With over 3 600 Western Cape users, lenacapavir is “cool”
From counselling about small nodules to overcoming people’s fears of needles, Biénne Huisman takes the pulse of a new HIV prevention injection’s rollout in the Western Cape.
SA is one step closer to a new TB vaccine, but there is a lot of work ahead
In March 2024, a pivotal clinical trial was launched to evaluate what might well become the first new tuberculosis vaccine on the market in more than a century. As anticipation mounts for the trial to deliver results, Russell Rensburg argues that we need to start preparing for a rollout of the jab, but that we should think of preparation more widely than just the technicalities of regulatory approval and drug supply.
In The Spotlight | 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.
Positive interim findings on new once-weekly HIV treatment pill
A new antiretroviral combination pill that is taken only once a week appears to work as well as daily pills at treating HIV. This is according to interim study findings to be presented next week at the AIDS 2026 conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
When medicines are made outside the factory: Why pharmacovigilance matters more than ever
A high-profile court case has thrust the legalities of compounding medicines in South Africa into the spotlight. Behind the immediate legal issues, hide a series of unresolved questions about how we should ensure that compounded medicines used in South Africa are safe, argue Professor Renier Coetzee and Lara van Niekerk.
“At the clinic … you can feel them staring” – How specialised services are helping trans people in George
An NGO offers safe, private HIV services to Men who Have Sex with Men and transgender people in George. Sue Segar met with some of the people using these services, and found the NGO, TB HIV Care are already providing relief from the hostile reactions trans people sometimes experience in government clinics.
From test tubes to treatment: Two TB researchers on getting the ancient disease themselves
Being a researcher who studies tuberculosis in the lab is one thing, having the TB bug in your lungs is quite another. Elri Voigt sat down with two of a relatively small number of people who have experienced both.
Mireille Wenger | What 49 000 Western Cape teenagers taught us about preventing alcohol abuse and violence
A survey of 49 000 teenagers in the Western Cape reminds us that preventing violence does not begin in a hospital, a police station or a courtroom. It begins much earlier, in families, schools, sports fields, faith communities and neighbourhoods, writes Western Cape Provincial Minister of Health and Wellness Mireille Wenger.
To make PIMART work we need to plan – we should focus on these three P’s
Eight months after the Supreme Court of Appeal gave the green light for specially trained pharmacists to dispense antiretrovirals without a script from a doctor, the programme remains stuck in the starting blocks. With enabling permits now seemingly on the horizon, Angela Tembo and Dr Deanne Johnston ask if there has been sufficient planning to make the initiative a success.
SA has three spheres of government: Which is responsible for providing primary healthcare services?
A court battle over blocked access to Johannesburg clinics has exposed how responsibility for ensuring access to healthcare services is divided between national, provincial and local government. Ahead of local government elections in November, Christina Pitt investigates where exactly the dividing lines lie.
In The Spotlight | What is in SA’s vaccination schedule and how does it measure up?
Which vaccines are in use in South Africa and how does our vaccination schedule measure up to international standards? In this #InTheSpotlight special briefing, Catherine Tomlinson unpacks the recent history and details the vaccines currently being used in the country.
A guide to South Africa’s 12 childhood vaccines
There are 12 childhood vaccines in wide use in South Africa. This guide unpacks what you need to know about each of them.