A guide to South Africa’s 12 childhood vaccines
There are 12 childhood vaccines in wide use in South Africa. This guide unpacks what you need to know about each of them.
New shingles vaccine to be launched in SA private sector, but affordability may limit access
Ten years after its launch in the United States, a new, more effective shingles vaccine is finally set to hit the market in South Africa. While the vaccine, called Shingrix, should soon be available at private sector pharmacies, it seems unlikely that it will be provided in the country’s public healthcare system any time soon.
Faith Muthambi | Provinces owe the NHLS billions, patients could pay the price. It’s time to crack the whip
Provincial debt to the National Health Laboratory Service is not just a financial governance matter, but also a public healthcare service delivery risk that affects diagnoses, treatment, disease surveillance, and government’s ability to protect vulnerable patients, writes Faith Muthambi, chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Health in the National Assembly.
From Spider-Man to Mandela, the many influences in Professor Salim Abdool Karim’s remarkable scientific career
To Professor Salim Abdool Karim, excellence should be the only standard. In science, he says he is inspired by imaginative thinking such as that of American comic publisher Stan Lee, co-creator of Spider-Man. Biénne Huisman sat down with him in his office in a glass-encased building on the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s medical campus.
Where children die | Kids with terminal illnesses mostly still dependent on NGOs
Though the available statistics are patchy, there is little doubt that too many children with life-threatening or life-limiting illnesses in South Africa are unable to access palliative care. With limited state investment, NGOs have stepped in, but the need for care still far exceeds what is available. In part 3 of a Spotlight special series on palliative care for kids, Sue Segar zooms out to look at the national picture.
Young people gave their time, their bodies, and their trust to help unlock breakthrough HIV prevention jab
As South Africa marks 50 years since the June 1976 youth uprising for a dream of freedom, a new generation of young people dreaming of an HIV-free future gave their time, trust, and participation to help deliver a breakthrough new HIV prevention product that was launched this June, writes Ntando Yola.
Inside The Box with Dr Andy Gray | How should the compounding of medicines be regulated?
The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority, with the South African Pharmacy Council, recently announced what was described as a crackdown on a compounding pharmacy. They allege “critical regulatory non-compliance” in relation to the compounding of unregistered medicines. In his latest Inside The Box column, Dr Andy Gray provides some background to the issues at stake, while recognising that some key elements remain contested.
Did US aid cuts break precisely the things we need most for the lenacapavir rollout?
With a new six-monthly injection, South Africa last week launched the most promising new HIV prevention tool in years, but much of the infrastructure that made HIV prevention services accessible to high-risk groups has been dismantled over the last year. Amy Green asks whether we can successfully deliver this breakthrough technology without the trusted pathways that were decimated by cuts to aid from the United States.
Abba Mallum – the Nigerian oncologist helping to fight cancer in KZN and across Africa
Propelled by an early vision to help others, Dr Abba Mallum tells Biénne Huisman about his roots in Borno State, about opportunities in Stellenbosch and Durban, and about his pioneering PhD in radiotherapy and oncology.
In The Spotlight | All you need to know about the jab that could dramatically reduce new HIV infections in SA
On June 5 2026, an HIV prevention injection will for the first time become available at some of South Africa’s public sector clinics. In this Spotlight special briefing, Marcus Low and Elri Voigt pull together all you need to know about this “breakthrough” jab.
Why pharmacists still can’t prescribe ARVs, months after court gave the green light
A Supreme Court of Appeal ruling in October 2025 cleared the way for specially trained and permitted pharmacists to dispense antiretroviral medicines without a doctor’s script. Seven months later, no pharmacists are yet providing these services. Catherine Tomlinson explores the reasons for the delay.
The evolution of HIV treatment: From multi-pill regimens to better, single pill combos
HIV treatment has been improved and simplified significantly over the years yet a small fraction of people living with HIV still take complex multi-pill regimens. Elri Voigt reports on a new combination pill that could make life easier for some in this group. But as two leading experts point out, the development comes against a backdrop where the traditional categorisation of HIV medicines is dissolving.