Bhekisisa Centre For Health Journalism

The Bhekisisa Centre for Health Journalism is an independent South African nonprofit newsroom that produces in-depth, evidence-based reporting on health and social justice issues across Africa. Founded in 2013 by journalist Mia Malan as a health desk and later registered as an independent non-profit, Bhekisisa specialises in narrative and solutions journalism that combines peer-reviewed research, data analysis and investigative reporting. It targets policymakers, health professionals, researchers, activists and the informed public, and amplifies impact through distribution partnerships with national outlets such as News24, Daily Maverick and the Mail & Guardian. Bhekisisa’s output includes news and analysis, explanatory features, investigative series, data dashboards, multimedia storytelling, profiles, podcasts, and a specialist television programme launched in 2022. The organisation focuses on policy-relevant topics such as pandemics and infectious disease, sexual and reproductive health, access to healthcare, systemic inequality and health-sector accountability. It also runs webinars, trainings, mentorships and fellowship programmes to build public-health reporting capacity and to strengthen connections between journalism, research and civil society. Operating largely with philanthropic support alongside earned revenue from events and partnerships, Bhekisisa stresses rigorous sourcing, transparent evidence use and solutions-oriented narratives. Its reporting has achieved measurable policy influence and recognition—examples include coverage that helped advance the removal of taxes on menstrual products and widely cited COVID-19 reporting that informed public and policy debates. Journalists and the organisation have received regional and international awards, and Bhekisisa positions itself as a specialist source for science-informed health journalism aimed at shaping policy and public understanding across the continent.