Women in Health: Francesca Conradie – from HIV to groundbreaking TB research

By Aisha Abdool Karim, August 17, 2022

Posted in: Edition 10: Drug-resistant TB, Edition 14: Tuberculosis, Edition 7: TB, HIV, Latest

Dr Francesca Conradie knew she wanted to be a doctor when she was eight years old. Now, 50 years later, she is a pioneer in the field of tuberculosis (TB) and led a landmark trial that changed how drug-resistant TB is treated. Aisha Abdool Karim spoke to her about the reasons behind her switch from HIV research to TB, her initial surprise at the remarkable NiX trial results, and the man who has shaped her life – her father.

Women in Health: Francesca Conradie – from HIV to groundbreaking TB research

AIDS 2022: What does an important STI prevention finding mean for SA?

By Elri Voigt, August 11, 2022

Posted in: Edition 9: State of HIV, HIV, Latest

Taking the antibiotic doxycycline after condomless sex can reduce the risk of contracting three different sexually transmitted infections (STIs), according to a study presented last week at the AIDS 2022 conference in Montreal, Canada. Elri Voigt unpacks the study findings and asks local experts what it might mean for combatting STIs in South Africa.

Tags: 2022 International AIDS conference AIDS2022 and Global Medicine at the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital antibiotic resistance Caprisa Centre for HIV and STIs at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases CENTRE FOR THE AIDS PROGRAMME OF RESEARCH IN SOUTH AFRICA chlamydia Division of Infectious Diseases doxycycline DoxyPEP epidemiology featured gonorrhoea HIV HIV pathogenesis and vaccine research programme key populations NICD PEP sexually transmitted infections STI STI prevention STi's syphilis

AIDS 2022: What does an important STI prevention finding mean for SA?

Women in Health: “I don’t like seeing anybody treated unfairly” – new leader of HIV Clinicians Society

By Biénne Huisman, August 10, 2022

Posted in: Edition 9: State of HIV, Healthcare system, Healthcare Workers, HIV, Latest

Juliet Houghton was recently appointed as the CEO of the Southern African HIV Clinician’s Society (SAHCS). As part of Spotlight’s Women in Health series, Bienne Huisman spoke to her about her life working in HIV, her new role at the SAHCS, the importance of being able to laugh, and the Shakespearian origins of her name.

Tags: ARVs cabotegravir condoms COVID-19 dapivirine vaginal ring Department of Health featured gender-affirming guidelines HIV HIV infection HIV treatment Juliet Houghton Medicines Patent Pool MPP oral PrEP SAHPRA South African Health Products Regulatory Authority Southern African HIV Clinicians Society Stigma ViiV Healthcare Women in Health

Opinion: Engaging communities and young people in the HIV response

By Yogan Pillay, August 5, 2022

Posted in: HIV, Latest

The AIDS2022 conference held recently in Montreal, Canada highlighted yet again the need for community activism and the importance of involving young people, writes Dr Yogan Pillay. He argues that the youth and communities must be engaged in the conceptualisation and writing of South Africa’s new AIDS plan, and young people and community-based organisations must have a central role in key aspects of its implementation.

Tags: AIDS AIDS2022 and TB community health COVID-19 featured Global fund HIV HIV epidemic HIV incidence HIV response International Aids Conference National Strategic Plan (NSP) for HIV PEPFAR Public Health Ritshidze Project SANAC South African National AIDS Council (SANAC)STi's UNAIDS

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Opinion: Engaging communities and young people in the HIV response

“It took me three seconds to decide” – Fareed Abdullah reflects on his career in public health

By Biénne Huisman, August 2, 2022

Posted in: Edition 9: State of HIV, Healthcare system, HIV, Latest

Over the last three decades, Dr Fareed Abdullah has been at the coalface of South Africa’s response to HIV, tuberculosis, and more recently, COVID-19. Biénne Huisman chatted with Abdullah about providing antiretrovirals in the time of AIDS denialism, National Health Insurance, working as a medical doctor, and the toll HIV has sadly taken on his own family.

Tags: AIDS Activism AIDS Alliance ARV rollout AZT COVID-19 Dr Aaron Motsoaledi Dr Thembesile Xulu Eric Goemaere Fareed Abdullah featured HIV HIV response key populations MSF Nelson Mandela NHI Bill Omicron SANAC sex workers South African AIDS Council South African Medical Research Council Treatment Action Campaign Zackie Achmat

“It took me three seconds to decide” – Fareed Abdullah reflects on his career in public health

Experts welcome new HIV treatments for kids

By Thabo Molelekwa, July 29, 2022

Posted in: Child health, HIV, Latest

New child-friendly formulations of several important antiretroviral medicines were recently approved by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority. Thabo Molelekwa asks what this means for children living with HIV in South Africa and how long it will take for these medicines to become widely available.

Tags: antiretroviral treatment ART formulations child health child-friendly ART formulations Department of Health dolutegravir featured healthcare workers HIV HIV nursing Linda-Gail Bekker lopinavir/ritonavir paediatric HIV Public Health public sector facilities SAHPRA South African Health Products Regulatory Authority Southern African HIV Clinicians Society viral load Wits RHI

Experts welcome new HIV treatments for kids

Spotlight on HIV: Six graphs that tell the story

By Marcus Low, July 26, 2022

Posted in: COVID-19, HIV, Latest

In 2021, HIV was successfully suppressed in the bodies of around 63% of the close to eight million people living with HIV in South Africa. This is according to recent outputs from Thembisa, the leading mathematical model of HIV in South Africa. With the help of some graphs, Spotlight editor Marcus Low unpacks this and other key model outputs.

Tags: antiretrovirals ART ARVs CD4 count COVID-19 featured HIV epidemic HIV incidence HIV infections HIV prevalence HIV Prevention HIV testing HIV viral load HIV-related deaths medical male circumcision Mother to Child transmission PrEP PrEP rollout Thembisa model

Spotlight on HIV: Six graphs that tell the story

Are youth-only clinics the answer to better healthcare for young people?

By Tiyese Jeranji, July 4, 2022

Posted in: Child health, Edition 6: HIV & teens, Healthcare system, HIV, Latest, Reproductive Health, SRHR

Special youth clinics appear to be an effective means of providing healthcare services to young people who otherwise might not engage with healthcare services. But is building more youth clinics realistic given our resource constraints, or is it better to focus on making ‘normal’ clinics more youth-friendly – or should we be looking beyond clinic-based healthcare services altogether? Tiyese Jeranji investigates.

Tags: adolescent girls and young women ART ARVs basic antenatal care Clinics comprehensive sexuality education contraceptives Department of Health featured HIV prevention programme HIV tests Linda-Gail Bekker MSF PrEP primary health care Sexual and reproductive health Sexually Transmitted Infection STi's Stigma youth-friendly health services

Are youth-only clinics the answer to better healthcare for young people?

Report finds some improvement at Mpumalanga clinics, but serious challenges remain

By Nthusang Lefafa, June 28, 2022

Posted in: Access to Medicines, Healthcare system, Healthcare Workers, HIV, Latest, Mpumalanga, Provinces

The community-led clinic monitoring project, Ritshidze last week, released its follow-up report on the state of (primary) healthcare in Mpumalanga. There were some improvements, but patients are still waiting over four hours to be seen at some clinics. Nthusang Lefafa unpacks some of the report’s findings and asked the health department about its plans to address these shortcomings.

Tags: Access to Health citizen scorecards clinical staff Clinics district health services doctors featured health budgets health infrastructure Health MEC Sasekani Manzini healthcare workers mobile clinics Mpumalanga Department of Health nurses patient satisfaction patient waiting times primary health Public Health RHAP Ritshidze Ritshidze Project rural health Rural Health Advocacy Project

Report finds some improvement at Mpumalanga clinics, but serious challenges remain

Over 3million people on new HIV drug, but not all smooth sailing

By Elri Voigt, May 31, 2022

Posted in: Healthcare system, HIV, Latest

In 2019, the Department of Health started providing the antiretroviral drug dolutegravir as part of HIV treatment in the public sector. Three years later, close to 3.2 million people in South Africa are taking dolutegravir every day. Even so, the rollout of dolutegravir hasn’t all been smooth sailing. Elri Voigt investigates how the massive undertaking of switching millions of people to a new drug has gone.

Tags: ARVs clinicians COVID-19 Department of Health dolutegravir dolutegravir-based regimens drug-drug interactions efavirenz Ezintsha featured healthcare workers HIV HIV medicine HIV treatment HIV treatment initiation Metformin rifampicin Southern African HIV Clinicians Society TLD regimen Wits RHI

Over 3million people on new HIV drug, but not all smooth sailing

Lubricant helps prevent HIV infection, but access remains limited

By Biénne Huisman, May 17, 2022

Posted in: Healthcare system, HIV, Latest

The National Department of Health says that lubricant should be freely available alongside condoms at clinics around the country. But according to community-led monitoring group Ritshidze, clinics often do not offer lubricant. Biénne Huisman reports on why access to lubricant is important for HIV prevention and why oil-based lubricants should not be used with condoms.

Tags: access to medicine condoms Department of Health featured HIV i Base HIV Prevention Ivan Tom's Centre for Men's health lube lubricant MSM National Condom Training Curriculum sexual health

Lubricant helps prevent HIV infection, but access remains limited

Editorial: How do we make an HIV and TB plan that has greater impact?

By Marcus Low, May 5, 2022

Posted in: Edition 8: NSP in general, Edition 9: State of HIV, Editorial, Healthcare system, HIV, Latest, NSP and SANAC

South Africa’s new National Strategic Plan for HIV, TB, and STIs is being developed this year. Spotlight editor Marcus Low asks what we should aim for in the new strategy and how we should go about developing it.

Tags: antiretroviral medicines ARVs Competition Commission Department of Health featured Health Market Inquiry HIV HIV treatment HMI National Strategic Plan for HIV NSP 2017 – 2022 people living with HIV SANAC South African AIDS Council TB TB ans STIs TB testing tuberculosis