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 »

South Africa: Meet the Movie Buff and Scientist Fighting to Keep Rural Healthcare From Falling Through the Cracks

Working with women in Giyani in Limpopo sparked the flame for Professor Kathy Kahn to dedicate her research career to the rural community she says she is "bonded to". She tells… Read more »

South Africa: Fight Not Yet Over As Case Against Vertex Is Dropped After Cutting Cystic Fibrosis Medicine Price

Last year a South African woman took a multibillion-dollar United States pharmaceutical company to court with the aim of securing access to life-changing cystic fibrosis medicines.… Read more »

South Africa: Behind the Life Esidimeni Headlines Is the Suffering of Human Beings Who Deserved Better

While we focus here on the nine deaths that Judge Mmonoa Teffo found to be unnatural, there were 144 deaths associated with the Life Esidimeni tragedy. Ultimately, these were human… Read more »

South Africa: Face to Face - Healthcare Veteran Kgosi Letlape On Leaving the ANC, Serving in Parliament, and the Tragic Loss of His Daughter

Former ANC member, now with ActionSA, Dr Kgosi Letlape was recently elected to parliament's health committee. Biénne Huisman spoke to the past president of the Health… Read more »

Africa: Aids 2024 - Exciting Developments With the Jabs Promising to Revolutionise HIV Prevention

Taking antiretrovirals to prevent HIV infection mostly still involves swallowing one or more pills a day. Some long-acting products that work for a month or two at a time have been… Read more »

South Africa: Childhood Vaccine Coverage in South Africa Declined in 2023 - WHO Report

New data from the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF show that globally childhood immunisation coverage stalled in 2023, while in South Africa it decreased. Elri Voigt… Read more »

South Africa: Medicines Stockouts Persist in North West As Tide Turns Slowly

Despite some improvement over the past three years, the North West province continues to experience medicine shortages, according to a survey by a community clinic monitoring… Read more »