AIDS 2022: The latest on long-acting HIV prevention and treatment
Elri Voigt summarises some of the latest developments on long-acting therapies for HIV presented at the 2022 International AIDS conference.
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Women in Health: From test tubes to impacting lives – Dr Thesla Palanee-Phillips on making a difference with science
Dr Thesla Palanee-Phillips is the Director of Clinical Trials at the Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute (Wits RHI) at the University of the Witwatersrand. As part of Spotlight’s Women in Health series, Elri Voigt spoke to her about what set her off into a career in science, the significance of the ASPIRE trial that…
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What is behind the Western Cape’s low PrEP numbers?
It is estimated that in 2021, around 0.3% of sexually active people in the Western Cape were taking antiretroviral medicines to prevent HIV infection. This is substantially lower than the national estimate of 1%. Elsabé Brits asks why uptake in the Western Cape is lagging behind most other provinces.
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AIDS 2022: How to tailor HIV prevention efforts to people’s needs
One of the hot topics at the recently concluded AIDS 2022 conference held in Montreal, Canada, was how HIV prevention interventions such as pills or injections that prevent HIV infection should be made available to different groups of people. Tiyese Jeranji spoke to some local experts and an activist about the rich set of discussions.
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Opinion: World has reached another turning point in the fight against HIV
The world stands at an inflection point once more in the war against HIV. For those of us working in the field in South Africa, especially, it feels eerily like the battle that was fought 25 years ago, writes Dr Liesl Page-Shipp.
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Women in Health: Francesca Conradie – from HIV to groundbreaking TB research
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…
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AIDS 2022: What does an important STI prevention finding mean for SA?
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.
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“I don’t like seeing anybody treated unfairly” – new leader of HIV Clinicians Society
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.
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Opinion: Engaging communities and young people in the HIV response
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…
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“It took me three seconds to decide” – Fareed Abdullah reflects on his career in public health
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…
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Experts welcome new HIV treatments for kids
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.
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Spotlight on HIV: Six graphs that tell the story
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…
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