Spotlight’s Vote4Health
In the run-up to South Africa’s general elections in May 2019 Spotlight will be publishing a series of articles under the banner #Vote4Health.
#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.
AIDS2018: Humans in the Age of HIV-There’s no one influencing me anymore
By Nomatter Ndebele [caption id="attachment_6515" align="alignright" width="300"] Gloria. Pic by Joyrene Kramer[/caption] Gloria lives in Vrededorp, Johannesburg with her partner and her 2-year-old son. She has been on drugs since…
AIDS2018: Humans in the age of HIV-It’s the living that can hurt you
By Nomatter Ndebele [caption id="attachment_6490" align="alignright" width="300"] Marthinus Barnard. Pic by Joyrene Kramer[/caption] There are an estimated 75000 people living in South Africa who inject drugs. According to local NGO,…
AIDS2018: Why the conference still matters at this point in the HIV Epidemic
There are many reasons why the end of the AIDS epidemic is not yet in sight and why the International AIDS Conference still matters, writes IAS President Linda-Gail Bekker. The…
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.
Health4Sale Part 1: North West blows HIV money on controversial private ambulance service
The North West Department of Health blew over R100-million expressly earmarked for HIV on two controversial private ambulance companies. Serious red flags are also raised by some of the invoices submitted by one of these companies.
Spotlight joins the dots in this two-part investigative feature Health4Sale.
10 things to know about TB in South Africa
Tuberculosis (TB) is still a crisis in South Africa. Here are 10 quick facts about the state of TB in South Africa.
Renewed hope for crypto, a deadly AIDS-defining fungal opportunistic infection
Cryptococcosis (“crypto”) is a common AIDS-defining fungal opportunistic infection worldwide. It has been neglected for many years. This is about to change.
Mental health and pill-taking: Getting beyond HIV
“A few weeks ago we lost Prudence Mbele, a beloved long-time activist living openly with HIV, who died of TB. Prudence was famous for her ‘pill holidays’ – a big no-no in HIV-land, as it leads to further immune damage. The idea of someone stopping their life-saving tablets – even temporarily – boggles the minds of most health providers. Her death triggered an intense media and Facebook/Twitter reaction, filled both with criticism at her choices as well as empathy, as people shared their own hard stories about taking antiretrovirals. Professor Francois Venter writes for Spotlight about the difficulties of taking pills for the rest of your life and dealing with the mental health issues relating to illness.
Modernising ART
By Dr Michelle Moorhouse – Antiretroviral therapy (ART) in South Africa seems set for a revolution with a new drug combination that is highly effective and involves only one pill a day that is smaller than an aspirin. One of South Africa’s top HIV clinicians explains.