South Africa: Landmark Court Case Takes On U.S Maker of Cystic Fibrosis Drugs

Cystic fibrosis (CF), which is caused by a faulty gene inherited from one's parents, is a debilitating disease requiring difficult and time-consuming treatment and resulting in… Read more »

South Africa: Should SA's Public Hospitals Go Solar?

For businesses and households that can afford it, solar panels and batteries offer a way to keep the lights on during South Africa's ongoing bouts of loadshedding. Such… Read more »

South Africa: Underinvestment in Healthcare Infrastructure Will Cost Us in the Long Run

Investment in public health facilities is crucial as the country weathers storms on various fronts - from drought (water shortages) and flooding putting strain on health… Read more »

South Africa: Billions Allocated for Infrastructure Require More Progressive Procurement Systems and Oversight

Delivering his budget speech on 22 February, Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana focused on the major infrastructure - electricity, water, and municipal projects. This heavy focus… Read more »

South Africa: What Next After Shortened TB Treatment Fails in Key Trial?

The current treatment for drug-susceptible tuberculosis (TB) used in South Africa involves a combination of four antibiotics, last for six months, effectively cures TB, and is dirt… Read more »

South Africa: Opinion - Budget 2023 - Opportunity Missed to Refocus Public Health Spending?

The right to access healthcare services is guaranteed to everyone under Section 27 of the South African Constitution. On a population health level, South Africa has made good… Read more »

Africa: Take As Needed - Preventing HIV Might One Day Be As Easy As Using This Suppository

A small study conducted among 23 HIV-negative men and women in the United States has found that a quick-dissolving rectal suppository - no bigger than a fingernail - that contains… Read more »

South Africa: Vaginal Ring to Prevent HIV Safe to Use in Late Pregnancy and While Breastfeeding

Women can safely use a monthly, antiretroviral-containing vaginal ring to prevent HIV infection during late pregnancy and while breastfeeding with no risk to their babies, new… Read more »

South Africa: Disproportionate Number of Children in SA Have Severe Asthma, Experts Say

Despite being one of the most common non-communicable diseases globally and there being highly effective treatments for it, asthma is often not well controlled in many low-resource… Read more »

South Africa: Some Improvement but Much More Needed to Address Health Needs of Key Populations

Bonang Moleleki, who represents Bong Jwa Tlhago Trans, a North West-based non-governmental organisation that works on transgender issues, tells Spotlight in her experience the… Read more »

South Africa: NHI Bill Must Still Clear Many Hurdles to Ensure Adequate Medicine Access

A frightful piece of information came to light recently. The t pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announced its 2022 revenue at $100 billion. This is more than the combined health… Read more »

Africa: What's the Deal With Viral Variants When It Comes to HIV?

When a study published last year on an HIV variant that has been circulating in the Netherlands for the last 20 years made headlines around the world, it was a reminder that… Read more »

Africa: Why Has the Price of This Cancer Medicine Risen and Fallen By Over a Thousand Percent Since 2016?

Lenalidomide is an important medicine used for the treatment of multiple myeloma - a type of bone marrow cancer that is not curable and typically requires long-term, ongoing… Read more »

South Africa: R27m Needed to Get Eastern Cape EMS Plan Off the Ground

Gogo Nothembile Fanti (76) says she suffers from a heart condition and every time her grandchildren call an ambulance, they are told to wait, but it never arrives. She is one of… Read more »

Africa: Why South Africa Is Not Getting the New Bivalent SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines

The Department of Health is not planning to buy the new COVID-19 bivalent booster vaccines, specifically tailored to target Omicron variants, anytime soon. Read more »

South Africa: Conversations About Sex - We Must Do Better for Young People

Young people, especially young women, account for a huge chunk of the nearly 200 000 new HIV infections in South Africa every year. Preventing HIV infections in this group is thus… Read more »

South Africa: Should South Africa Invest in the Latest HIV Tests?

South Africa's mass HIV testing programme has been a huge success over the last decade, so much so that the country has almost hit the global target of 95% of people with HIV… Read more »

South Africa: Progress in Charlotte Maxeke Recovery, but HR and Other Problems Persist

2023 is the crunch year to complete the restoration of the fire-damaged sections of Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, but one month in, it has not been plain… Read more »

South Africa: Northern Cape Health Still Without Permanent Head As Suspended Officials Return

It may be business as usual in the Northern Cape Department of Health for the former acting Head of Health and the chief financial officer who are back at work after suspension,… Read more »

Africa: HIV Vaccine Research Set to Change Focus in Wake of Mosaico Disappointment

Hopes for the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) Mosaico vaccine - the only HIV vaccine candidate in late-stage (Phase 3) clinical trials - were dashed with manufacturer Janssen… Read more »

South Africa: Changing the Law On Sex Work Will Save Lives, We Must See It Through

In December 2022, the Minister of Justice, Ronald Lamola, set into motion a public participation process on the laws that govern sex work in South Africa. Cabinet approved the… Read more »

South Africa: As With Covid-19, the Effects of TB Can Linger Long After It Is Cured

According to the World Health Organization, of the roughly 10 million people who fall ill with TB annually, over 80% survive, in most cases due to a six-month treatment course.… Read more »

South Africa: This Is Why Mpumalanga Is Repurposing Some TB Hospitals

The Mpumalanga Health Department plans to repurpose three of its five tuberculosis (TB) hospitals due to dwindling numbers of in-patients at these hospitals. Read more »

South Africa: In-Depth - As Schools Open, Will Measles Outbreaks Get Worse?

In October last year, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) alerted the public to a measles outbreak in Limpopo. Since then, four more provinces have reported… Read more »

South Africa: Health in 2023 - 13 Things to Look Out For

Set against the backdrop of the ongoing COVID-19 recovery, the National Health Insurance Bill winding its way through Parliament, healthcare worker shortages, and the ongoing… Read more »