{"id":49003,"date":"2026-10-26T07:45:07","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T05:45:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/?post_type=news&#038;p=49003"},"modified":"2026-10-26T07:45:07","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T05:45:07","slug":"sa-to-launch-asbestos-health-screening-programme","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/news\/sa-to-launch-asbestos-health-screening-programme\/","title":{"rendered":"SA to launch asbestos health screening programme"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Motsoaledi will be accompanied by Northern Cape province&#8217;s Premier Dr Zamani Saul and Health MEC Nontobeko Vilakazi.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The programme forms part of the government\u2019s response to the long-term health risks caused by historical asbestos mining in the province.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>National Department of Health Spokesperson Foster Mohale said abandoned and unrehabilitated mining areas continued exposing surrounding communities to hazardous asbestos fibres. \u201cUnrehabilitated asbestos mining in the Northern Cape has left behind contaminated soil, roads and public spaces, which continue to expose residents to airborne asbestos fibres,\u201d Mohale said.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The screening programme will give affected community members access to respiratory and general health assessments.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Services will include early detection, health education and referrals for residents requiring further examination or treatment. \u201cThe programme will provide affected community members with access to respiratory and general health assessments, early-detection services, health education and referral pathways for further care,\u201d Mohale said.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Asbestos fibres released into the air can be inhaled and remain in the lungs for extended periods. Related diseases may take years or decades to become apparent, increasing the importance of regular medical screening in historically affected communities.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&#8211;SABC\/ChannelAfrica&#8211;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":14665,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[26],"class_list":["post-49003","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"South Africa's (SA) Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi will visit Kuruman on Monday to launch an integrated community health-screening programme for residents exposed to asbestos contamination.","published_date":"","news_description":"South Africa's (SA) Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi will visit Kuruman on Monday to launch an integrated community health-screening programme for residents exposed to asbestos contamination.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/49003","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/49003\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49005,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/49003\/revisions\/49005"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14665"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=49003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}