SA’s Mental Health Crisis and Economic Impact

Original Article by Yoliswa Sobuwa | Health-e News | 14 May 2025

Uncover the realities of South Africa's mental health crisis, its roots in trauma, poverty, and the urgent need for better care access.

Uncover the realities of South Africa’s mental health crisis, its roots in trauma, poverty, and the urgent need for better care access.

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Dr Thembisile Xulu is the new health Director-General, inheriting a strained department, healthcare-worker shortages and NHI litigation.

Gauteng is losing 100 nurses a month and needs R5.7bn to fill a 16,000-post gap. This shortage now flagged as a key risk to the NHI rollout.

Regulation, not demand, blocks affordable cover: medical schemes should be allowed to offer low-cost benefit options (LCBOs) now.