The Department of Health has called for an urgent national response to a sharp decline in childhood immunisation coverage, warning that South Africa risks outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases that could reverse decades of public health gains. Department spokesperson Foster Mohale said the decline in vaccination rates was placing hundreds of thousands of infants at risk of serious illness and death. “The proportion of unvaccinated infants, children under one year receiving no vaccinations, has increased from 12.1% in 2017 to an…

South African health authorities have sought to calm public fears after two different polio-related virus strains were detected in wastewater samples collected from a treatment plant in Cape Town, stressing that no human infections or outbreak cases have been identified. The National Institute for Communicable Diseases confirmed that the virus strains — identified as VDPV3 and nOPV2-L — were discovered during routine environmental surveillance aimed at monitoring potential disease threats before they spread among communities. The Department of Health said…

Three senior officials from the National Department of Health have appeared in court on charges of fraud and theft following an investigation by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation. Malixole Mahlathi, Phineas Mamogale and Sabelo Buthelezi were served with warrants of arrest on Monday morning and later appeared in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court. The arrests form part of a probe by the Hawks’ National Serious Corruption Investigation unit into alleged irregularities linked to public funds. The case stems…

The Department of Health has launched its 2026 Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccination campaign, aimed at protecting girls aged nine years and older from developing cervical cancer later in life. The nationwide drive begins on Monday, 2 February, and will be rolled out through schools across the country as part of the Integrated School Health Programme. Trained healthcare workers, including nurses, will visit schools to administer the vaccine free of charge. Cervical cancer remains a major public health concern in…

In a dramatic turn of events, the Gauteng Department of Health’s multi-million rand waste management tender award has been thrown into disarray. The department has successfully secured leave to appeal the High Court’s decision that declared the R526 million tender unlawful. The saga began in November 2022, when the Gauteng Department of Health issued a tender for medical waste disposal services. Buhle Waste, a long-standing player in the industry, submitted a bid alongside nineteen other companies. However, the tender process…

The first cases of cholera in Gauteng were traced to a bus trip to Malawi back in January, Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla said The explanation of the origins of the deadly waterborne disease is unlikely to bring any comfort to the families who lost their loved ones to the outbreak. On Wednesday, Phaahla held a press briefing at Tshedimosetso House in Pretoria, where he outlined the timeline of what has now come to be known as the Hammanskraal cholera…