South Africa: On Which Legal Arguments Are the NHI Court Cases Set to Turn? Part 2 - Right to Healthcare Services

The NHI Act is facing a slew of legal challenges from multiple organisations. For this special series, Spotlight combed through court papers, and spoke with legal experts to pin… 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: Arvs Without a Script - What Next After Major Court Ruling?

A landmark ruling from the Supreme Court of Appeal means specially trained pharmacists will soon be allowed to dispense antiretrovirals without a doctor's script. Pharmacists with… Read more »

South Africa: Waiting Is Not an Option in the First 1000 Days - How a Shared Approach in Cape Town Helps High-Risk Babies

South Africa's health department is overhauling its framework for disability services. It prompts an important question: When it comes to Cerebral Palsy - a wide-ranging motor… Read more »

South Africa: World's Biggest Community-Led Health Watchdog Falters As US Backs Out

Ritshidze, South Africa's powerhouse community-led healthcare monitor, is on the brink of shutting down. Experts warn its collapse could unravel years of progress in our clinics -… Read more »

South Africa: How Philani's Amazing 'Mentor Mothers' Are Bringing Hope to Struggling Moms and Children

Mothers and babies in South Africa can easily fall through the cracks and end up going hungry and not getting the healthcare they need. Sue Segar spent time with an innovative… Read more »

South Africa: Government and the Private Sector Should Team Up to Improve Healthcare, Conference Hears

Government and the private sector could work together much more effectively to improve healthcare services in South Africa, but the potential of such a partnership remains largely… 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: Public Participation in Medicines Selection and Regulation - Lacking?

In several countries, the public is given an opportunity to share their views with regulators before new medicines are registered or to engage with those choosing essential… Read more »

South Africa: From the Heart of the Winelands, Pebbles Kitchen Is Helping Fill Many Young Tummies With Nutritious Meals

Despite the country's relative wealth, South Africa has shockingly high levels of childhood malnutrition and stunting. Biénne Huisman spends some time with a small team who… Read more »

South Africa: Between Silence and Sirens - Cape Town Trauma Surgeon Dr Deidre Mcpherson's Midnight Vigils

Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town has one of the busiest emergency centres in the Western Cape. As it turns to the public to raise R20 million for the opening of a new emergency… Read more »

South Africa: Medical Devices Aren't Regulated in SA, but That Is Set to Change

Unlike with medicines, and with a few exceptions, South Africa's regulator does not assess whether diagnostic tests and other medical devices on the market are safe and work as… Read more »

South Africa: South Africa Has Very Low Organ Donation Rates - How Can We Fix It?

Thousands of people in South Africa are waiting for a life-saving organ transplant, but our very low organ donation rates mean that many won't get a transplant in time. Spotlight… Read more »

South Africa: Today's Poor Oral Health in SA Is Partly a Legacy of Apartheid

We need to confront the racialised and class-based structures that still dictate society's oral health outcomes, argues Dr Bulela Vava as we head toward the end of this year's… Read more »

South Africa: The Rot Runs Deep - Gauteng Health's Dance of Impunity Betrays the People It Is Meant to Serve

The courts have spoken. The health ombud has issued devastating reports. The Auditor-General has again put damning evidence on the table. Civil society has protested. Yet, the… Read more »

South Africa: Cancer Court Battle Rumbles On As Gauteng Health Again Appeals

Activists say the Gauteng Department of Health's late appeal to a court judgment that compels it to act on cancer treatment backlogs is raising more questions about what the… Read more »

South Africa: On Which Legal Arguments Are the NHI Court Cases Set to Turn? Part 1 - Affordability

Since President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the NHI Act into law last year in May, eight different groups have challenged it in court. One common argument is that it is irrational and… 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 »

South Africa: Battle to Breathe - What We Know About Air Pollution in Mpumalanga and People's Health

Journalist Sue Segar and photographer Thom Pierce recently visited Emalahleni in Mpumalanga to report on how air pollution is impacting the health of people in the area. In part 3… Read more »

South Africa: How a Cape Town Mother Gave Birth to 'Miracle Baby' Who Grew Outside Her Womb

Joshua was safely delivered from Sylvia's belly instead of her uterus one year ago. Biénne Huisman meets mother and baby, and hears from some of the healthcare professionals… 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: 'We Can't Save Them Anymore' - Doctors Raise Alarm About Crippling Cuts At Major KZN Hospital

Doctors have blown the whistle about a crisis at one of KwaZulu-Natal's most important public hospitals, saying it is functioning far under capacity due to a series of crippling… Read more »

South Africa: What Next for Cancer Patients As Court Again Rules Against Gauteng Health Department?

In the latest chapter of a long-running legal battle over the Gauteng Department of Health's obligation to provide people in the province with radiation oncology services, the… Read more »

South Africa: For Professor Rachel Jewkes, Blending Research With Activism Is At the Heart of Her Life's Work

From anti-apartheid activist to top rated researcher, Professor Rachel Jewkes has spent her career trying to make the world a better place for women. Spotlight spoke to her about… Read more »