Russell Rensburg | This is how SA could respond to US aid cuts

Russell Rensburg | This is how SA could respond to US aid cuts

South Africa still lacks an action plan after the withdrawal of US aid for HIV and related health services. But when funds do arrive, how will they be managed? Russell Rensburg suggests the answer may lie in the District Health Programme Grant.

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Electronic death registration is a win-win for SA – let’s make it happen

Electronic death registration is a win-win for SA – let’s make it happen

Several studies have flagged problems with South Africa’s death registration processes. A critical first step to addressing it is to replace our paper-based process with an electronic one, argue Dr Pam Groenewald and Professor Debbie Bradshaw, both of the SAMRC’s Burden of Disease Research Unit.

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OPEN LETTER | Minister of Health Aaron Motsoaledi, please explain the HIV numbers

OPEN LETTER | Minister of Health Aaron Motsoaledi, please explain the HIV numbers

Minister of Health Dr Aaron Motsoaledi’s recent claim that over half a million people have been newly started on HIV treatment in less than six months has raised eyebrows in health circles. In this open letter, Anna Grimsrud and Sibongile Tshabalala-Madhlala, associated with CHANGE – South Africa, ask the Minister to explain numbers that, on the face of it, seem contradictory.

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Francois Venter | Our HIV programme is collapsing — and our government is nowhere to be seen

Francois Venter | Our HIV programme is collapsing — and our government is nowhere to be seen

We’re watching the largest HIV treatment programme in the world unravelling in real time. We don’t need perfection, but we do need a combination of urgency, action, and strategy to save it, argues Professor Francois Venter.

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Yogan Pillay and Gaurang Tanna | Commit, invest, deliver: What should SA do to end TB?

Yogan Pillay and Gaurang Tanna | Commit, invest, deliver: What should SA do to end TB?

The TB Sustainable Development Goals of reducing incidence and deaths from TB are achievable, if we all work together. We must double down on this ambition and be even bolder in our investments, write Yogan Pillay and Gaurang Tanna.

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What does it mean for health? SAMRC experts weigh in on budget 2025

What does it mean for health? SAMRC experts weigh in on budget 2025

While the 2025 national budget boosts health spending, researchers from the South African Medical Research Council stress the need for strong accountability measures. They also raise concerns about rising VAT and omissions related to US funding cuts and climate change.

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Francois Venter | Our HIV response will collapse without US funding – unless we act urgently

Francois Venter | Our HIV response will collapse without US funding – unless we act urgently

South Africa faces its worst health crisis in 20 years. Worse than COVID, and one that will overshadow diabetes as a major killer, while pouring petrol on a dwindling TB fire. But it is preventable, argues Professor Francois Venter if our government steps up urgently.

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Gauteng MEC threatens schoolgirls’ bodily autonomy with compulsory implant

Gauteng MEC threatens schoolgirls’ bodily autonomy with compulsory implant

The bodily autonomy of young women and girls is under threat as Gauteng Health and Wellness MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko intends to make the contraceptive implanon compulsory for learners as long as their parents consent. This approach to addressing teenage pregnancy is misguided and unlawful, argues Khuselwa Dyantyi. 

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Proposed Health Professions Act Amendment a double-edged sword

Proposed Health Professions Act Amendment a double-edged sword

The Democratic Alliance intends to propose legislation that would allow healthcare professionals to do community service and internships in private hospitals. Such a legislative change risks exacerbating some of South Africa’s healthcare inequalities, argues Bulela Vava.

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South Africa’s AIDS response: Progress, challenges, and opportunities

South Africa’s AIDS response: Progress, challenges, and opportunities

Ahead of World AIDS Day 2024, Professor Salim Abdool Karim and Dr Nikita Devnarain argue that South Africa needs a concerted effort to reduce new HIV infections in young women and to prepare for the rollout of long-acting forms of HIV prevention alongside a well-functioning HIV treatment programme.

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Why the fuss about long-acting antiretrovirals for HIV?

Why the fuss about long-acting antiretrovirals for HIV?

HIV prevention injections that can provide two, or even six, months of protection per shot have arguably been the biggest HIV story of the year. Ahead of World AIDS Day, Professor Francois Venter assesses the state of play and the critical next steps with these potentially game-changing new tools in the fight against HIV.

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NHI offers an opportunity to boost primary healthcare – we must seize it

NHI offers an opportunity to boost primary healthcare – we must seize it

To see National Health Insurance primarily as the setting up of a state-run medical aid scheme risks underplaying its massive potential to restructure how public healthcare services are organised and funded, and with that, its potential to boost the delivery of primary healthcare services in South Africa, argues Russell Rensburg.

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