Mbombo: From domestic worker to MEC
Biénne Huisman speaks to Nomafrench Mbombo about the long journey from doing domestic work in East London to being the MEC for Health in the Western Cape.
A hidden killer of people living with HIV
Cryptococcal meningitis is the second leading killer of people with HIV, behind only tuberculosis. Yet, access to a new, better medicine that can save lives remains limited.
#Health4Sale: Company under Hawks and SIU investigation awarded large Limpopo tender
The Limpopo health department, which has a track record of dodgy aeromedical contracts, has awarded a lucrative three-year tender to a joint venture including Buthelezi EMS (BEMS), a private emergency medical services company which is under investigation by the Special Investigating Unit, the Hawks and National Treasury.
Spotlight on NHI: In search of common ground
Marcus Low takes an in-depth look at the politics of NHI, explores the concerns people have with the NHI Bill, and asks what it will take for people in South Africa to find more common ground.
Mental Health Unit is a ‘disaster’, says Public Service Commissioner
The Public Service Commission (PSC) made a surprise visit to the Cecilia Makiwane Mental Health Unit – 10 days after Spotlight published its investigation into a whistleblower’s plea about the unit’s dire state.
Spotlight on NHI: What has actually changed in the new Bill?
Sasha Stevenson considers what has changed between the 2018 draft NHI Bill and the version released two weeks ago to see how, if at all, thinking and planning for NHI has developed.
Opinion: Approval of new TB drug lays bare crisis in TB research
While a combination of drugs including now FDA-approved pretomanid is probably the best treatment for XDR-TB, it is still not clear whether or not pretomanid itself is safe and effective.
New tuberculosis medicine studied in South Africa approved in United States
The new tuberculosis medicine pretomanid has just been registered by the United States Food and Drug Administration. What are the implications for South Africa?
The plan to revive medicines regulation in South Africa
SAHPRA inherited a backlog of around 16 000 medicine regulatory applications from the MCC. How can this backlog be processed and medicines regulation improved in future?
Opinion: Right of access to affordable meds watered down in Presidential Compact
The root causes of high prices—unchecked patent-granted monopolies—remain in place. Once again, thousands of lives are being lost on the altar of profiteering. Mark Heywood and Zain Rizvi argue why South Africa must urgently adopt a new patent law.
Is scaling up active case finding the missing piece in our TB response?
Might an ambitious scale up of active case finding be just what is needed to break the back of South Africa’s tuberculosis epidemic?
Another Eastern Cape psychiatric facility damned
The derelict Cecilia Makiwane Hospital Mental Health Unit is a powerful indictment of the province’s failure to care for the mentally ill.