Menopause in SA: Women want answers, not ‘old granny’ labels
Across the country’s townships and rural clinics, women are breaking inherited silences to redefine reproductive ageing on their own terms. Joan van Dyk reports.
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El Niño is here. Are KZN clinics ready?
With El Niño conditions expected to bring a hotter, drier summer, Spotlight asks whether the KwaZulu-Natal government is ready to keep health services running and protect vulnerable communities during the extreme weather that may be on the way. Christina Pitt reports.
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Donated mpox vaccine stock will be deployed as needed, says health dept as cases climb to 26
Twenty of this year’s 26 confirmed mpox cases came after August, concentrated mostly within the Western Cape. Elri Voigt looks at how the virus has changed and how much of the donated vaccine is left.
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SA’s Cancer Story | Why the Northern Cape’s only public cancer doctor for kids left for the private sector
Dr Liezl du Plessis tells Biénne Huisman about the public sector paediatric oncology unit she established in Kimberley, and how a broken system forced her to abandon this dream. She now pursues her passion treating children and teenagers in Pretoria’s private sector.
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The health department should explain when boys will be considered for HPV vaccination
South Africa’s health department should assess the inclusion of boys in its public human papillomavirus vaccination programme. This assessment, argues Professor Colleen Aldous, should account for the protection boys could gain, the cost of delivering it, and the work still required to reach girls who miss vaccination and women who need cervical screening and treatment.
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Interactive Data Dashboards
Follow the numbers behind the headlines
Our dashboards track South Africa’s HIV and TB response over time.
Explore the indicators, drill into provinces, and download the underlying data.
HIV Dashboard
Explore comprehensive estimates of HIV prevalence, treatment access, and prevention programmes across all nine provinces.
6.1m
On Antiretroviral Treatment
145k
New Infections Per Year
TB Dashboard
How many people are falling ill with tuberculosis, how many of them are diagnosed, and how many lives are lost? Find out.
74%
Treatment Completion Rate
50k
Estimated TB Deaths Per Year
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How should medicines shortages be managed in South Africa?
Imagine you have been taking a medicine for years. Then one day you are told at the pharmacy that supplies have run out. In his latest Spotlight column, Dr Andy Gray zooms in on how governments can monitor and plan for such shortages.
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A fungal infection that targets the brain claims many lives in SA, stopping it won’t be easy
One of the top killers of people living with HIV in South Africa is a fungal infection caused by spores found all around us. In this Spotlight special briefing, Elri Voigt unpacks what we know about this dangerous disease called cryptococcal meningitis, why it remains so deadly, and what we can do about it.
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What are broadly neutralising antibodies and what do they mean for the fight against HIV?
HIV is known for its ability to outsmart our immune system’s normal defences. A small number of people living with HIV are however able to generate more effective immune responses to HIV. In this special briefing, Catherine Tomlinson zooms in on broadly neutralising antibodies, the secret sauce in these immune responses.
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Perspectives
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The health department should explain when boys will be considered for HPV vaccination
South Africa’s health department should assess the inclusion of boys in its public human papillomavirus vaccination programme. This assessment, argues Professor Colleen Aldous, should account for the protection boys could gain, the cost of delivering it, and the work still required to reach girls who miss vaccination and women who need cervical screening and treatment.
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We need more public sector doctors, yet many newly qualified doctors can’t get work
South Africa has a healthcare worker crisis. Those in power need to face it and think bigger about how to address it, argues Spotlight editor Marcus Low.
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Who will pay for the palliative care promised in South Africa’s next policy?
As South Africa is piecing together a new policy document on palliative care services for people with life-limiting and life-threatening illness, Motlalentoa Motsoane argues that making people’s lives better will depend on details like accurate costing, sufficient funding, and effective referral systems.
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