Latest
Opinion: Approval of new TB drug lays bare crisis in TB research
While a combination of drugs including now FDA-approved pretomanid is probably the best treatment for XDR-TB, it is still not clear whether or not pretomanid itself is safe and effective. ...
New tuberculosis medicine studied in South Africa approved in United States
The new tuberculosis medicine pretomanid has just been registered by the United States Food and Drug Administration. What are the implications for South Africa? ...
The plan to revive medicines regulation in South Africa
SAHPRA inherited a backlog of around 16 000 medicine regulatory applications from the MCC. How can this backlog be processed and medicines regulation improved in future? ...
Opinion: Right of access to affordable meds watered down in Presidential Compact
The root causes of high prices—unchecked patent-granted monopolies—remain in place. Once again, thousands of lives are being lost on the altar of profiteering. Mark Heywood and Zain Rizvi argue why South Africa must urgently adopt a new patent law. ...
Is scaling up active case finding the missing piece in our TB response?
Might an ambitious scale up of active case finding be just what is needed to break the back of South Africa’s tuberculosis epidemic? ...
Another Eastern Cape psychiatric facility damned
The derelict Cecilia Makiwane Hospital Mental Health Unit is a powerful indictment of the province’s failure to care for the mentally ill. ...
Graphs that tell the story of HIV in South Africa’s provinces
The recently released outputs of the Thembisa mathematical model of HIV in South Africa allow us to compare the burden of HIV at the provincial level and see how close each province comes to achieving the 90-90-90 targets. We made some graphs to explore the data. ...
What are we to make of the ADVANCE trial results?
Two leading South African HIV experts reflect on the future of new ARVs dolutegravir and TAF, following the publication of findings from a major new trial conducted in Johannesburg. ...
Posted about Treatment in 2017
#Vote4Health: Healthcare after the elections
Who will be South Africa’s next Minister of Health and what will be the impact of May’s national and provincial elections on South Africa’s ongoing health crisis? ...
#Vote4Health: Lusikisiki push for condoms in schools
In Luskikisiki in the Eastern Cape girls as young as 11 years old are falling pregnant and becoming HIV-infected, prompting renewed calls by the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) that government condoms are distributed at primary schools. Biénne Huisman attended a community meeting in Lusikisiki. ...
Spotlight’s Vote4Health
In the run-up to South Africa’s general elections in May 2019 Spotlight will be publishing a series of articles under the banner #Vote4Health. ...
#Vote4Health: New hope as Lusikisiki finally gets a new clinic
In Lusikisiki, in the OR Tambo District of the Eastern Cape, the so-called Village Clinic had become emblematic of a faltering health system, in a rural area fraught with chronic illness and early death due to rapidly-spreading HIV and tuberculosis. Biénne Huisman went to Lusikiki to take the community's temperature. Photographs, Halden Krog. ...
Videos
Cry Ndlovu Cry
Ndlovu Care Group and patients have been at the centre of a battle with the Limpopo health MEC who ended the contract and wants the almost 4 000 healthy HIV patients transferred to battling state clinics. ...
VIDEO: #FireBenny
The Treatment Action Campaign and partners recently held a meeting to establish the Free State People’s Health Coalition. More than 500 TAC members also took to the streets and delivered memorandums to the police and National Prosecuting Authority demanding an update on the charges against Health MEC Dr Benny Malakoane. This is a short clip of … Continue reading "VIDEO: #FireBenny" ...
VIDEO: The Price of Gold
Judgment in the historic Silicosis Class Action, Bongani Nkala and 55 Others v Harmony Gold Mining Company Ltd and 31 Others, will be handed down in the South Gauteng High Court tomorrow (Friday 13 May 2016) at 9am. If the class is certified it will be the largest class to ever be certified in South Africa and … Continue reading "VIDEO: The Price of Gold" ...
VIDEO: TB Aware: Nulda Beyers
TB scientist Professor Nulda Beyers speaks about the critical needs to employeers to enable employees to get tested and treated for TB. Credit: Thom Pierce ...
