Goodbye Ufrieda Ho, keeper of Jozi and wordsmith of the people
Journalist Ufrieda Ho passed away of cancer on 9 March 2026. In a career spanning three decades, she wrote for The Star, Daily Maverick, Spotlight, and many other publications.
NHI pause should be used to build stronger healthcare foundations
Universal health coverage cannot succeed with fragmented systems, weak data, and largely symbolic participation. A recent court-ordered pause to NHI implementation offers a chance to build the foundations properly, argue Dr Haseena Majid and Professor Mogie Subban.
Global health infrastructure is changing. Why getting it right matters for SA
Funding cuts over the last year or so have created a crisis for multilateral health institutions. Which institutions emerge from this crisis, and in what form, will have real consequences for the health of people in South Africa, argues Spotlight editor Marcus Low.
A quiet crisis: Babies born with hearing loss often diagnosed too late in SA
Despite the proven benefits of newborn hearing screening and early intervention, universal screening is not yet mandated in South Africa and is only available at a few public hospitals.
Through dust and carrying steel, Maryke Bezuidenhout takes care to people with disabilities in KZN’s rural corners
Maryke Bezuidenhout is constantly on the road in rural, northern KwaZulu-Natal visiting and helping people with disabilities where they live. As part of Spotlight’s new Rural Health Heroes series, writer Sue Segar and photographer Thom Pierce tagged along with her.
The mosquito hunters working against rising floods and shrinking budgets to end malaria in South Africa
Get to know South Africa’s malaria experts as they outrun hitchhiking mosquitoes and pollution-hardy bugs while navigating a regional funding collapse and a spiralling climate crisis. Joan van Dyk reports.
Early treatment helps protect the brains of people living with HIV
Antiretroviral therapy has shifted HIV from a fatal to a chronic condition. But neuropsychiatrists say it is imperative for people living with the virus to start treatment immediately as the “duration of untreated exposure” may cause irreversible brain damage and impact long-term cognitive health. Biénne Huisman reports.
As another Rare Diseases Day swings by, is SA ready to take it more seriously?
Individual rare diseases impact only a very small fraction of people, but collectively they are estimated to affect over three million in South Africa. As we mark International Rare Disease Day on 28 February, Elna Schütz assesses the state of play with rare diseases in the country.
Behind the scenes: The amazing people driving a ‘truly South African’ HIV vaccine study
A cutting-edge, South African-led HIV vaccine trial built on decades of research recently kicked off in Cape Town. Elri Voigt unpacks what exactly is being studied, and how the resilience, tenacity and urgency of a group of dedicated South African researchers made it possible.
Obesity medicines are needed in SA’s public sector. Can our government provide them?
In South Africa, access to weight loss medicines like Ozempic and Mounjaro remains limited to those who can shell out a few thousand Rand a month. In the second article of a Spotlight special series, Catherine Tomlinson looks at the medical need for these medicines in the country and what it would take for government to provide them in the public sector.
Russell Rensburg | Consolidate the funding of South Africa’s district health system: why reform can’t wait
District managers in South Africa’s public healthcare system currently have to juggle funding from multiple government budget lines, each with different strings attached. To improve district health services, we urgently need to simplify and integrate these funding flows, argues Russell Rensburg.
EDITORIAL | Spotlight launches new TB dashboard
Spotlight has unveiled a new tuberculosis dashboard and graph generator. We hope this dashboard will help people get a clearer picture of the state of South Africa’s TB epidemic – an epidemic that still claims over 50 000 lives a year. It follows on the launch of a similar HIV dashboard last November.