August 02, 2022
South Africa: 'It Took Me Three Seconds to Decide' - Fareed Abdullah Reflects On His Career in Public Health
Over the last three decades, Dr Fareed Abdullah has been at the coalface of South Africa's response to HIV, tuberculosis (TB), and more recently, COVID-19. In this time, he proved… Read more »
August 01, 2022
South Africa: Analysis - What Will a New Turnaround Plan Mean for Kimberley Hospital?
Over the years the Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Hospital in Kimberley - the Northern Cape's only tertiary hospital - has often made headlines for the wrong reasons. Read more »
July 29, 2022
South Africa: Experts Welcome New HIV Treatments for Children
In a move widely welcomed by local experts, the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) recently approved new child-friendly formulations of several important… Read more »
July 28, 2022
South Africa: Poor Vaccine Coverage Risks Measles Outbreak, Experts Say
Some local experts fear that small measles outbreaks recently reported in Gauteng may be precursors to much larger outbreaks. This comes against the backdrop of recently released… Read more »
July 27, 2022
South Africa: SA Research Shedding Light On Role of Microclots in Long Covid
Professor Resia Pretorius sounds rushed when Spotlight first tracks her down by phone at Heathrow Airport outside London. She is about to board a plane to South Africa after… Read more »
July 26, 2022
South Africa: Spotlight On HIV - Six Graphs That Tell the Story
In 2021, HIV was successfully suppressed in the bodies of around 63% of the close to eight million people living with HIV in South Africa. This is according to the latest outputs… Read more »
July 25, 2022
South Africa: Analysis - Vaccine Partnership With U.S. Government Boosts Prospects for Local Production
It has been just over a year since the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the selection of Afrigen Biologics, a Cape Town-based biotechnology company, to host its ambitious… Read more »
July 21, 2022
South Africa: Experts Weigh in On the Potential of Ultrasound for Diagnosing TB in Kids
Tuberculosis (TB) is hard to diagnose in children, especially very young ones. This is because it is difficult for children to cough up the sputum required to perform the gold… Read more »
July 19, 2022
South Africa: In-Depth - What to Do About SA's Chronic Surgical Delays
Based on figures from the national Department of Health a staggering number of over 107 000 non-emergency or elective surgeries were put on the back burner during the COVID-19… Read more »
July 20, 2022
South Africa: #WhatItsLike - Helping Cancer Patients Navigate the Public Healthcare System in Gauteng
Some phone calls turn to dread for Ouma Mamatela. It is when she calls cancer patients to tell them they've made it to the top of the treatment waiting list - but then no one picks… Read more »
July 18, 2022
South Africa: In-Depth - the Human Cost of Surgical Delays
It is the fifth week of her husband waiting on a surgical procedure for a stent at Tygerberg Hospital when Spotlight catches up with *Mrs Brooks. In February this year, they saw a… Read more »
July 15, 2022
South Africa: Covid-19 - the Role of Next-Generation Vaccines in Immunity
Since its discovery in November, the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) has continued to adapt and evolve at an extremely fast pace to evade the body's… Read more »
July 13, 2022
South Africa: Differing Views On Gauteng's New Health Information System
In January this year, the computer system at the George Mukhari Hospital broke down with serious implications for patient care. Gauteng Health MEC Dr Nomathemba Mokgethi confirmed… Read more »
July 12, 2022
South Africa: Covid-19 - Reinfections Amid 'Complex Mix of Immunity'
Variants of the original version of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) first made headlines in December 2020. It was a sign that SARS-CoV-2 is more volatile than initially… Read more »
July 08, 2022
South Africa: Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in Crisis, Report Finds
Plans are underway for a study to determine South Africa's public mental health system's ability to cater for the needs of children and adolescents with mental health problems.… Read more »
June 30, 2022
South Africa: Part 2 - How Can We Reduce Incidence of Cerebral Palsy in SA?
It is estimated that around half of medical negligence claims against the South African government are cerebral palsy-type claims. Apart from the direct impact on infants and… Read more »
July 05, 2022
South Africa: Covid-19 Blamed for Shortcomings of 'Ideal Clinics' in Free State
On 23 June, the Free State Department of Health reportedly opened the "first municipal clinic in South Africa which solely operate on solar power and [that] has two 2500 litre each… Read more »
July 04, 2022
South Africa: Are Youth-Only Clinics the Answer to Better Healthcare for Young People?
Getting young people to access healthcare services in the public sector is often an uphill battle. One solution is to have special clinics catering just for the youth. Read more »
July 01, 2022
South Africa: Open Letter - Dr Mokgethi, You Must Act to Address Gauteng's Oncology Challenges
Below is an open letter by Warren Potter to Gauteng Health MEC Dr Nomathemba Mokgethi. Potter's partner has been affected by the ongoing challenges with radiation oncology in… Read more »
February 19, 2021
South Africa: Face to Face with Gift of the Givers Founder Imtiaz Sooliman
Gift of the Givers founder Dr Imtiaz Sooliman has declined renewed social media calls that he be nominated for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize. Read more »