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The Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Pretoria (UP) and Steve Biko Academic Hospital have welcomed a mobile robot called Stevie to help improve the treatment of patients during the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

Named after Steve Biko – one of the most prominent leaders during South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggle – Stevie will be vital in allowing for bedside ward rounds attended by intensive care unit (ICU) teams from across the globe.

One way of making a meaningful contribution to the lives of others after your death is by signing up to become an organ donor.

This simple act has the potential to save many lives.

Organ Donor Month, commemorated in August, aims to create awareness around organ donation and how it saves lives.

According to the South African Organ Donor Foundation (ODF), there are 4 300 adults and children waiting for organ and cochlear donations, with an estimated 325 000 registered donors.

A church congregation in Ga-Rankuwa, north of Tshwane, is doing all it can to assist the needy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) is helping fight the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic in Gauteng, which is currently the epi- centre of the third wave.

The SANDF is assisting with mass community testing, screening and contact tracing, and is also lending a hand at hospitals.

The South African Military Health Service was deployed in the province to ease the burden on healthcare workers.

A Medical Task Group has been stationed at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital in Johannesburg.

Millions of South Africans over the age of 35 have signed up for their Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) vaccine as the country’s vaccination programme continues to expand to include more categories of people.

From mid-July, the Electronic Vaccination Data System (EVDS) has been opened for registration for those over 35 years of age.

Within a day of the EVDS opening for this age group, more than a million of them had already registered for their vaccines and the number has been growing ever since.

As South Africans struggle to deal with the aftermath of the unrest that affected some parts of the country recently, government is hard at work putting together measures to help people and businesses.

During an address to the nation, President Cyril Ramaphosa said government will take steps to support households and help businesses restock and rebuild.

“We are in the process of providing immediate food relief to households. We are targeting areas affected by the looting and where people have no access to food,” he said.

Starting and building a business is a lot like raising a family. It takes time, patience, constant support and consistent nurturing from infancy to maturity.

For many business owners, seeing a business that you grew from scratch struggling to survive, or even being forced to close its doors, is heartbreaking.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, this has sadly been the situation facing many businesses both large and small, not just in our country but around the world.

Ntsako Shipalana is not only a successful chicken farmer, she is also giving back to the industry by training others.

Shipalana, from Tzaneen in Limpopo, owns Olori Chickens, which she established in 2017.

Many girls no longer have to miss school during their menstrual cycle as they are receiving sanitary pads for free.

The growing need for affordable sanitary pads prompted Matefo Morakeng to start her own business, Dear Bella, in the Free State.

Morakeng established the company, which she named after her mother, in 2018.

Dr Perekeme Mutu has achieved what not many could even dream possible. He recently graduated with not one, but two university degrees – achieved simultaneously.