A recent study conducted by WaterCAN has revealed serious concerns about water safety in South African schools, with almost half of the tested samples deemed unsafe for consumption. The study was part of WaterCAN’s “Water Warriors” citizen science initiative, which trained learners and teachers at 95 schools across eight provinces to collect and test water samples. Of the 53 schools that…
Unseasonably heavy snowfall has swept across parts of South Africa this week, blanketing towns and rural areas in a rare winter spectacle that has brought both awe and disruption. Provinces including the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and parts of the Free State and Lesotho border regions have been the hardest hit, with snowfalls reported as far as the highlands of Mpumalanga and the Northern…
South Africa’s battle against HIV/AIDS faces a critical setback following significant reductions in U.S. funding, particularly from the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). This development jeopardizes the progress made in combating the epidemic, especially given that South Africa has the world’s largest HIV burden, with approximately 7.7 million people living with…
Uganda has officially declared an end to its latest Ebola outbreak, which began in January 2025. The outbreak, caused by the Sudan strain of the Ebola virus, was particularly challenging as there is currently no approved vaccine for this strain. The first case was identified following the death of a male nurse in Kampala, Uganda’s capital. Subsequent cases were traced to contacts of the…
Over the past two decades, Africa has seen a significant decline in maternal and newborn deaths, reflecting the continent’s growing investment in healthcare infrastructure and maternal care programs. According to recent data from the World Health Organization (WHO), maternal mortality in Africa decreased by approximately 33% between 2000 and 2020, with the number of maternal deaths dropping from…
In a significant step toward improving healthcare and medical practices, Nigeria has officially launched new standards and guidelines for organ and tissue transplants. The initiative, led by the Nigerian government and the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), aims to regulate and standardize organ transplant procedures across the country, ensuring greater safety, ethical considerations, and…
In a tragic development in Uganda, a four-year-old child has died from Ebola, marking a devastating loss amid a new outbreak of the virus in the country. The child’s death has heightened concerns about the spread of the disease, which was confirmed by Uganda’s health authorities after the child was diagnosed with the virus in the western part of the country. This marks the latest chapter…
