador, David Grier and fellow extreme athlete, Andrew Stuart have passed the half-way mark of their gruelling 70-day, 4,200 kilometre journey across the Great Wall of China. This challenge is a feat that Grier already completed in 2006 when he became one of the first people in history to run the […]

Western Cape ANC MP Cameron Dugmore posted the most incredibly moving account of his Two Oceans Marathon experience yesterday in Cape Town, South Africa. Writing on Facebook Dugmore captioned his story “My Two Oceans” and said: “I had a tough but eventually awesome Two Oceans. I clearly did not train enough and was battling from […]

We are delighted to report that the Department of Health has granted approval for Di Wilkinson to receive a life-saving kidney transplant, after a gruelling five-year struggle. Since Di’s donor is not a relative, Department approval was required. It’s a measure in place to prevent kidney trafficking. Seven members of Di’s family have the same […]

Health Minister, Aaron Motsoaledi, announced Sunday in South Africa that the source of the deadly Listeriosis virus has been traced to Enterprise food production in Limpopo; with polony being identified as a definite culprit. The source was identified as an Enterprise processing plant in Polokwane and has been confirmed. Results became available at midnight, prompting the […]

The number of deaths caused by South Africa’s deadly Listeriosis outbreak is still escalating. According to the latest update Listeriosis has claimed 107 lives in SA, up from 61 exactly a month ago. The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) announced on Tuesday that a total number of 852 laboratory-confirmed Listeriosis cases have been reported, […]

The South African Department of Health has put the Listeriosis outbreak on high surveillance, as 119 new cases have occurred since 5 December 2017, and 61 patients have now died. The Minister of Health is requesting that all pregnant women register on MomConnect, as SA experiences one of the largest outbreaks of Listeriosis recorded in the […]

Groote Schuur Hospital is celebrating another first in the Western Cape. At a press conference today, it was announced that Groote Schuur has performed the first ever bilateral sequential lung transplant in the Western Cape, and the first of its kind in the public sector nationwide! The hospital – famous worldwide for being the location of […]

The South African Government says it is investigating an outbreak of Listeriosis in the country which has caused the deaths of 36 people. At a media briefing in Pretoria on Tuesday, Health Minister, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, said the source of the outbreak is likely to be a food product consumed by people across all socio-economic […]

Today, 50 years ago, Professor Chris Barnard did the seemingly impossible: he successfully performed the world’s first human heart transplant. Tonight South African current affairs programme Carte Blanche will look back on this seminal moment in South African and world history. (If you’re overseas you can watch the tribute on Showmax from Tuesday.) “We celebrate […]

South African expat Krishen Samuel has featured on a viral video published by BBC London today, to mark World Aids Day. Watch both videos – the BBC one and Stories of Note below… to see this expat making South Africans proud by telling his story and campaigning for an end to Aids Krishen – who […]

South Africa’s Chris Barnard stands out in medical history as the heart surgeon who became a global household name after transplanting the first human heart on 3 December 1967. The historic surgery captured the world’s imagination and was hailed by 20th-century historians as socially and scientifically of equal significance compared to the moon-landing in 1969. I examined […]

Due to reported cases of Malaria in Mpumalanga Province recently, in particular Ehlanzeni District Municipality of which the southern part of the Kruger National Park (KNP) falls under, the Kruger Park management has cautioned visitors coming to the Park to take the necessary precautionary measures against Malaria disease. “We would like to advise visitors to […]

LOS ANGELES – Veep actress (and Elaine from Seinfeld), Julia Louis-Dreyfus, has revealed that she has been diagnosed with breast cancer. But in that moment, the one most women dread, she proved just how awesome she is by immediately thinking of others and using the opportunity to call for universal health care for all. The […]

With 15% of the workforce absent every day in South African businesses, it pays to invest in employees’ well-being. Occupational Care South Africa (OCSA) has revealed up to 15% of staff call in sick each day in South Africa, costing the economy R16 billion per annum. However, for every three employees that don’t show up […]

As a disabled person it is really disheartening knowing that we in South Africa recently celebrated our 23rd year anniversary of our new democracy… and still not much has been done to narrow the gap between disabled people and non-disabled people, as there is still so much stigma towards people living with disabilities and special needs. I’m not saying […]

South Africans have always been fans of Rooibos and its benefits… and as expats have discovered, SA’s homegrown tea is becoming a firm favourite amongst healthy tea drinkers across the globe. And now a young schoolgirl has made some extraordinary findings that show Rooibos could help dogs too… Zaria Rule – a grade 7 learner […]

Two South African expats are travelling the world, teaching yoga and living their dreams. Ethan Ward and Charmelle Taute are Ashtanga yogis, presently living in Bali. They spoke to SAPeople about becoming expats,  what they learnt from Woodridge College on the outskirts of Port Elizabeth, and their next exciting venture… The couple met at Woodridge […]

This is a video to watch every morning when you get up. Turn it Up. And you’ll want to exercise AND party! (And you’ll probably also want to move to Cape Town, South Africa!) The footage was filmed on Thursday morning at 07h30… when a group of hikers on Lion’s Head got into some great music… and […]

PRETORIA – In response to the recent measles outbreak – confirmed by Gauteng Health MEC Gwen Ramokgopa – the City of Ekurhuleni has rolled out an emergency measles vaccination campaign. The campaign will run at all clinics across the city until Friday, 12 May. The city has encouraged parents to get children from ages six […]

Every time a cell divides, there is a chance for a mutation (mistake) to occur in the DNA – the substance that carries genetic information in all living organisms. These mutations can lead to cancer. If all cells have a similar chance of developing cancer-causing mutations, then very large and long-lived animals with more cells […]

CAPE TOWN – Professor Tim Noakes has been found not guilty of unprofessional conduct on all counts. His foundation – The Noakes Foundation – has issued a press release, but their website has been overwhelmed with hits and has crashed. We will update when it becomes available again. Noakes had been facing charges of unprofessional conduct, […]

Humans and animals need to do several things to pass on their genes: eat, avoid being eaten, reproduce and sleep. Missing any of these biological imperatives leads to death. But when we’re asleep we can’t perform those other functions. One of modern science’s big mysteries, then, is: why do we sleep? Scientists have suggested many […]