National Department of Health (South Africa)

16/09/2026

The National Department of Health’s workshop continued today in Boksburg, as participants engaged in sessions to validate the South Africa Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) Strategic Plan and Technical Guidelines.

The breakaway sessions focused on key components of the IDSR system, including case identification and recording; reporting of priority events, diseases and conditions; investigation of suspected outbreaks and other public health events; preparedness and response to outbreaks; risk communication and community engagement (RCCE); and monitoring and evaluation.

The discussions aim to ensure that the Strategic Plan and Technical Guidelines are practical, aligned with the country’s disease surveillance and response needs, and supported by appropriate costing and implementation measures.

16/09/2026

📘If you have lost your clinic card, misplaced it, or missed your clinic date, you can still return to the clinic and request a new clinic card or a new appointment date.

👶🏻From birth until your child is of school-going age, they must receive all their immunisations to prevent them from getting sick from diseases such as Measles, Rubella, Tuberculosis, human papillomavirus, Polio, Mumps, Pneumonia, Chickenpox, or Hepatitis.

👶🏻Once your child reaches 24 months (2 yrs), they should also receive their Vitamin A and deworming every six months until they turn 5 years old.

📲When you miss your clinic date, it is ok to return to the clinic to vaccinate your child or to get a new date. Even when vaccine stocks are low, please register on by dialling this free USSD code: *134*550*2 #. You will be notified when vaccines are back in stock.

🧾Losing your clinic card or finding out that the immunisation shots are low should not discourage you, mommy. We do have resources that inform you when stock is available at your clinic on our online platforms.

🫱🏻‍🫲🏾It takes all of us to protect our little ones. Showing up at the clinic is the first step.


LifeLine South Africa

16/09/2026

👶🏻Once your child starts eating at 6 months or older, it is important to know which food items are safe for them to eat.

👶🏻Because children's taste buds are still getting used to different textures, food must be prepared in a texture that is safe for them to eat at their age.

👶🏻For example, at 6 months, the food must be soft and mashed. As they grow older, around 9-11 months, food pieces have to be cut into small pieces so they do not choke. From 12 months to 5 years, their food has to be cut up into small pieces so they can eat on their own. This is also how they learn to be independent.

⚠️Remember, when feeding your child, do not leave them unsupervised. Always stay next to your child and encourage them to eat (do not force feed them).

⚠️Don’t give your child Rooibos tea or any other tea, coffee, creamers, condensed milk, flour water, sugar water, or cold drinks. These foods and drinks do not contain any nutrients and will not help your child to grow.

From the age of 6 months, give your baby clean, safe-to-drink water from a cup during the day. Boil the water and cool it before you give it to your child.


LifeLine South Africa

16/09/2026

Ahead of World Patient Safety Day on 17 September, remember that your health and safety come first. 🩺✨

TB testing and treatment are 100% FREE, safe, and strictly confidential at every public facility in South Africa.

15/09/2026

World Patient Safety Day
Theme: Safe care for noncommunicable diseases
Slogan: “Safe care for life!”
Date: 17 September 2026

This year’s World Patient Safety Day campaign focuses on accelerating action to strengthen the safety of care for people living with noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) across the continuum of care, with particular attention to addressing wider determinants that may increase the risk of harm. It also underscores meaningful engagement with people with lived experience, ensuring that their perspectives and needs inform safer, more responsive, and person-centred NCD services.

15/09/2026

https://lnkd.in/p/d8taChqq

| Department of Health reports on progress in Lenacapavir HIV prevention programme rollout Since the National launch on 5 June 2026, has been rolled out through 360 public health facilities across 24 districts in six provinces. | 10 comments on....

15/09/2026

Your personal medical information belongs strictly between you and your healthcare provider. 🔒

Visit any public clinic with complete confidence knowing that your test results and health records are protected by law.

15/09/2026

14/09/2026

National Department of Health convenes IDSR Strategic Plan and Technical Guidelines Validation Workshop

The National Department of Health (NDoH) has convened the South Africa Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) Strategic Plan and Technical Guidelines Validation Workshop in Boksburg, bringing together provinces, national stakeholders and implementing partners to strengthen collaboration, coordination and information-sharing across the disease surveillance system.

The workshop was officially opened by Mr Mbekiseni Khumalo, National Director for Epidemiology and Surveillance, who provided an overview of the objectives and expected outcomes of the engagement, as well as the current disease surveillance landscape in South Africa. His presentation outlined progress made and recent developments in disease surveillance, while highlighting key gaps that require attention.

Mr Khumalo noted that the current surveillance landscape remains fragmented, with surveillance systems that do not adequately communicate or share information with one another across government departments, within the health sector, and between government and external stakeholders. Information-sharing between government and the private sector is also limited and inconsistent.

These gaps are of particular concern given that many public health threats are influenced by factors beyond the health sector, including zoonotic and environmental risks and the effects of climate change. A more integrated approach is therefore required to ensure that relevant information is identified, shared and acted upon in a timely manner.

The IDSR Strategic Plan provides a framework for addressing these challenges and strengthening the implementation of disease surveillance and response. It seeks to improve the timely detection, reporting and verification of public health events; risk assessment and response; information-sharing and coordination; and the capacity to identify and respond to emerging and re-emerging public health threats, including those arising at the human-animal-environment interface.

The workshop emphasised the need to strengthen the capacity of the health system and relevant sectors to prevent, detect, verify, assess, communicate and respond to public health threats in a coordinated and timely manner.

The validation process is ultimately aimed at contributing to a more integrated, interoperable and responsive disease surveillance system capable of supporting the timely detection, verification, risk assessment, communication and response to public health threats.

14/09/2026

The National Department of Health (NDoH), through its Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) Awareness programme, will host a webinar on the NDoH Knowledge Hub.

Date: Wednesday, 16 September 2026
🕙 Time: 10h00–12h00
💻 Platform: NDoH Knowledge Hub

Please register in advance: https://url.za.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/k9R0Cy85MZSJJB7jTRsmmixwsxL?domain=zoom.us