There has been much confusion and misunderstandings about how cannabis and associated products are regulated in South Africa, with government’s own missteps adding to the uncertainty. In his last #InsideTheBox column for the year, Dr Andy Gray clearly sets out the current legal and regulatory situation and where we’re heading.
It is estimated that around half a million people living with HIV in South Africa don’t know they are living with the virus. One way to help these people is by offering them the means to test themselves in the privacy of their own homes. As Catherine Tomlinson explains in this #InTheSpotlight special briefing, such self-screening tests are part of our HIV response on paper, but in reality, the tests are massively underutilised.
Childhood immunisation programmes have saved many millions of lives and prevented much suffering. Yet, immunisation programmes have lost momentum over the last decade or so. In this #InTheSpotlight special briefing, Elri Voigt unpacks the available data and considers how immunisation efforts might be revitalised.
In several countries, the public is given an opportunity to share their views with regulators before new medicines are registered or to engage with those choosing essential medicines. In South Africa, however, opportunities for such public participation remains limited. In his latest #InsideTheBox column, Dr Andy Gray takes a look at how public participation is handled elsewhere and how it could be improved here.
Rather than trying to do everything from scratch, medicines regulators from different countries are increasingly sharing the load between them by ‘relying’ on each other’s work. In his latest #InsideTheBox column, Dr Andy Gray explains how such ‘reliance mechanisms’ can help regulators make decisions more quickly and efficiently, and digs into the details of how South Africa can make the most of these mechanisms.
For over 20 years, the law has required that the Minister of Health issues regulations to govern the advertising of medicines in South Africa, but as yet no such regulations are in place. In his latest #InsideTheBox column, Dr Andy Gray considers what this means for the marketing of medicines in the country.
TB can be cured, but ridding the body of the bug often takes many months and usually requires taking four or more different medicines. In this Spotlight special briefing, Elri Voigt zooms in on what makes the TB bacterium so hard to beat.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
