South Africa: Research Hub Aims to Decode Health Challenges Facing 'People of the Dew'

A new health research hub brings hope of improving health services in the Rustenburg Valley in the North West Province. Spotlight finds out more about how the Bafokeng Health and… Read more »

Africa: U.S. Funding Remains Frozen for Many Life-Saving Services

Despite a waiver on life-saving humanitarian aid, USAID funding for crucial medical services remains frozen. Services remain closed as organisations await approval of revised… Read more »

South Africa: ANC and Its Ministers Reject Reports of NHI 'Concessions'

Recent media reports over the future of NHI have been contradictory and hard to make sense of. Spotlight chased up those in a position to know where things stand - it seems the ANC… Read more »

South Africa: Over 15,000 South African Health Workers' Jobs Are At Risk As U.S. Cuts Aid

A coalition of health service organisations has warned that patients will lose access to life-saving treatment if the US withdraws health funding to South Africa. Certain HIV and… Read more »

South Africa: SA Health Research Facing Catastrophic Financing Cuts

Cuts to United States funding of health research could have "catastrophic" consequences, says Professor Ntobeko Ntusi, who is at the helm of the country's primary health research… Read more »

South Africa: Which of the Breakthrough Weight Loss Medicines Can You Get in SA?

The remarkable efficacy of new diabetes and weight loss medicines like Ozempic and Mounjaro have been one of the biggest health stories of recent years. Despite rising rates of… Read more »

South Africa: Good Governance in SA's Health System Is 'Patchy' - Experts Unpack Report On How to Fix It

A timely report on governance in South Africa's healthcare sector released last year identified several serious shortcomings. As the political and administrative wheels again start… Read more »

Africa: Stopping Health Funding in Africa Weakens America

Following US President Donald Trump's decision to suspend foreign aid, President Cyril Ramaphosa can display great leadership by meeting with leaders of wealthy countries and… Read more »

South Africa: Gauteng MEC Threatens Schoolgirls' Bodily Autonomy With Compulsory Implant

The bodily autonomy of young women and girls is under threat as Gauteng Health and Wellness MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko intends to make the contraceptive Implanon compulsory for… Read more »

South Africa: Pressure Grows for NHI Compromise Ahead of Cabinet Lekgotla

Whether or not the ANC and DA can find common ground on the future of medical schemes is set to be a major test of South Africa's Government of National Unity. Ahead of a Cabinet… Read more »

South Africa: Health in 2025 - Spotlight's Top 4 Questions for the Year Ahead

From the ongoing political and legal battles over NHI, to the far-reaching health impacts of political change in the United States, it is set to be another tumultuous year for… Read more »

South Africa: South Africa One of Only Two Countries to Meet TB Research Spending Target in 2023

In 2023, tuberculosis was again the top infectious disease killer on the planet, having temporarily been overtaken by COVID-19. Even so, investment in TB research is far below what… Read more »

South Africa: How Healthcare Workers Are Being Trained to Meet the Needs of Rural Communities

Ukwanda, the isiXhosa word for "grow," encapsulates the mission of Stellenbosch University's Ukwanda Centre for Rural Health: nurturing healthcare in rural communities. At the… Read more »

South Africa: Proposed Health Professions Act Amendment a Double-Edged Sword

The Democratic Alliance intends to propose legislation that would allow healthcare professionals to do community service and internships in private hospitals. Such a legislative… Read more »

South Africa: Pretoria Company Aims to Lead SA in Making Key TB Drug Ingredients

Though several South African companies are producing HIV and TB medicines, the active ingredients that go into these medicines are usually imported from India or China. Now, a… Read more »

South Africa: Critics Raise Alarm Over Leadership Issues At Gauteng Health Department

Several opposition politicians and commentators have flagged what appears to be chronic leadership problems at the Gauteng Department of Health. Read more »

South Africa: South Africa's Aids Response - Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities

Ahead of World AIDS Day 2024, Professor Salim Abdool Karim and Dr Nikita Devnarain argue that South Africa needs a concerted effort to reduce new HIV infections in young women and… Read more »

South Africa: Where in SA Someone Lives Determines How Many ARVs They Get At a Time

Whether or not someone living with HIV in South Africa gets a one- or three-months' supply of antiretrovirals at a time depends partly on the clinic where they happen to go for HIV… Read more »

South Africa: Why the Fuss About Long-Acting Antiretrovirals for HIV?

HIV prevention injections that can provide two, or even six, months of protection per shot have arguably been the biggest HIV story of the year. Ahead of World AIDS Day, Professor… Read more »

South Africa: The High Cost of Having Too Few Pharmacists in SA

It's acknowledged in key policy documents, well known at the coalface and much ventilated in the media: South Africa's public healthcare system has too few healthcare workers,… Read more »

South Africa: Why the Competition Commission's Decision On Two Cancer Medicine Cases Could Have Much Wider Implications

There is a history of competition law being used to drive HIV medicine prices lower in South Africa. Now, two cases involving cancer medicines seem set to nail down what qualifies… Read more »

South Africa: #InTheSpotlight | SA Has Started a TB Revolution - Can We See It Through?

Over the last decade, it has become clear that South Africa's progress against TB depends on diagnosing more people more quickly. In this Spotlight special briefing, Marcus Low… Read more »

South Africa: Signed and Stalled - Critical Healthcare Deal in Gauteng Teetering On the Brink

An extended impasse over a vital agreement for training and improved hospital management between the Gauteng Department of Health and Wits University remains derailed, despite… Read more »

South Africa: Where Are We in the Search for an HIV Cure?

Highly effective treatments for HIV have existed since the mid-1990s. But while these treatments keep people healthy, we do not yet have a safe and scalable way to completely rid… Read more »

South Africa: Women in SA Could Have Access to a Three-Monthly HIV Prevention Ring By 2026

A flexible silicone ring that slowly releases antiretrovirals is one of just two long-acting HIV prevention products registered for use in South Africa. Results from a new study… Read more »