South Africa: Did US Aid Cuts Break Precisely the Things We Need Most for the Lenacapavir Rollout?

With a new six-monthly injection, South Africa last week launched the most promising new HIV prevention tool in years, but much of the infrastructure that made HIV prevention… Read more »

South Africa: All You Need to Know About the Jab That Could Dramatically Reduce New HIV Infections in SA

On June 5, 2026, an HIV prevention injection will for the first time become available at some of South Africa's public sector clinics. In this Spotlight special briefing, we pull… Read more »

South Africa: Why Pharmacists Still Can't Prescribe Arvs, Months After Court Gave the Green Light

A Supreme Court of Appeal ruling in October 2025 cleared the way for specially trained and permitted pharmacists to dispense antiretroviral medicines without a doctor's script.… Read more »

South Africa: The Evolution of HIV Treatment - From Multi-Pill Regimens to Better, Single Pill Combos

HIV treatment has been improved and simplified significantly over the years yet a small fraction of people living with HIV still take complex multi-pill regimens. Spotlight reports… Read more »

South Africa: Switch to Six-Month ARV Supplies Running Behind Schedule

By March 2027, the health department aims to have 1.5 million people living with HIV on a new programme where they can get a six-month supply of antiretroviral medicines at a time.… Read more »

South Africa: South Africa's ARV Programme Hardly Grew in 2025, According to Latest Estimates

The number of people in South Africa on antiretroviral treatment remained roughly unchanged from 2024 to 2025, according to just-published estimates from the leading mathematical… Read more »

South Africa: Along Dusty Roads in KZN, a Push for a Groundbreaking HIV Prevention Jab Takes Shape

Along dusty roads in northern KwaZulu-Natal, Spotlight speaks to youth leaders, community mentors and leading scientists who are collaborating to bring a groundbreaking HIV… Read more »

South Africa: 'When Other Kids Were Playing With Dolls, I Was Playing Being a Doctor', Says SA's New HIV and TB Czar

Spotlight meets South Africa's recently appointed Deputy Director-General for HIV, AIDS, TB and sexually transmitted infections, discussing the latest HIV prevention medicines, her… Read more »

South Africa: What Breakthrough Weight Loss Meds Might Mean for People With HIV

In part 3 of a Spotlight special series on the role of new weight loss medicines like Ozempic in South Africa, we ask what these breakthrough jabs might mean for people living with… Read more »

South Africa: Child Stunting and Echoes of HIV - What It Will Take for South Africa to Change Course

Weeks after pledging to end child stunting by 2030, President Cyril Ramaphosa has kick-started a task team to drive this urgent national mission. But what concrete steps could… Read more »

South Africa: Early Treatment Helps Protect the Brains of People Living With HIV

Antiretroviral therapy has shifted HIV from a fatal to a chronic condition. But neuropsychiatrists say it is imperative for people living with the virus to start treatment… Read more »

South Africa: Behind the Scenes - the Amazing People Driving a 'Truly South African' HIV Vaccine Study

A cutting-edge, South African-led HIV vaccine trial built on decades of research recently kicked off in Cape Town. Spotlight unpacks what exactly is being studied, and how the… Read more »

South Africa: Salim Abdool Karim | Transforming Adversity Into Opportunity for the Aids Response

As World AIDS Day 2025 swings by, CAPRISA Director Professor Salim Abdool Karim reflects on the frantic days following this year's unprecedented cuts to health aid and research… Read more »

Africa: Timeline | the Journey of HIV Through Science, Struggle, Activism, and Hope

From the first reported cases of HIV in 1981 to the latest breakthroughs in long-acting prevention, this Spotlight timeline traces key moments in the global and South African… Read more »

South Africa: #inthespotlight | Why Government Should Provide More Free HIV Self-Tests

It is estimated that around half a million people living with HIV in South Africa don't know they are living with the virus. One way to help these people is by offering them the… Read more »

South Africa: Spotlight Launches New HIV Dashboard

Spotlight has launched a new HIV dashboard and graph generator based on outputs from the Thembisa model. Our hope is that this dashboard will help the public and people working in… Read more »

Africa: Withdrawal of US Aid Has Hurt South Africa's HIV Programme

The number of HIV viral load tests is significantly lower than expected, according to an analysis of data from the National Health Laboratory Service which Spotlight and GroundUp… Read more »

South Africa: Breakthrough HIV Prevention Jab Given Green Light in SA

An HIV prevention jab that provides six months of protection at a time was given the green light by South Africa's medicines regulator. The approval helps to clear the way for a… Read more »

South Africa: Amid All the Noise, How Well Is South Africa's Immunisation Programme Actually Doing

Childhood immunisation programmes have saved many millions of lives and prevented much suffering. Yet, immunisation programmes have lost momentum over the last decade or so. In… Read more »

South Africa: Response to Aid Cuts and HIV Prevention Injections Dominate Discussions At SA Aids Conference

A dire picture for HIV/Aids funding emerged at the 12th South African AIDS Conference, raising the call for resilience, adapting and also for government to raise its game. Read more »

Africa: A New HIV Prevention Jab Could End Aids - Unless Secrecy and Greed Get in the Way

A new HIV prevention jab has the potential to bring an end to the AIDS epidemic. But a lack of ambition and unjustifiable secrecy over pricing is holding it back, argue three… Read more »

South Africa: Thousands of Kids With HIV Switched to Newer Treatment

A child-friendly formulation of the antiretroviral drug dolutegravir was first included in the country's HIV treatment guidelines in 2023. New estimates suggest that most children… Read more »

South Africa: Twists and Turns in the Race to Be SA's First Widely Used HIV Prevention Injection

The health department has plans to roll out lenacapavir, a twice-yearly HIV prevention injection, in a select group of public sector clinics by April 2026. Meanwhile, little… Read more »

South Africa: Dragon Slayer in a Time of Dragons - Dr Nomathemba Chandiwana Battles 'Sa's New HIV Epidemic'

The obesity epidemic will hit South Africa hard on top of our high HIV burden, but advocate researcher and scientist Dr Nomathemba Chandiwana says she is ready to fight back… Read more »

South Africa: IAS2025 - Findings Give Hope for Monthly HIV Prevention Pill

An HIV prevention pill that could provide a month of protection per tablet has been given the green light to proceed to pivotal trials to test its efficacy. Spotlight reports on… Read more »