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Did US aid cuts break precisely the things we need most for the lenacapavir rollout?

Did US aid cuts break precisely the things we need most for the lenacapavir rollout?

By Amy Green,
Posted in: Access to Medicines, Focus, Healthcare system, HIV/AIDS, InFocus, Latest, Spotlight

With a new six-monthly injection, South Africa last week launched the most promising new HIV prevention tool in years, but much of the infrastructure that made HIV prevention services accessible to high-risk groups has been dismantled over the last year. Amy Green asks whether we can successfully deliver this breakthrough technology without the trusted pathways that were decimated by cuts to aid from the United States.

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Abba Mallum – the Nigerian oncologist helping to fight cancer in KZN and across Africa

Abba Mallum – the Nigerian oncologist helping to fight cancer in KZN and across Africa

By Biénne Huisman,
Posted in: Access to Medicines, Focus, Healthcare system, Healthcare Workers, InFocus, Latest, NCDs, Spotlight

Propelled by an early vision to help others, Dr Abba Mallum tells Biénne Huisman about his roots in Borno State, about opportunities in Stellenbosch and Durban, and about his pioneering PhD in radiotherapy and oncology.

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In The Spotlight | All you need to know about the jab that could dramatically reduce new HIV infections in SA

In The Spotlight | All you need to know about the jab that could dramatically reduce new HIV infections in SA

By Marcus Low and Elri Voigt,
Posted in: #InTheSpotlight, Access to Medicines, Focus, Healthcare system, Healthcare Workers, HIV/AIDS, InFocus, Latest, Spotlight

On June 5 2026, an HIV prevention injection will for the first time become available at some of South Africa’s public sector clinics. In this Spotlight special briefing, Marcus Low and Elri Voigt pull together all you need to know about this “breakthrough” jab.

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Why pharmacists still can’t prescribe ARVs, months after court gave the green light

Why pharmacists still can’t prescribe ARVs, months after court gave the green light

By Catherine Tomlinson,
Posted in: Access to Medicines, Focus, Healthcare system, Healthcare Workers, HIV/AIDS, InFocus, Latest, Spotlight

A Supreme Court of Appeal ruling in October 2025 cleared the way for specially trained and permitted pharmacists to dispense antiretroviral medicines without a doctor’s script. Seven months later, no pharmacists are yet providing these services. Catherine Tomlinson explores the reasons for the delay.

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The evolution of HIV treatment: From multi-pill regimens to better, single pill combos

The evolution of HIV treatment: From multi-pill regimens to better, single pill combos

By Elri Voigt,
Posted in: Access to Medicines, Focus, HIV/AIDS, InFocus, Latest, Spotlight

HIV treatment has been improved and simplified significantly over the years yet a small fraction of people living with HIV still take complex multi-pill regimens. Elri Voigt reports on a new combination pill that could make life easier for some in this group. But as two leading experts point out, the development comes against a backdrop where the traditional categorisation of HIV medicines is dissolving.

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The children’s beachfront hospital the Apartheid govt tried to kill is reclaiming its heartbeat

The children’s beachfront hospital the Apartheid govt tried to kill is reclaiming its heartbeat

By Biénne Huisman,
Posted in: Access to Medicines, Child health, Focus, Healthcare system, InFocus, KwaZulu-Natal, Latest, Provinces, Spotlight, TB

Shut down by the apartheid government for providing care to child patients of all races, Durban’s Addington Children’s Hospital is well on its way from a ghostly ruin into a lifeline for a new generation thanks to visionaries like Professor Hoosen Coovadia. Biénne Huisman spent time inside the historic KwaZulu-Natal Children’s Hospital with its striking artworks and wards named after birds.

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Switch to six-month ARV supplies running behind schedule

Switch to six-month ARV supplies running behind schedule

By Christina Pitt,
Posted in: Access to Medicines, Focus, Healthcare system, HIV/AIDS, InFocus, Latest, Spotlight

By March 2027, the health department aims to have 1.5 million people living with HIV on a new programme where they can get a six-month supply of antiretroviral medicines at a time. Early indications suggest that implementation of the programme is slow and uneven, reports Christina Pitt.

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Fake medicines: How regulators are trying to fix the problem in SA

Fake medicines: How regulators are trying to fix the problem in SA

By Elna Schütz,
Posted in: Access to Medicines, Focus, Healthcare system, InFocus, Latest, Spotlight

From unregulated weight loss injections to unsafe pain tablets, substandard and falsified medical products pose a threat to the health of people. Elna Schütz reports on how regulators are fighting the problem in South Africa.

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The Thursday evening clinics changing lives in Nkqubela

The Thursday evening clinics changing lives in Nkqubela

By Sue Segar,
Posted in: Access to Medicines, Focus, Healthcare system, Healthcare Workers, InFocus, Latest, Provinces, Spotlight, Western Cape

Seasonal workers in Robertson often struggle to get to the clinic to access basic healthcare during the day, so community health workers in the Langeberg have set up mobile clinics to visit the township at night. Sue Segar reports.

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Inside The Box with Dr Andy Gray | How can we know that medicines sold in pharmacies are of good quality?

Inside The Box with Dr Andy Gray | How can we know that medicines sold in pharmacies are of good quality?

By Andy Gray,
Posted in: #InsideTheBox, Access to Medicines, Focus, Healthcare system, InFocus, Latest, Special Investigations, Spotlight

We can generally trust that the medicines we buy at pharmacies contain what they are supposed to and that they were manufactured according to good quality standards. In his latest column, Dr Andy Gray zooms in on the regulatory scaffolding that enables this trust.

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To the US and back: SA’s Prof Willem Hanekom reflects on the joys of science and a career ‘running with opportunities’

To the US and back: SA’s Prof Willem Hanekom reflects on the joys of science and a career ‘running with opportunities’

By Biénne Huisman,
Posted in: Access to Medicines, Focus, Healthcare system, Healthcare Workers, HIV/AIDS, InFocus, Latest, Spotlight

At his Durban office, Professor Willem Hanekom tells Biénne Huisman about taking a ventilated young patient to the Sea Point promenade, living with HIV, the need for an African research agenda, and the recurring joy that has defined his career. 

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Cape Town’s unique kidney clinic is keeping youngsters alive

Cape Town’s unique kidney clinic is keeping youngsters alive

By Elna Schütz,
Posted in: Access to Medicines, Child health, Focus, Healthcare system, InFocus, Latest, Provinces, Spotlight, Western Cape

Young people with kidney disease in South Africa often fall into the gap between the paediatric and adult healthcare systems. One innovative clinic in Cape Town is offering a solution tailor-made for this group. Elna Schütz reports.

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