HIV and TB: Facing up to the current challenges
Ten years ago on 19th November 2003 the late Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang made public South Africa’s first plan to treat people with HIV using anti-retroviral (ARV) medicines. The announcement came…
Turning research into action: New challenges in the fight against HIV
[caption id="attachment_1599" align="alignnone" width="567"] Photo courtesy of KZN Media[/caption] We know a good deal about HIV in South Africa, but are we using and sharing this knowledge effectively? Where…
Community activism: A tale of three Eastern Cape clinics
[caption id="attachment_1614" align="alignnone" width="567"] Photo by Thys Dullaart[/caption] The residents of Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape are poised to celebrate the opening of a brand new temporary clinic. Plans…
Protected: Men who have sex with men
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The National Health Insurance pilot programme
[caption id="attachment_1632" align="alignnone" width="567"] Kotyana Clinic has had solar panels for about three years, but they were never connected. The clinic has no electricity or running water. Photo by Thys…
Why are there no medicines at the clinic?
[caption id="attachment_1744" align="alignnone" width="567"] Women wait for hours to be seen by a primary health care nurse on an Eastern Cape health outpost in the OR Tambo district. Photo by…
How many people in South Africa are on ART?
[caption id="attachment_1661" align="alignnone" width="567"] The morning drug burden for a patient in an inpatient MDR-TB treatment facility in Kwa-Zulu Natal. Photo by Amelia Rutter, courtesy of Photoshare[/caption] South Africa’s…
Flying Blind
[caption id="attachment_1671" align="alignnone" width="567"] Photo by Samantha Reinders, courtesy of Médecins Sans Frontières[/caption] A senior manager from South Africa’s Department of Health once said that managing a healthcare system…
Slow progress at SANAC
[caption id="attachment_1682" align="alignnone" width="567"] Photo by Samantha Reinders, courtesy of Médecins Sans Frontières[/caption] The National Strategic Plan lists the HIV and TB-related targets that South Africa aims to achieve…
The NSP: Do we know what's happening?
[caption id="attachment_1698" align="alignnone" width="567"] Adherence clubs for HIV-positive patients have been successful in strengthening their treatment, adherence and outcomes. Photo by Samantha Reinders, courtesy of Médecins Sans Frontières.[/caption] “What…
How to fix airflow in prisons
TB is an airborne disease with an increased potential for transmission in poorly ventilated and overcrowded spaces. An infectious individual is far more likely to transmit TB in such environments.…
TB round table
Stakeholders met to discuss strategies to prevent and treat tuberculosis (TB) – the leading cause of death in South Africa’s correctional centres – at the University of the Witwatersrand on…