Death stats SA: It’s disease, not crime, killing us softly

Some days our national narrative seems to be so dominated by fears for our safety that it can be easy to forget that most South Africans do not die in a hail of bullets, at the point of a knife, at the hands of a lover or in an unroadworthy vehicle. As the latest Mortality Report from Stats SA shows, South Africans overwhelmingly die from largely preventable diseases. When will we get as worked up about health as we are about crime? By REBECCA DAVIS.