NHI Act offers no answer to high medicines prices
The National Health Insurance Act does not deal with the systemic issues that cause high prices and inequity in medicine access, and government is not listening, argues Fatima Hassan.
Nelson Mandela Bay clinics under siege as crime threatens healthcare
A series of robberies at healthcare facilities in the Eastern Cape has disrupted services, with patients sometimes left waiting outside while clinics limit the number of people allowed in. This follows the provincial health department spending over R700 million on security contracts in the past financial year, reports Luvuyo Mehlwana.
#InTheSpotlight | How will NHI unfold? Here are three possible scenarios
As health department officials move to set up National Health Insurance’s basic structures, including its board, several experts say the scheme remains a pipe-dream, doomed to the same fate as Gauteng’s aborted e-tolls project. In this Spotlight special briefing, Jesse Copelyn outlines three possible scenarios for how NHI might pan out over the coming years.
Why people stop taking their HIV treatment and what we can do about it
Stopping antiretroviral treatment when you are living with HIV can result in increased HIV transmission, illness, hospitalisation, and eventually death. To combat such disengagement with HIV treatment, Professor Graeme Meintjes and colleagues argue we need smarter differentiated care and better education of healthcare workers, people living with HIV, and communities.
Virchow Prize winner Prof Lucy Gilson on SA’s NHI: ‘Service delivery requires people, not just money’
Professor Lucy Gilson scooped the prestigious international Virchow Prize. She chats to Biénne Huisman about her upbringing, unexpected dive into the world of public health, and shares her thoughts on National Health Insurance. She says it will take more than money to fix our health system.
Mandatory health insurance for SA is an ‘upgrade’ on NHI, proponents say
The idea of mandatory medical scheme coverage for employed people has made a comeback after the case for it was made at a recent conference. The policy move was previously on the cards in South Africa but faded after the ANC opted for National Health Insurance (NHI) at its 2007 national congress where Jacob Zuma was elected as the party’s new leader. Chris Bateman unpacks how a system with mandatory medical scheme membership for the employed might work and asked local experts whether it represents a viable alternative to government’s NHI plans.
Nursing in SA is changing, but is it enough to avert an anticipated crisis?
The increased professionalisation of nursing in South Africa in recent years marks a significant shift in the perception and practice of this essential healthcare field. As the country grapples with a critical shortage of nurses and the ongoing challenges of aligning nursing education with new higher education standards, Thabo Molelekwa asks local experts about the future of nursing in the country.
All the Premier’s HODs: High-stakes head of health post trapped in a merry-go-round
The Northern Cape health department has had several heads of department in the last five years. Spotlight unpacks the implications of this leadership instability and asks what it means for good governance in the public health sector.
SA has the third highest suicide rate in Africa – there are steps we can take to tackle it
South Africa has the third highest suicide rate in Africa and Africa has higher rates of suicide than any other continent. In the wake of World Suicide Prevention Day on September 10th, clinical psychologist Vincenzo Sinisi asks what can be done to bring down suicide rates.
How to save more mothers from dying during childbirth
COVID-19 temporarily reversed South Africa’s hard-won reduction in maternal mortality, but the death rate has now stabilised, and hopes are high that the downward trend will resume. However, if experts are right, we’re missing some crucial interventions that would further prevent what are avoidable deaths. Chris Bateman talks to some of the leading lights in the field.
Glenda Gray’s fierce fight for science, the COVID-19 ruckus, and the bathroom row about HIV drugs
After a decade at the helm of the country’s primary health research funder, Professor Glenda Gray will focus again on doing the science. She tells Spotlight’s Biénne Huisman about her childhood, her passion for research, administering multi-million dollar grants, and a heated argument in the bathroom with an ANC bigwig.
Living with a cleft: “I smile, but without showing teeth”
The ongoing psychological, functional, and aesthetic challenges experienced by people with cleft lip and palate underscore the need for an individualised, lifelong, and multidisciplinary approach to managing the condition, argues Kholofelo Mphahlele.