Release of useful health statistics: 2015 to 2025
The National Health Laboratory Service has provided HIV, TB, syphilis and cholesterol data, which Spotlight and GroundUp obtained through the Promotion of Access to Information Act.
Salim Abdool Karim | Transforming adversity into opportunity for the AIDS response
As World AIDS Day 2025 swings by, CAPRISA Director Professor Salim Abdool Karim reflects on the frantic days following this year’s unprecedented cuts to health aid and research funding from the US, arguing that the deliberate disruptiveness was designed to be cruel. Nonetheless, he argues, our HIV response must now forge ahead on a path that is more affordable, sustainable and independent.
TIMELINE | The journey of HIV through science, struggle, activism, and hope
From the first reported cases of HIV in 1981 to the latest breakthroughs in long-acting prevention, this Spotlight timeline traces key moments in the global and South African response to the virus. It highlights scientific milestones, political controversies, activism, and the human stories that shaped one of the most significant public health challenges of our time.
In the Spotlight | Why government should provide more free HIV self-tests
It is estimated that around half a million people living with HIV in South Africa don’t know they are living with the virus. One way to help these people is by offering them the means to test themselves in the privacy of their own homes. As Catherine Tomlinson explains in this Spotlight special briefing, such self-screening tests are part of our HIV response on paper, but in reality, the tests are massively underutilised.
“What’s the point of top tech sitting in labs?” UCT’s Yumna Albertus is on a mission to turn science into social impact
What started as a childhood fascination with science and sport has grown into a mission to “democratise” technology with innovative, affordable rehabilitation solutions for people with limited resources. Biénne Huisman sits down with the associate professor – who was once a volleyball captain and is now the head of a top research centre – and who is proving that low-cost solutions are possible.
EDITORIAL | What has actually happened on NHI this year?
It is not a stretch to say that the NHI Act has been one of the most controversial pieces of legislation in post-apartheid South Africa.
Integrating health services for mom and baby could reduce clinic visits by half
In South Africa, many mothers and their babies have to visit the clinic more than 10 times in the first six months of the postnatal period. Early findings from an ongoing implementation science project suggests we can get this down to five. The hope is that the new approach will also help reduce HIV transmission from mothers to their babies. Elri Voigt reports.
SA has relatively high anal cancer rates, but we rarely screen for it
South Africa has the world’s largest population of people living with HIV, which both heightens the risk of anal cancers and their severity. However, neither the collection of data nor the efforts for prevention and screening are in line with the likely impact. Experts say significant change is needed, reports Elna Schütz.
EDITORIAL | Spotlight launches new HIV dashboard
Spotlight has launched a new HIV dashboard and graph generator based on outputs from the Thembisa model. Our hope is that this dashboard will help the public and people working in healthcare to find important HIV numbers more easily. Please take a look and let us know what you think of it.
54 000 TB deaths in SA in 2024, according to WHO
Around 54 000 people died of TB in South Africa in 2024 and 249 000 fell ill with the disease, according to new estimates from the World Health Organization. Marcus Low reports.
After a damning report, health dept says issues at Mafikeng Provincial Hospital are being addressed
Mafikeng Provincial Hospital, a critical public healthcare facility in the North West, is facing a slew of challenges from broken and faulty medical equipment, long waiting times for surgeries, to chronic shortages of skilled nursing staff. Nthusang Lefafa reports on efforts underway to get the hospital up to scratch.
Vincent Tlala | Medicines safety – the crucial role of pharmacists in protecting you
Medicines are among the most powerful tools in healthcare, but they also come with risks. As we mark #MedSafetyWeek, Mr Vincent Tlala, registrar and CEO of the South African Pharmacy Council, argues that the safe use of medicines is a shared responsibility, and is not only up to pharmacists.