#InsideTheBox with Dr Andy Gray | How can we tell if health policies or guidelines are truly evidence-based?

#InsideTheBox with Dr Andy Gray | How can we tell if health policies or guidelines are truly evidence-based?

It is easy to claim one is “following the scientific evidence”, but what does it mean to actually do so? In his latest #InsideTheBox column, Dr Andy Gray considers how evidence-based health policy and guidelines can and should be made.

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#InTheSpotlight | Graphs that paint the picture of HIV in SA

#InTheSpotlight | Graphs that paint the picture of HIV in SA

Eight million people living with HIV. Just over 6 million on treatment. Behind these big numbers lurk a universe of fascinating epidemiological dynamics. In this special briefing, Spotlight editor Marcus Low unpacks what we know about the state of HIV in South Africa.

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#InsideTheBox with Dr Andy Gray | Are clinical trial participants in South Africa protected?

#InsideTheBox with Dr Andy Gray | Are clinical trial participants in South Africa protected?

Clinical trial participants appear to be well protected in South Africa, particularly as the country’s guidelines recognise the risks of research with international collaborators. The sudden end of US-funded clinical trials, however, is exposing some limitations of ethics codes and guidelines, argues Dr Andy Gray.

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#InsideTheBox with Dr Andy Gray | Who can prescribe medicines in SA?

#InsideTheBox with Dr Andy Gray | Who can prescribe medicines in SA?

What medicines do you need prescriptions for and who is authorised to write those prescriptions is not a straight-forward matter. In his latest #InsideTheBox column, Dr Andy Gray explains how the system works now and sets out how it might be improved.

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#InsideTheBox with Dr Andy Gray | Essential medicines – essential to whom?

#InsideTheBox with Dr Andy Gray | Essential medicines – essential to whom?

In the first of a new series of monthly columns for Spotlight, Dr Andy Gray considers what we mean when we refer to medicines as ‘essential’ – something that is routinely done by the WHO and the health authorities in many countries.

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#InTheSpotlight | SA has started a TB revolution – can we see it through?

#InTheSpotlight | SA has started a TB revolution – can we see it through?

Over the last decade, it has become clear that South Africa’s progress against TB depends on diagnosing more people more quickly. In this Spotlight special briefing, Marcus Low asks how we can best go about it.

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#InTheSpotlight | Where are we in the search for an HIV cure?

#InTheSpotlight | Where are we in the search for an HIV cure?

Highly effective treatments for HIV have existed since the mid-1990s. But while these treatments keep people healthy, we do not yet have a safe and scalable way to completely rid the body of the virus. In this Spotlight special briefing, Elri Voigt takes stock of where we are in the decades-long search for an HIV cure.

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#InTheSpotlight | How will NHI unfold? Here are three possible scenarios

#InTheSpotlight | How will NHI unfold? Here are three possible scenarios

As health department officials move to set up National Health Insurance’s basic structures, including its board, several experts say the scheme remains a pipe-dream, doomed to the same fate as Gauteng’s aborted e-tolls project. In this Spotlight special briefing, Jesse Copelyn outlines three possible scenarios for how NHI might pan out over the coming years.

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#InTheSpotlight | Beyond the hype, what might AI actually mean for healthcare in SA?

#InTheSpotlight | Beyond the hype, what might AI actually mean for healthcare in SA?

With varying degrees of success, artificial intelligence has begun to play the role of research assistant, radiologist, health educator, and even therapist. In this Spotlight special briefing, Jesse Copelyn tries to see past the hype and pin-points the most immediate implications of these new technologies for healthcare in South Africa.

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#InTheSpotlight | Poorly controlled diabetes is a top killer, time to take it more seriously

#InTheSpotlight | Poorly controlled diabetes is a top killer, time to take it more seriously

The South African government has adopted a national target to bring the blood sugar levels of people with diabetes under control. But beyond the target, the country’s response to diabetes is falling far short. In this Spotlight special briefing, Catherine Tomlinson looks at what the country needs to do to better manage this often fatal disease and how we can draw lessons from the response to HIV.

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New Western Cape health MEC Mireille Wenger says child health is near her heart

New Western Cape health MEC Mireille Wenger says child health is near her heart

Mireille Wenger was recently appointed to the Western Cape’s top health job. Biénne Huisman chatted to Wenger about health policy, child health, and the challenge of providing quality public health services at a time of shrinking budgets.

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Questions over new Limpopo health MEC Dieketseng Mashego, but stakeholders willing to give her a chance

Questions over new Limpopo health MEC Dieketseng Mashego, but stakeholders willing to give her a chance

The deployment of the relatively unknown Dieketseng Mashego as Limpopo’s new MEC for health has raised eyebrows. Ufrieda Ho rounds up some responses to her appointment.

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