New TB and HIV science from CROI 2017
By Marcus Low – The Conference for Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) was held in Seattle this week. Click to read about some of the presentations and findings.
NSP Draft 1: Good Enough?
Last year, we published an article responding to the so-called “draft zero” of South Africa’s new National Strategic Plan for HIV, TB and STIs. We have now received an updated document marked “draft 1”
Talking to teens about sex and protection
It was business as usual at the International Aids conference in Durban in July 2016. The South African Minister of Health was about to address a plenary session when two young girls took to the stage.
Hearing a problem, and solving it
By Ntsiki Mpulo – Nombulelo Sojina* cradles her baby close to her chest in a kangaroo mothering-style of skin-to-skin
contact. The child’s tiny head is barely visible under the blanket in which she is swaddled.
Workable plan key to ensuring our response to the AIDS and TB epidemics is effective
A key ingredient to ensuring our response to the AIDS and TB epidemics is effective, is having a workable plan. To that end, consultants and experts are working furiously to make sure South Africa has a new National Strategic Plan to take us through to 2022.
Communities in crisis
By Treatment Action Campaign The Treatment Action Campaign has shared the following stories with Spotlight from their provincial operations in KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and the Free State. Elsewhere in this…
Behind the headlines: We debunk three cases of HIV-related misreporting that caught our eye
By Marcus Low – Medical research findings are often sensationalised and overstated in the mainstream media. We debunk three cases of HIV-related misreporting that caught our eye in recent months.
Hoer! Magosha! Prossie! Doxy! – Why has the law on sex work not changed?
Sex work is fully criminalised in South Africa. This means that anyone who buys sex, who sells sex, or who helps facilitate a sex-work transaction can be prosecuted, writes Marlise Richter.
Did Durban listen to sex workers?
This year marked the 21st International AIDS Conference held in Durban – 16 years since this conference was last held on South African soil in 2000, writes Ishtar Lakhani.
How PEPFAR’s anti-prostitution pledge impedes sex worker health
The US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) should end its anti-prostitution pledge, writes Marlise Richter.
Don’t make us criminals
Address presented at a session entitled ‛South Africa’s National Sex Worker HIV Plan: Are you coming?’ at the 2016 International AIDS Conference in Durban.
Ambulance emergency in the Eastern Cape
By Mluleki Marongo, SECTION27 Researcher – If you call an ambulance in Johannesburg, there’s a good chance you will be in a hospital within 45 minutes; if you call an ambulance in rural Eastern Cape, you will probably die before it arrives. Sadly, that has been the case for decades.