Health

The Mpumalanga MEC for Health strongly condemns the criminal attack, robbery and suspected spiking incident involving two Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel travelling between Steve Biko Academic Hospital and Ermelo on the night of 17 January 2026.

Attacks on emergency medical personnel are unacceptable and place lives at risk. Our paramedics and EMS teams work day and night to save lives under difficult circumstances. They should never be targeted for crime while performing their duties.

The total number of babies born from 00h00, 1st January 2026 to Midnight is 141 babies; with 69 babies in Ehlanzeni District, 38 from Gert Sibande District, and 34 in Nkangala District. 

The gender is categorized as follows: we have 63 males and 78 females. There are four sets of twins; three from Ehlanzeni District and one set from Amajuba Hospital in Gert Sibande.

The MEC for Health in Mpumalanga, Ms. Sasekani Manzini, welcomed newborn babies for the year 2026 at Shongwe Hospital under Nkomazi Local Municipality. 

A total of 171 Christmas babies (2025) were delivered across Mpumalanga Department of Health facilities.

The first 2025 Christmas baby was born in Tonga Hospital under Ehlanzeni District at 00h02.

The Mpumalanga Department of Health wishes to inform the Steve Tshwete community that the relocation of services from the old Middelburg Hospital to the newly built King Nyabela Hospital has been successfully completed.

The relocation process commenced on 30 October 2025, and by 19 November 2025 all services had been fully transferred and are now fully executed at King Nyabela Hospital.

The Department ensured that the relocation and risk mitigation plan were carefully implemented to ensure a smooth and safe transition.