World history
The Cold War tensions and the space race defined the 1950s. Jonas Salk’s polio vaccine was a significant medical breakthrough, while cultural milestones like the launch of colour TV in the US transformed everyday life.
South African history
The Friendly Societies Act of 1956 required medical schemes to register as “friendly societies” with the Minister of Finance, setting the stage for organised healthcare. Earlier, in 1951, Thomas Hamilton Bothwell pioneered research on radioiron kinetics, revolutionising iron metabolism studies. Basil Isaac Hirschowitz invented the first flexible fibre-optic endoscope in 1957, forever changing the field of gastroenterology.
Medihelp history
In 1955, the South African government introduced subsidies for civil servants’ medical expenses. Medihelp adopted a mechanised bookkeeping system and introduced its first pension fund for employees.
