October 16
South Africa: Highrises, Hellholes and Healthcare - Hillbrow's Heritage Story
Hillbrow started out as Johannesburg's first health hub in the late 1880s. It's also been a suburb associated with pimps and prostitution, a middle finger to the Nationalist Party,… Read more »
October 14
South Africa: Efficacy of 6-Monthly HIV Prevention Jab Confirmed in Second Major Study
In June, we heard what could be this year's biggest HIV breakthrough: a twice-yearly injection can prevent HIV infection. Findings from a second large study of the jab has now… Read more »
October 11
South Africa: NHI Act Offers No Answer to High Medicines Prices
The National Health Insurance Act does not deal with the systemic issues that cause high prices and inequity in medicine access, and government is not listening, argues Fatima… Read more »
October 09
South Africa: Nelson Mandela Bay Clinics Under Siege As Crime Threatens Healthcare
A series of robberies at healthcare facilities in the Eastern Cape has disrupted services, with patients sometimes left waiting outside while clinics limit the number of people… Read more »
October 08
South Africa: How Will NHI Unfold? Here Are Three Possible Scenarios
As health department officials move to set up National Health Insurance's basic structures, including its board, several experts say the scheme remains a pipe-dream, doomed to the… Read more »
October 03
South Africa: Why People Stop Taking Their HIV Treatment and What We Can Do About It
Stopping antiretroviral treatment when you are living with HIV can result in increased HIV transmission, illness, hospitalisation, and eventually death. To combat such… Read more »
October 02
South Africa: Virchow Prize Winner Prof Lucy Gilson On SA's NHI - 'Service Delivery Requires People, Not Just Money'
Professor Lucy Gilson scooped the prestigious international Virchow Prize. She chats to Biénne Huisman about her upbringing, unexpected dive into the world of public health,… Read more »
September 30
South Africa: Mandatory Health Insurance for South Africa Is an 'Upgrade' On NHI, Proponents Say
The idea of mandatory medical scheme coverage for employed people has made a comeback after the case for it was made at a recent conference. The policy move was previously on the… Read more »
September 23
South Africa: High-Stakes Head of Health Post in Northern Cape Trapped in a Merry-Go-Round
The Northern Cape health department has had several heads of department in the last five years. Spotlight unpacks the implications of this leadership instability and asks what it… Read more »
September 18
South Africa: How to Save More Mothers From Dying During Childbirth
COVID-19 temporarily reversed South Africa's hard-won reduction in maternal mortality, but the death rate has now stabilised, and hopes are high that the downward trend will… Read more »
September 16
South Africa: Glenda Gray's Fierce Fight for Science, the Covid-19 Ruckus, and the Bathroom Row About HIV Drugs
After a decade at the helm of the country's primary health research funder, Professor Glenda Gray will focus again on doing the science. She tells Spotlight's Biénne Huisman… Read more »
September 13
South Africa: Living With a Cleft - 'I Smile, but Without Showing Teeth'
The ongoing psychological, functional, and aesthetic challenges experienced by people with cleft lip and palate underscore the need for an individualized, lifelong, and… Read more »
September 11
South Africa: What Can South Africa Do to Prepare for Snake Antivenom Shortages?
Some researchers argue that South Africa should look into using "expired" doses of antivenom if the country once again struggles to make enough of the treatment - something which… Read more »
September 09
South Africa: No Silver Bullet for Bridging SA's Healthcare Divide, Say Delegates At Hospital Conference
With South Africa's healthcare system facing a myriad challenges, experts at a health conference have put forward a range of practical solutions to address some of the country's… Read more »
September 06
South Africa: Access to Contraception and Mental Healthcare Services Are Critical to Empowering Women in Rural Areas
The lack of access to essential healthcare services in rural areas worsens the challenges women face, particularly when it comes to early pregnancy and gender-based violence.… Read more »
September 03
South Africa: #inthespotlight | Beyond the Hype, What Might AI Actually Mean for Healthcare in South Africa?
With varying degrees of success, artificial intelligence has begun to play the role of research assistant, radiologist, health educator, and even therapist. In this Spotlight… Read more »
August 30
South Africa: Competition Law Has Again Worked to Fight a Bad Drug Patent, but We Need Other Solutions
A Competition Commission probe recently resulted in a patent on an important tuberculosis medicine being dropped in South Africa. Twenty years ago, a similar Competition Commission… Read more »
August 28
South Africa: Sister Leonie Weyers Is Injecting Smiles in a Setting Where Many Spirits Are Hurt
The only full-time nurse at the Saartjie Baartman Centre, Sister Leonie Weyers, is not only a caregiver to her patients but also helps them to "feel beautiful" again. Biénne… Read more »
August 26
South Africa: Snake Antivenom Mired By Shortages and Side-Effects - Could a New Treatment Boost Our Options?
In recent years, shortages of snake antivenom have plagued South Africa and much of the globe. Even when antivenom is available, potentially serious side effects often limit its… Read more »
August 23
South Africa: Dr Nikki Allorto Is One of the Only Surgeons in KZN Doing Skin Grafting - and She Does Powerlifting to Keep Her Heart Strong
Burn injury has been described as the forgotten global public health crisis. Dr Nikki Allorto says that while it may be a neglected issue in South Africa, she is making sure her… Read more »
August 21
South Africa: Vivacious Sister Sandra Bryant Has a Disco Ball in Her Lilac Clinic in Cape Town
Sister Sandra Bryant runs her clinic in a lilac painted room, where glitter cream and a disco ball does not seem out of place next to scissors, syringes, and needles. She tells… Read more »
August 20
South Africa: #inthespotlight | Poorly Controlled Diabetes Is a Top Killer, Time to Take It More Seriously
The South African government has adopted a national target to bring the blood sugar levels of people with diabetes under control. But beyond the target, the country's response to… Read more »
August 16
South Africa: Eye Health Services in the Public Sector Are Critically Impaired - It Is High Time the Health Department Responds
Despite South Africa producing a substantial number of trained optometrists, the majority of them work in the private sector and in urban areas. This imbalance leaves rural… Read more »
August 14
South Africa: New Western Cape Health MEC Mireille Wenger Says Child Health Is Near Her Heart
Mireille Wenger was recently appointed to the Western Cape's top health job. Biénne Huisman chatted to Wenger about health policy, child health, and the challenge of… Read more »
August 12
South Africa: Why We Don't Have Long-Acting HIV Treatment in South Africa
In South Africa, HIV treatment means taking one or more antiretroviral tablets a day. People in some other countries have the additional option of treatment in the form of two… Read more »