Focus on children, urges president of SA Society of Psychiatrists

Focus on children, urges president of SA Society of Psychiatrists

There are serious gaps in psychiatry regarding treatment, prevention and care for children and adolescents in South Africa. Offering solutions, Dr Anusha Lachman tells Spotlight psychiatric services should be offered in ways that are Afro-centric and culturally sensitive.

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Some people still sidelined at health facilities – how do we fix it?

Some people still sidelined at health facilities – how do we fix it?

Nthusang Lefafa looks at the latest Ritshidze report for key populations and speaks to some public healthcare experts about possible solutions to challenges facing those marginalised groups who carry a high burden of the HIV pandemic.

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New TB drug shows promise, but experimental vaccine disappoints

New TB drug shows promise, but experimental vaccine disappoints

While three new tuberculosis (TB) medicines have been registered in South Africa over the last decade, TB treatment still comes with several side effects and requires taking multiple different medicines, typically for six or more months. The search for better TB medicines got a boost last week with the presentation of promising findings from a study conducted in South Africa on an experimental drug called quabodepistat. Elri Voigt reports on this and other TB studies presented at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in Denver, Colorado.

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#Vote4Health: New hope as Lusikisiki finally gets a new clinic

#Vote4Health: New hope as Lusikisiki finally gets a new clinic

In Lusikisiki, in the OR Tambo District of the Eastern Cape, the so-called Village Clinic had become emblematic of a faltering health system, in a rural area fraught with chronic illness and early death due to rapidly-spreading HIV and tuberculosis. Biénne Huisman went to Lusikiki to take the community’s temperature. Photographs, Halden Krog.

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DREAMS and She Conquers

DREAMS and She Conquers

An estimated 2 000 new HIV infections occur in young women and girls every week in South Africa. Two high-profile programmes are aiming to address this crisis. In this joint Spotlight/Health-e News Service special investigation, we go beyond the bells and whistles and ask what difference these programmes are really making.

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