April 22
South Africa: Chronic Kidney Disease Rates Have Dropped in People With HIV, but Late Diagnosis Remains a Serious Problem
People living with HIV are at an increased risk of developing several opportunistic infections and co-morbidities, including chronic kidney disease. Elri Voigt unpacks the complex… Read more »
April 15
South Africa: Widely Used HIV Drug in SA Flagged for Reports of Resistance - but Experts Say Don't Panic
That HIV can develop resistance to the drugs used to treat it is nothing new, but results from recent studies reveal the emergence of resistance in subsets of people living with… Read more »
April 04
South Africa: One in Four People With HIV Not On Treatment, According to New Estimates
Despite South Africa's impressive HIV testing figures, a subset of people start taking antiretroviral therapy far later than is ideal for their health, shows new data from the… Read more »
March 25
South Africa: Stigma, Lack of Awareness Holding Back Use of HIV Prevention Pills, Experts Say
Over the last four years South Africa has taken large strides in making HIV prevention pills available at public sector clinics, but uptake has not been as good as some may have… Read more »
February 27
South Africa: Pilot Project Now Offering HIV Prevention Injection
A new HIV prevention injection is now available to a select number of people in South Africa. That a single shot provides two months of protection is one of the injection's major… Read more »
January 15
South Africa: This Is How SA Can Meet Its HIV Targets
"The path to ending AIDS is clear," states a recent UNAIDS report. "HIV responses succeed when they are anchored in strong political leadership, have adequate resources, follow the… Read more »
December 08, 2023
South Africa: Analysis - Where We Are With Nimart 13 Years Later
Like many countries, South Africa has a shortage of healthcare workers - particularly of doctors. One response to such shortages is task-shifting - in short, to let doctors focus… Read more »
December 05, 2023
South Africa: Interview - 'I Used That Anger to Feed My Activist's Soul,' Says Former TAC General Secretary
Dressed in a dark jacket, rain is pelting Vuyiseka Dubula-Majola's face as she rushes past bare trees in Geneva, Switzerland. Along with her two children, Dubula-Majola has newly… Read more »
December 11, 2023
South Africa: Health in 2023 - a Deceptively Busy Year in Fewer Than 1 000 Words
2023 was a busy year for healthcare in South Africa. There were several policy developments, landmark court cases, important pieces of legislation, and some changes in leadership.… Read more »
December 04, 2023
South Africa: Integrating HIV and NCD Care Is Critical but Not Straightforward, Clinicians Say
With the remarkable success of antiretroviral treatment people living with HIV in South Africa are generally living much longer than they did two decades ago - so much so that… Read more »
November 30, 2023
South Africa: From a Pig Farm in Zim to Star HIV Researcher - Prof LGB Reflects On Her Remarkable Journey
In a double-storey building emblazoned with the face of late Archbishop Desmond Tutu, inside Professor Linda-Gail Bekker's office a bookshelf is stacked with titles on general… Read more »
November 29, 2023
South Africa: Amid Budget Constraints, Tough Choices for SA's HIV Response
Around 13% of South Africa's population are living with HIV and the country has the world's largest HIV treatment programme. The country's finances are however under huge pressure… Read more »
December 01, 2023
South Africa: SA Can't Afford Proposed Cuts to HIV Funding
In November this year, National Treasury proposed a R1 billion cut to HIV funding. This has come about because - rather than seeing the reduced price of antiretroviral treatment as… Read more »
November 14, 2023
South Africa: In-Depth - How Do Long-Acting HIV Treatments Work?
Researchers have been trying to develop antiretroviral medicines that can last for weeks, months or even years per dose. It is thought that such long-acting therapies may… Read more »
September 14, 2023
South Africa: Free State Bottom of the List When It Comes to Multi-Month Dispensing of ARVs, Survey Finds
The percentage of people living with HIV receiving a three to six-month supply of ARVs at a time in the Free State has dropped from 13% last year to 3% this year, making the… 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 »
August 18, 2023
South Africa: In-Depth - the Court Ruling That Gives Qualifying Pharmacists the Green Light for HIV, TB Meds Without Script
Specially trained and accredited pharmacists in South Africa will now be allowed to provide people with medicines to prevent HIV and tuberculosis (TB) and to treat uncomplicated… Read more »
August 14, 2023
South Africa: Incentives Seem to Work in Private Healthcare, Why Not in Public?
Doing 'the right thing' for one's health, be it eating well, exercising, or going for an annual HIV test or blood pressure check, is easier said than done. One way to nudge people… 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 25, 2023
South Africa: HIV Investments Remain No-Brainers, but Some Things Need to Change
Making the case for governments and donors to pump money into the HIV response has become more difficult over the last decade. This is partly a result of the notable successes… Read more »
July 17, 2023
South Africa: Over 4.7 Million People Placed On New HIV Medicine Over Four Years
In what is likely one of the largest treatment rollouts in South African history, well over four million people living with HIV have started taking the antiretroviral dolutegravir… Read more »
July 04, 2023
South Africa: SA Aids 2023 - New Treatments and Guidelines to Benefit Children, With More Advances On the Horizon
Several sessions at the 11th SA AIDS conference, recently held in Durban, highlighted the worrying fact that key HIV numbers such as treatment coverage are much lower in children… Read more »
June 30, 2023
South Africa: With the Right Interventions We Can Help Many More Men Start and Stay On HIV Treatment
June is Men's Health Month and while the focus is mostly on men's attitudes about their health, it is also worth reflecting on the health sector's attitudes toward men. Read more »
June 28, 2023
South Africa: HIV Prevention Shots and Vaginal Rings - This Is Why SA Pilots Have Not Yet Started
Last year Spotlight reported that pilot projects testing out a new HIV prevention injection and a vaginal ring in South Africa would start early in 2023. Yet, as delegates gathered… Read more »
June 21, 2023
South Africa: Sobering Moments At Opening of SA Aids Conference
Amid the festivities during the opening ceremony of the 11th SA AIDS Conference in Durban on Tuesday, there were also several sobering moments. Chief among these was when co-chair… Read more »