Metabolic Health Is The New Cancer Prevention
Every year on the first Sunday of June, the world celebrates cancer survivors. And it should. The fact that a cancer diagnosis is no longer the automatic death sentence it was in 1988, when the first National Cancer Survivors Day was held, is one of medicine’s genuine triumphs (1). Survival rates have climbed. Treatments have […]
Youth Month, Freedom and the Courage to Question
Each year, Youth Month provides an opportunity to reflect on one of the most significant moments in South Africa’s history and to honour the young people whose courage helped shape the country we live in today. For many South Africans, the events of 16 June 1976 are familiar. We learn about them at school, we […]
Finally, a Name that Matches the Condition!
One in eight women worldwide lives with a condition that has long been misunderstood, underdiagnosed, and stigmatised (1). For decades, it carried a name that misled both patients and doctors: Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, or PCOS (2). The name suggested cysts on the ovaries were central, when in fact many women diagnosed had no cysts at […]
World Move for Health Day: Rethinking the Snack
At The Noakes Foundation, we’ve never been fans of snacking. If food is doing what it is supposed to do, meals should be sufficient. Hunger should have a rhythm, not a constant presence, and the need to snack every few hours often says more about what we are eating than about how often we should […]
World Health Month: The Metric We’re Missing
Every year, World Health Month prompts the same conversation… We talk about prevention. We talk about lifestyle. We talk about the growing burden of chronic disease and the need to intervene earlier, more effectively, and more sustainably. All important, all priorities. Yet, despite all of this, the trajectory hasn’t shifted in the way we might […]
7 April World Health Day: Stand With Science, But Don’t Stop Asking Questions
Every year on 7 April, the world marks World Health Day, a global initiative led by the World Health Organization (WHO) to highlight major health challenges and promote action to improve public health. In 2026, the theme is “Together for health. Stand with science.” The campaign encourages governments, scientists, health workers, and the public to […]
24 March: World TB Day Tuberculosis, Immunity and the Power of Metabolic Health
More than 140 years ago, on 24 March 1882, the German physician Robert Koch announced his discovery of the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, identifying the cause of tuberculosis (TB) and transforming the understanding of infectious diseases (3). Yet more than a century later, the fight against TB is far from over. Each year, World TB Day […]
Health Is a Human Right: Addressing Inequality in South Africa
Health is not a luxury; it is a fundamental human right. Yet in a society marked by persistent inequality, the right to health is not experienced equally. Human Rights Day reminds us of the struggle for dignity and justice in South Africa’s history. It is also an opportunity to reflect on the inequalities that continue […]
World Kidney Day: Your Body’s Filters Under Pressure
Every day, your kidneys filter almost 180 litres of blood (the same amount of fluid that fills an average bathtub), quietly removing waste, balancing fluids and electrolytes, regulating blood pressure, and even helping produce red blood cells. Most of the time, you never notice them working. They simply do their job in the background. But […]
International Women’s Day: Women Leading Change
Change does not always begin in parliaments or protest marches. Sometimes it begins in kitchens, around dinner tables, and in the everyday decisions about what families eat. Across the world, women play a central role in shaping household food environments, influencing the meals that nourish families and the habits that shape lifelong health (1). These […]