Compassionate and comprehensive: How SA is approaching TB
South Africa is at the forefront of TB control efforts, striving towards improved health outcomes, argues Dr Priashni Subrayen.
Stigma, lack of awareness holding back use of HIV prevention pills, experts say
Over the last four years South Africa has taken large strides in making HIV prevention pills available at public sector clinics, but uptake has not been as good as some may have hoped. Thabo Molelekwa asks several experts why this might be.
‘Let’s unite to end TB’ – a community-led approach can help wipe out TB in SA
World TB Day is marked in the same week that South Africa celebrates Human Rights Day. A human rights based approach to TB mirrors a public health approach, argue Ingrid Schoeman, Sasha Stevenson, Janet Giddy, Renier Coetzee, and Petula Pienaar.
Massive TB vaccine trial kicks off in SA – it could be the first TB vaccine in over a century
A massive and long-awaited study of an experimental tuberculosis vaccine has kicked off in South Africa. Marcus Low reports.
Someone close to me has been diagnosed with TB – what should I do?
Tuberculosis can infect anyone. It is caused by bacteria and spreads through air and is very common in South Africa. Dr Janet Giddy shares how she deals with Mrs Worried – an anxious and fearful voice seeking advice when someone close to her, like her domestic worker, has been diagnosed with TB.
We need to fight for sleep equity in SA, say leading researchers
Research into the link between disordered sleep and disease show an outsized burden on the most vulnerable. It’s sounding alarms for sleep equity to have a place on the public health agenda, reports Ufrieda Ho.
Obesity and HIV: Semaglutide should be rolled out in SA, says Dr Nomathemba Chandiwana
Obesity is a public health crisis in South Africa, similar to HIV in the late 1990s, Dr Nomathemba Chandiwana tells Spotlight on the sidelines of the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in Denver, Colorado. She also presented research that found lifestyle behaviour changes had a limited effect on reversing weight gain in people living with HIV.
New TB drug shows promise, but experimental vaccine disappoints
While three new tuberculosis (TB) medicines have been registered in South Africa over the last decade, TB treatment still comes with several side effects and requires taking multiple different medicines, typically for six or more months. The search for better TB medicines got a boost last week with the presentation of promising findings from a study conducted in South Africa on an experimental drug called quabodepistat. Elri Voigt reports on this and other TB studies presented at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in Denver, Colorado.
Evelyn Thsehla | Effective reduction to health promotion levy undermines diabetes response
Non-communicable diseases are killing more and more people in South Africa yet the government missed out on raising a total of more than R15 billion for prevention efforts, argues Dr Evelyn Thsehla.
Large increase in drug use over last two decades in SA, study finds
The proportion of South Africans consuming marijuana, cocaine and heroin has increased substantially since the early 2000s, research shows. Jesse Copelyn breaks down the reasons for these trends and potential solutions to the problem.
A year after a damning report, some green shoots at Rahima Moosa Hospital
Spotlight visits Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital and sees progress for the struggling hospital but also the reality that there’s a long road ahead to undo what a health ombud report suggests has been years of neglect and poor management.
Health Budget 2024 fails to address poverty-related health issues and build trust for NHI – SAMRC
The 2024 national budget offer some glimmers but allocations for direct health benefits fall short of making a difference to people’s health and wellbeing. These include a ring-fenced allocation to crack down on corruption in health to inspire trust for the National Health Insurance, taxing accessories for e-cigarettes, a jacked up child-support grant, clarity on plans dealing with climate change and its impacts on human health, and finally greater investment to enhance women’s capabilities alongside the Covid-19 grant, researchers from the South African Medical Research Council write exclusively for Spotlight.