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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

Africa: SA Has the Third Highest Suicide Rate in Africa - There Are Steps We Can Take to Tackle It

South Africa has the third highest suicide rate in Africa and Africa has higher rates of suicide than any other continent. In the wake of World Suicide Prevention Day on September… Read more »

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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

Congo-Kinshasa: SA's HIV Burden a Concern As New Mpox Strain Spreads in DRC - but Much Still Unknown

The African Centre for Disease Control and World Health Organization have raised the alarm following a drastic uptick in mpox cases. This surge is being driven by a new strain of… Read more »

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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »