November 21, 2023
Africa: What Is Behind the Shocking Number of Deaths Linked to Lead Poisoning?
An estimated 5.5 million people died of heart conditions linked to lead poisoning in 2019 - more than the number killed by outdoor air pollution over the same period. That's… Read more »
September 01, 2023
Africa: Women in Health - Vaccine Safety Prof On Her Passion for Making a Difference
Professor Johanna Catharina Meyer, a pharmacist turned academic and then vaccine expert and advocate, lives her life with many mottos - her main one being - "life is an echo, what… Read more »
August 22, 2023
Africa: A New African HIV Control Working Group to Propel African Voices in the Global HIV Response
The response to the HIV epidemic is more than 40 years old. The African continent has been the most affected with millions of people over the years having battled HIV-associated… Read more »
July 26, 2023
Africa: Statin Lowers Cardio Risk in People Living With HIV, Large Study Finds
HIV increases a person's risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD), but there are unanswered questions on how to best manage this elevated risk. One such question is whether… Read more »
July 03, 2023
Africa: Face to Face - 'Fail Your Way to Success', Says Prof Behind Pioneering Drug Discovery Group At UCT
Inside Professor Kelly Chibale's office the bookshelves are packed with awards. On the walls, framed photographs include his class photo at Cambridge University in the United… Read more »
June 15, 2023
Africa: In-Depth - What It Means to Build Genomics Capacity in Africa
South African scientists - notably, the team headed by Professor Tulio de Oliveira - were thrown into the global spotlight through their pivotal role in detecting and monitoring… Read more »
June 12, 2023
Africa: Antibiotic-Resistant Bugs Claim Over 200 000 Infants Globally Per Year, Finds Major Study
"The death of a child affects us all. Witnessing the loss of a newborn baby who has sepsis is terribly traumatic, especially so when antibiotics used to treat the child are… Read more »
June 07, 2023
Africa: Professor Soraya Seedat On the 'Workings of the Brain' and the Realities of Psychiatry
Behind Professor Soraya Seedat's desk in her office on the University of Stellenbosch's Tygerberg campus in Parow, hangs a striking gold-framed painting by a patient diagnosed with… Read more »
May 19, 2023
Africa: Opinion - HIV Testing Is Changing in South Africa, Here's Why It's a Good Thing
In South Africa, we have been using HIV Rapid Diagnostic Tests (Finger prick - same-day testing) for years. There are several reasons for this. First, to save costs as the… Read more »
April 13, 2023
Africa: Major Study Turns Spotlight On Formula Milk Industry
The scientific evidence that exclusive breastfeeding is best for infants is very strong. Yet, some baby milk formula companies continue to use questionable methods to create demand… Read more »
April 12, 2023
Africa: After UN Report, New Focus On Antimicrobial Resistance in the Environment
A recent United Nations report, titled 'Bracing for Superbugs: Strengthening environmental action in the One Health response to antimicrobial resistance', has put the Spotlight on… Read more »
March 31, 2023
Africa: Shorter Treatment Regimens for TB Offer Hope, but Await Implementation
A global infectious disease killer existed long before COVID-19 and continues to wreak havoc on the lives of millions of people worldwide. Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease caused by… Read more »
April 05, 2023
Africa: Are NGOs Doing the Work of the State, and Should They?
People in South Africa are used to reports of organisations like Gift of the Givers stepping in during humanitarian emergencies or service delivery NGOs assisting with HIV or… Read more »
February 22, 2023
Africa: Take As Needed - Preventing HIV Might One Day Be As Easy As Using This Suppository
A small study conducted among 23 HIV-negative men and women in the United States has found that a quick-dissolving rectal suppository - no bigger than a fingernail - that contains… Read more »
February 15, 2023
Africa: Why Has the Price of This Cancer Medicine Risen and Fallen By Over a Thousand Percent Since 2016?
Lenalidomide is an important medicine used for the treatment of multiple myeloma - a type of bone marrow cancer that is not curable and typically requires long-term, ongoing… Read more »
February 16, 2023
Africa: What's the Deal With Viral Variants When It Comes to HIV?
When a study published last year on an HIV variant that has been circulating in the Netherlands for the last 20 years made headlines around the world, it was a reminder that… Read more »
February 13, 2023
Africa: Why South Africa Is Not Getting the New Bivalent SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines
The Department of Health is not planning to buy the new COVID-19 bivalent booster vaccines, specifically tailored to target Omicron variants, anytime soon. Read more »
January 30, 2023
Africa: HIV Vaccine Research Set to Change Focus in Wake of Mosaico Disappointment
Hopes for the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) Mosaico vaccine - the only HIV vaccine candidate in late-stage (Phase 3) clinical trials - were dashed with manufacturer Janssen… Read more »
November 15, 2022
Africa: TB Treatment Can Be Cut to Two Months for Some, Finds Landmark Study
Some cases of tuberculosis (TB) can be successfully treated in as little as two months - a third of the current standard of six months in South Africa and most other countries.… Read more »
August 19, 2022
Africa: Abortion Rights in Three African Countries After a Major Setback in the US
The right to abortion has been catapulted into the spotlight by Dobbs v Jackson, the landmark judgment of the United States (US) Supreme Court that overturned Roe v Wade - a… Read more »