In-depth: New licenses could spark manufacture of COVID-19 pills in Africa

In-depth: New licenses could spark manufacture of COVID-19 pills in Africa

Pharmaceutical companies Merck and Pfizer recently announced early results from clinical trials showing that two new antiviral medicines are highly effective in reducing COVID-19 deaths and hospitalisation. The Medicines Patent Pool then announced licensing deals with both companies that will allow for generic versions of the two drugs to be produced. Catherine Tomlinson unpacks the licenses and asks whether generic versions of these pills might now be made in Africa.

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How well is SA’s chronic medicines distribution system working?

How well is SA’s chronic medicines distribution system working?

Having to collect one’s medicines at overcrowded public sector clinics with long queues can be time-consuming, disruptive, and, these days, may expose one to a risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2. Thabo Molelekwa takes stock of South Africa’s centralised chronic medicines dispensing and distribution programme, the Department of Health’s system for allowing more people to collect their chronic medicines closer to their homes or workplaces.

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OPINION: Without contraception, Limpopo women’s rights are being violated

OPINION: Without contraception, Limpopo women’s rights are being violated

The ongoing stockouts of contraceptives grossly violate individuals’ and couples’ reproductive rights but alternative measures have not been put in place. If the issues of access to contraceptives are not dealt with, the country will face a baby boom and a rise in HIV infections at the end of the current pandemic writes Thuthukile Mbatha and Annah Maluleke.

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COVID-19: Millions of injection devices will be needed for vaccines

COVID-19: Millions of injection devices will be needed for vaccines

The delivery of a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine once it becomes available in South Africa will be a complex and costly logistical exercise. Acquiring enough injection devices is part of crucial logistical planning to ensure rapid, equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines. Adele Baleta reports.

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EMS and clinic woes continue for the people of Xhora Mouth in Eastern Cape

EMS and clinic woes continue for the people of Xhora Mouth in Eastern Cape

It is more than a year since Spotlight visited the Xhora Mouth area in the Eastern Cape to report on the locals’ challenges in accessing health care services. Now, a year later, not much has changed. Luvuyo Mehlwana reports.

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Fed-up community in rural Eastern Cape starts their own health facility

Fed-up community in rural Eastern Cape starts their own health facility

Despite glaring poverty and the high unemployment rate plaguing the village of Ngquthu near Dutywa in the Amathole district in the Eastern Cape, villagers pulled together their resources to refurbish what was once a preschool into a community health facility. The community took their access to healthcare into their own hands after complaints over the long distance and residents who, on the way to the nearest clinic, fell victim to a spate of rapes and muggings. Luvuyo Mehlwana reports.

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Opinion: Why fixing South Africa’s patent laws is necessary in the fight against HIV

Opinion: Why fixing South Africa’s patent laws is necessary in the fight against HIV

In 2018, Cabinet adopted a new intellectual property policy for South Africa, but as yet the policy has not led to any change in the country’s patent laws. Amending these laws as soon as possible is critical to both the COVID-19 and HIV response, argues Umunyana Rugege.

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Reimagining healthcare in the Eastern Cape: Back to Basics is the right medicine to fix stockouts

Reimagining healthcare in the Eastern Cape: Back to Basics is the right medicine to fix stockouts

Medicine stockouts can have dire consequences. Tendai Mafuma and Ruth Dube look at lessons learnt over the years on how to help prevent medicine stockouts and argue that although the interventions are not new, if implemented it could help solve the vicious cycle of medicine stockouts in the Eastern Cape.

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What it’s like: Being a pharmacist in South Africa in 2020

What it’s like: Being a pharmacist in South Africa in 2020

Pharmacists do much more than stand behind a counter dispensing medicine. These professionals have a key role to play in the health care system and the overall well-being of people. Tiyese Jeranji spoke to a community pharmacist and pharmacists in the public health sector to understand their role and the challenges they face.

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Do we need the law to provide for a regular clinical medical procedure such as abortion?

Do we need the law to provide for a regular clinical medical procedure such as abortion?

With abortion services now available through telemedicine and the increasing practice of self-managed abortion, Marion Stevens asks if abortion law still has any relevance given these practices.

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IN-DEPTH: Vaginal ring ushers in new era in HIV prevention

IN-DEPTH: Vaginal ring ushers in new era in HIV prevention

A recent announcement about a vaginal ring to prevent HIV has AIDS activists and women’s sexual and reproductive health advocates excited. But where would this ring fit in South Africa’s HIV prevention programme? Amy Green investigates.

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